Welcome! I started Kodiak Connections in 2019 to share my passion for Kodiak with thoughtful travelers and residents alike. I design my tours to give you an intimate and authentic experience of this incredible island. With me you will discover culture, history, unique foods, industry, nature, and stories galore! It’s my intention to offer you an enduring and meaningful experience that will help you feel connected to the people, places, and stories of Kodiak. Read on for a small bio to get to know me. I look forward to sharing my island with you!
-Ani Thomas
I’m a world traveler, absolutely passionate about exploring and learning. I love to experience new places through local eyes and get a new perspective on my world. Whether I’m learning to harvest olives in a tiny Greek village, counting fish through a remote Alaskan river alongside Kodiak grizzlies, mountain biking to a hidden beach in Portugal for the sunset, or hitchhiking on a mule cart in Cuba, I like to see the world from new angles and if possible, take a few months to work in that area and hang with the locals learning their thoughts. I think that makes me an excellent guide too! I’ll give you an insider’s tour sharing all that I love about this Alaskan island.
25 years ago I came to Kodiak with my bike and backpack looking for adventure. The mossy forests and unique lifestyle stole my soul and I’ve called this Emerald Island my home ever since. I’m looking forward to sharing this amazing place with you!
During my time here, I have had a variety of experiences that will infuse and color your tour. My tours draw heavily upon these experiences:
Commercial Fishing is the heartbeat of this town and my time commercial fishing gifted me an appreciation for the raw power of nature and hard work. I witnessed electric pink sunsets past midnight and whales surfacing an arm’s length from the boat. There’s plenty of rough storms too. Days with empty and tangled nets, sea sickness and days when you’re covered in jellyfish and freezing from the rain. I gained a new appreciation for hot showers and ice cream on the rare days when we could visit the cannery, an amazing dinner pulled straight from the sea, and those days when the ocean is glass smooth and you can cause a ripple with your breath.
I spent several years with Fish and Game living in remote parts of the island working in rivers while fat Kodiak grizzlies gorged on the shore next to me. I interviewed crab skippers and climbed stacks of crab pots to get on board and sample the spiny Bering Sea red king crabs. I sampled sea cucumbers, cod, rockfish, salmon, herring, and more in the canneries as I talked in Spanish to the workers there. I have insights to the biology and management strategies of many of Kodiak’s fisheries as well as unique and incredible stories from living remote.
Because I love learning and teaching I have collectively worked 20 years between the Kodiak History Museum and Kodiak Maritime Museum. Digging deep into the history of the island I delighted in learning about Alutiiq and Russian traditions. I can share stories too of American whaling, statehood and the pioneering of new industries, I can guide you through the incredible changes and diverse people that have inhabited Kodiak. Kodiak is brimming with great history.
Wild Edible Plants I love nature and especially ethnobotany so I’ve led volunteer plant walks and nature hikes for schools and youth groups for years. Whether snacking on Devil’s club shoots or making a citrusy spruce tip syrup, I’m happy to share a taste.
I hope to infuse your time in Kodiak with some local culture. I want you to hear stories that will make you think differently about what you do and see and feel in Kodiak. My mission is to help you to connect to Kodiak in a meaningful way, whether walking through the moss carpeted rain forest to see the volcanic ash that once covered the island or tramping the docks to meet fishermen and learn about their lifestyle. There is a ton to see and learn. Let’s get started!
