 |
| Sunset at Peterson Research Station |
Stats
When:
Early – Mid August
Where: Peterson Research Station
Summary
Alaska
seems to be the US capitol for berries.
More berries grow in this state than I’ve ever heard of anywhere
else. We’ve got blueberries,
raspberries, blackberries, salmon berries, watermelon berries, elderberries,
currant, marionberries, cranberries, lingonberries (low bush cranberry),
nagoonberries, crow berries, serviceberries, and strawberries. Most of these grow wild, but several
cultivars are grown in home yards and farms as well. Truly, I didn’t know half these berries
existed until I moved here.
On
11 Aug 2013 our neighbors asked if we wanted to take a boat ride across
Kachemak Bay to go blueberry picking at the Peterson Research Station. The Peterson Research Station belongs to the Center
for Alaska Coastal Studies based out of Homer. The station is situated on 5 acres of wild
land and coastline and their lower trails go through extensive blueberry
fields, with a mix of currant and salmonberry randomly distributed
throughout. The berries are fair game to
visitors, although they ask that you leave a few for the bears.
Opinion
This
was a blast. We picked berries for about
2 hours and came home with 7.5 lbs (22.5 cups)
