Arriving at Resurrection Bay near Seward, Alaska, I could see anglers lined up in both directions as far as the eye could see. A couple of them stood out to me as they worked together catching silver salmon. It was obvious that they knew what they were doing, so I studied them and took a few pictures as they caught salmon. The lady angler nailed a silver salmon and wore him down like a skilled veteran.

A few minutes later, her husband latched onto a big silver salmon, and another hard-fought battle ensued before he finally pulled the fish from the water. I just had to meet these people, so I asked them where they were from and if I could write a story about them.

Ironically, Dale and Paula Griswold, of Wasilla, Alaska, moved to Alaska 17 years ago from Vermont.

“We’d talked about possibly moving to Alaska one day, so we took a vacation up here and stayed 10 weeks,” Dale Griswold said. “After that vacation, we went back home and stayed a year and then moved here to stay.

“We come down to Seward in the fall every year, and usually this will be our last fishing trip of the year. We are doing pretty good so far. We freeze them, and then we take them home and do a final wash and smoke some and then put them in the freezer so we can eat them during the year.”

Though Paula Griswold fished a little back in New England, she didn’t get excited about fishing until she moved to Alaska.

“When we got to Alaska, I started fishing, and it was quite a difference,” Paula Griswold said. “When we caught a fish back east, they were little fish and not that exciting, but when you get one here in Alaska you catch a real big fish!” Griswold held her hands out wide for emphasis when she talked about the size of the fish.

The Griswolds catch a variety of salmon each year, but they prefer the Sockeye Salman (reds) and then the Coho Salman (Silver Salmon) next. Paula has many scrumptious ways to cook them. During this trip, the talented angling team fished a few days with great success, and many salmon got a free ride home to help fill their freezer.

I told them where I was from, and we established a rapport that only genuine outdoors people could experience so quickly. I told Paula that I wanted to eat one of the salmon that I caught while in Alaska but that I wasn’t taking any home. When she found out we were coming through their hometown of Wasilla, she surprised me with an unexpected invitation.

“I want to prepare a salmon dinner for you so that you can see what a fresh Alaskan salmon tastes like,” Paula Griswold said.

We accepted their invitation, and we pulled up in their driveway the following Sunday. Though we had only met one time for a few minutes, they welcomed us into their home and lives as if we’d known them for many years.

Dale and Paula gave us the tour of their yard on the crest of an Alaskan hill, and it was almost unbelievable to this Southern country boy. They had a greenhouse full of fresh vegetables, along with some of the most beautiful tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and other vegetables that I have ever seen.

One area of the yard was fenced off with a 9-foot-tall mesh wire fence to keep the moose out of the garden. There were three different varieties of raspberries as well as many other vegetable and berries I’d never seen before.

That night at dinner, Paula Griswold prepared a dinner fit for a king with salmon, a fresh garden salad made from their own yard and a home cooked Alaskan Berry crumble pie for dessert. After dinner, Paula asked me yet another question.

“Have you ever had sourdough pancakes?” Griswold said. I told her that I had not. “Well, you are going to have them in the morning,” she said. We’d planned to hit the road early, but the offer was just too good to pass up.

The next morning, we were treated to a wonderful cup of coffee and yet another scrumptious breakfast of Alaskan sourdough pancakes, with authentic Vermont maple syrup and hickory smoked sausage. I’d never dreamed we would meet such down-home friendly people in Alaska.

The Griswolds treated us specially with their Alaskan hospitality along with a touch of New England thrown in for good measure. Though we had come to Alaska for the outdoors experience, we’d met some real-life Alaskan ambassadors. I’m used to Southern hospitality but never dreamed we’d experience something similar in Alaska, but that’s just what happened thanks to the Griswolds. It just can’t get much better than that!

Call Mike Giles at 601-917-3898 or email mikegiles18@comcast.net.