Kociak 9/20 - Boat 05

The photos yesterday and the first one today were taken on the west side of the island looking east. The last three photos today are from the east side looking back towards the main island. Though we missed the puffins, we still saw some pretty colors and landscapes. In the third photo, you see a WWII bunker on the island. This was part of the Kodiak Harbor Defenses that included torpedoes, 90 mm guns with 42 - 49 lb projectiles, 40 mm automatic guns, and .50 caliber machine guns. There were also supporting barracks, officer's quarters, administration building, and search lights. You can see some of the abandoned facilities on the far left of the island in the last two photos. There is even an old Army pier on that end of the island. You also see a lot of rocks in the shallow waters around the island! The island is a federally protected bird nesting area but there must not be any restrictions on people exploring the island as I see a few internet photos of people at/in the old military facilities. Last year, we saw two kayakers on the island. My only guess is that as long as you leave nesting birds alone, you are OK. Seeing all of these rocks in the shallows, you would have to be very careful with a normal boat.

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