Suite of Murals (3 Rooms)
A wise man once said:
“The more civilized we become, the more we need wilderness.”
Perhaps that’s why visitors come to Kodiak, to satisfy that need, and to find inspiration for body, mind, and spirit. Kodiak’s identity is usually linked with its most famous resident, the Kodiak brown bear. About 2/3 of Kodiak Island is a National Wildlife Refuge, home to about 3,000 bears. You can learn all about bears and therefuge at the National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, located downtownand see Marion’s display murals.
Tucked into the northwest corner of the Gulf of Alaska, the Kodiak Island Archipelago parallels the Katmai Coast along the Alaska Peninsula for 177 miles. This group of islands embraces almost 5,000 square miles, which is the size of Connecticut. And as the largest island in the group, Kodiak is the second largest island in the U.S., next to the Big Island of Hawai’i. (We like to think that Kodiak Island is the northernmost Hawai’ian Island).
Birding
Bird watching opportunities are excellent. Kodiak is often No. 1 in Alaska for the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count).
Bear Viewing
The Kodiak brown bear. About 2/3 of Kodiak Island is a National Wildlife Refuge, home to about 3,000 bears.
Wildlife Viewing by Boat
Explore the scenic islands off Kodiak, and view marine wildlife such as whales, sea otters, puffins, sea wolves, fox, eagles,
sea ducks, and shorebirds.
Cliff House B&B
1223 Kouskov
Kodiak, AK 99615 USA
907-539-5009 (Marion’s mobile)
Email: mygarden(@)alaska.net
In the mid 1700s, Russian trappers began hunting sea otters in Alaska. Their first settlement was near present-day Kodiak. Within a few years though, the outposts in Alaska were in desperate need of food, so
a Russian exploring and sea-otter hunting expedition sailed for California. It was headed by Ivan Aleksandrovich Kouskov. On January 8, 1809, Kuskov’s ship, the Kodiak, anchored in Bodega Bay, just north of San Francisco.
The Russians stayed about eight months, trapping otters and surveying the land. And setup an outpost 18 miles north of Bodega Bay, on a bluff overlooking a harbor. Here the Russians built a fort made of redwood logs. A log stockade surrounded nine buildings including a large house and a chapel. The stockade had blockhouses and cannons to defend the fort. Outside the stockade were other buildings used as workshops, storehouses, and quarters for the Aleuts. On the beach was a wharf, a tannery, and a place where ships were built. The fort, known as Fort Ross, was dedicated on August 13, 1812.