We've had a run of great weather since arriving on Kodiak Island and have been out exploring this unique place. Somehow we've racked up over 400 miles on a island that has fewer than 100 miles of main roads (not all of which are paved). We've also managed at least one hike each day.
First up, a few general island pictures.
Surprisingly, the island also has some very interesting WWII history. A small Japanese force occupied the islands of Attu and Kiska (in the Aleutians) and the rush was on to build defenses to protect the Alaska Territory - Kodiak Island was at the center of that buildup and you can still see military structures scattered about the island.
On today's Kodiak, the United States Coast Guard Base occupies the old navel base and performs search and rescue operations (and enforcement duties) over a 4,000,000 square mile area. Because my nieces husband is a pilot stationed here, we got a tour and had a chance to meet many of those that fly in this beautiful (and VERY dangerous) area.
A big surprise - something every island should have, it's own commercial rocket launch facility for sub-orbital and orbital space launch vehicles - The Kodiak Launch Complex (KLC).
Finally, a few pics from our numerous hikes.
