A day and a half in Unalaska/Dutch Harbor

A view of the hotel in daylight. It is a very dominant structure.






The next morning I went to explore the town. Just like in Kodiak: What do I have time and two healthy legs for? As it was a Sunday, unfortunately both the Museum of the Aleutians and the Museum adjacent to the Aleutian Islands WW II National Monument were closed. The latter even opens just by appointment.

My urban wanderings took me first through the seafood processing plant’s headquarters and industrial buildings in Dutch Harbor and then across the “Bridge to the Other Side” to the town of Unalaska. And remember: The next rain shower is never too far away.








Crossing the Isaalux footbridge I was treated to a natural spectacle that occurs every year. Salmon were returning to their birthplace to spawn and then die, providing a feast for the seagulls.






Not far from this bridge is the Holy Ascension of our Lord Russian Orthodox Church. Being a Sunday I hoped it would be open, but no.






Back on the Dutch Harbor side I took a wander up Mt. Ballyhoo behind the airport. On the way there I passed the site where a Penair Saab 2000 came to rest after overrunning the runway a few years ago.








A few berries for sustenance, but keeping the fingers off those mushrooms.






The regions’ processed catch (red king, golden king, and opilio crabs, cod, halibut, pollock) is shipped out by the containerload.


Closer to the hotel again, a panorama sight from Strawberry Hill.












In Margaret Bay, right behind the hotel, I spotted one of four resident sea otters.




They say that when in Rome, do as the Romans do; when in Dutch Harbor, eat king crab! First with drawn butter as an appetizer, followed by an entrée of creamy, garlicky, yummy crab & artichoke chowder.