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| Kirk and Kathy opening the shells |
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| A cooler full of scallops |
The opportunity in Alaska to catch your dinner is everywhere Hunting is fine, if you have the right tools and can hike the intense terrain to find that black-tail deer or the mountain goat. Bear hunting is not something we are going to consider at this point. Fishing, on the other hand, is something we felt we could do (fit pole with appropriate lure, drop in water). What I didn't expect was the array of seafood available when you
do have the "right stuff". We have purchased two crab "pots" and are consistently supplied with fresh crab from our friends who drop the pots for us. We have halibut poles, fishing sometimes 200 feet deep requires heavier "test" line and two pound weights, and salmon fishing poles with longer line are fine for fishing from the shore. Tonight, however, we were treated to fresh scallops. Our friends called us as they were on their way back to the dock, saying they had gone diving today and had a cooler full of fresh pecten scallops. You are familiar with pecten scallops, even though you might not know it. For years,
the Shell Oil Company has used the pecten scallop shell as their symbol - it is very recognizable. The ones we enjoyed this evening aren't the giant "sea scallops" that you
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| Cooked scallops prior to "cleaning" |
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| Fresh scallops! |
get at your favorite supper club, but are manageable one or two bite-sized shellfish. Once cooked by boiling the entire mollusk, Kathy showed me how to pull off the inedible parts (while some would eat it all) and I enjoyed the white, firm scallop. So good! I ate about a dozen - simply fresh and without any condiments or seasoning. We have had fresh halibut, caught and cooked within the hour, crab pulled up and put on to boil within minutes, fresh salmon, grilled whole, and shrimp bought right from the boat. Come up to Alaska and we will share the bounty with you!
The opportunity in Alaska to catch your dinner is everywhere Hunting is fine, if you have the right tools and can hike the intense terrain to find that black-tail deer or the mountain goat. Bear hunting is not something we are going to consider at this point. Fishing, on the other hand, is something we felt we could do (fit pole with appropriate lure, drop in water). What I didn't expect was the array of seafood available when you do have the "right stuff". We have purchased two crab "pots" and are consistently supplied with fresh crab from our friends who drop the pots for us. We have halibut poles, fishing sometimes 200 feet deep requires heavier "test" line and two pound weights, and salmon fishing poles with longer line are fine for fishing from the shore. Tonight, however, we were treated to fresh scallops. Our friends called us as they were on their way back to the dock, saying they had gone diving today and had a cooler full of fresh pecten scallops. You are familiar with pecten scallops, even though you might not know it. For years,
the Shell Oil Company has used the pecten scallop shell as their symbol - it is very recognizable. The ones we enjoyed this evening aren't the giant "sea scallops" that you 
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