by Roger Ager
The Landscape around Sterling here looks like northern Wis. up around L. Superior. Aspen, Birch & Spruce trees with hills flatland & swamps. We have fished out of the canoe in the Swanson River area I found a small crystal clear lake by the road with 15 to 18 inch arctic char in it. Some lakes also have large rainbow trout and some have salmon or Dolly Varden, there are hundreds of lakes in that area north & eastern part of the peninsula they are maybe up to 6,000 ft. and there are some glaciers on them. Cook Inlet is the part of the ocean near us, 40 miles across are a string of big volcanoes 10,000 or 12,000 ft. covered with snow and smoking, we can see 2 from the house Illiamna & Rehdout. Cook Inlet is 25 miles east. Things we have done on saltwater are dig razor clams, fish for halibut (my biggest 50 lbs.) fish for flounder, cod, sole, Irish Lord & Dungeness crab, also salmon & sea-run dolly’s. When you come up here we can take a cruise ship out of Seward to the Kenai Fjords NTL. Park, and look at whales & other wildlife & see ice falling off of glaciers etc. we got this trip for free because the vice pres. of the co. was stranded on the hwy. and I stopped and helped him change a flat tire they said we could save it for next summer when you are here.
Taxidermy is very busy this time of year. Most of the hunting seasons are in full swing. We handle only big game. Animals I have worked on are griz & black bear, black tail deer, caribou, moose, mt. goat, Dall sheep, wolf, coyote & fox. We will also be doing musk ox, amer. bison, elk wolverine, and any African big game that comes over from safaris. My job is in Soldotna, about 12 mi away. Gloria works in Kenai about 25 mi. Its started to frost at night around here & the trees are showing some yellow. The fall is also the rainy season but it never rains hard, no thunder storms like in Wis.