Thrill of a Lifetime! Roland & Rick Flashed By Infamous Rosie

July 10-12 – Pelican

It’s hard to visit Pelican and not fall in love with the town. And it’s even harder to explain why.

Prior to arriving in Pelican with Rick & Judy early afternoon on the 10^th, we’d been rapturing about our experiences in Pelican three years ago and its “unique” character.

Located deep in Lisianski Inlet, bordering the Gulf of Alaska, Pelican sits on a mile-long boardwalk overlooking mountains lined with waterfalls and used to be the site of a major fishery. The population, dependent on who you talk to and the time of the year, is anywhere from 60-120 people.

The harbor contains perhaps the most “colorful” array of boats you’ll see in Alaska ... downright derelict vessels waiting to sink, finely crafted hand-made sailboats,  decked out charter boats, pleasure yachts and hard working commercial fishing boats.

 

Roland checking out a new "Valiant"

And the array of characters walking the docks or boardwalk along town is just as varied. Sadly, since the closing of the fish processing plant, Pelican has been in a state of flux.

 

Highliner Fish Lodge at the top of the docks was a rundown crack house before the new owners bought it and turned it into a lodge for its fish charter business. Now the rooms run over $300/night and it's completely booked.

Highliner also knows where to fish. Here are two halibut, one clocking 376 pounds, that were caught the day we there by guests at the lodge. They are bigger than Judy!

While a couple of new fish charter lodges are trying to reinvigorate Pelican, bringing in guests, jobs, and revenue, many in town are reticent or downright resentful of the success of these new businesses ... harkening back to the days when Pelican was flush with commercial fishermen.

Putting small town politics aside, the one institution in Pelican that remains constant is Rosie’s ... officially known as the “World Famous Rose’s Bar & Grill, Museum and Gift Shop” ... and it is run by the famous (or infamous, depending on which way you look at it) Rosie Miller. Allegedly, Rosie originally was a commercial fisherwoman, but fell in love with Pelican and sold her 62-foot fishing boat back in 1973 for a down payment to buy her bar.

No stop in Pelican is complete without a drink at Rosie’s, so that’s just what we did the night we arrived.

I of course wanted to see if my signature was still on the ceiling from our visit in 2010 (signing the ceiling is a longtime tradition at Rosie’s) and it was!

After sitting down and ordering our drinks, Rick asked to meet Rosie and she arrived at our table feeling no pain, explaining her friend had bought her a few shots of tequila to celebrate the bar’s 40^th anniversary and Rosie’s 80^th birthday ... a fact she repeated at least 3 more times before we left.

But the real eye-opener happened minutes later when she grabbed the bottom of her shirt and lifted it over her head ... flashing her 80-year-old basoombas at Roland and Rick (sorry ... too quick to capture on film!). And just as well, as Roland said later, it was not a pretty sight! But there’s no question that Rosie’s quick wit and penchant for fun has done more to put Pelican on the map over the past 40 years than anyone or anything else in town.

She’s a book waiting to be written!