Day 89 - 2015-07-18
We made the short journey from Anchorage to the Bird Creek
Campground. 33 (11,304). Bird Creek
drains into the Turnagain Arm of the Cook Inlet.
When we arrived, the fishing area near the mouth of the creek
was muddy due to the high tide. We ate lunch and I decided to fish for a
while. By the time I got there, the tide
had dropped another 5 or 6 feet, the bank was very muddy, but the creek was
running crystal clear – about 20 feet wide and showing a nice channel. There were MANY guys fishing the river, so I
took off to join them. The mud was
AWFUL. I sunk in to mid-calf – had to
dig my wader boot out with my hand in order to move. Finally I made it to the rocky river
bottom. As soon as I got there, a young
girl tried to cross the mud and got stuck up to her thighs. It took 3 guys to extract her, how they got
out afterwards I don’t know because by then I was fishing. This is called “combat fishing”. Lots of people in a very small area – think
10 feet apart, on both sides of the river, with lines going everywhere. Amazingly, there were few tangles and few
lost fish. I didn’t have to worry about
that because I don’t think I ever got even close to a fish today. It was an experience. After I returned to the campground, I talked
to a local guy who told me it was not recommended to venture into the mud. He said every year, people get stuck in the
“quick mud” and the local fire/rescue guys have to come get them out – that is,
if the incoming tide holds off long enough for them to do so. I don’t think I’ll try this again.
When I got back to camp, Bettie had spotted a herd of Dall
sheep on a mountain across the way. With
Binoculars, we could watch their movement, although they were too far away to
see any detail. Still, pretty
interesting to see how effortlessly they traverse what is almost vertical
terrain.
The campground is very nice and the people camping here
obviously have a sense of humor. I don’t
know how well it works as a camper, but it certainly is a sight to see. I wonder if their last name is Jetson?
Day 90 - 2015-07-19
HOLY SMOKES – 90 DAYS ON THE ROAD. We had no idea how this would go, if we could
peacefully coexist in 200 square feet of living space and stand each other’s
close company in the truck, or if we would be at each other’s throats. Amazingly, we are still anxious for each new
day to start so we can see what the next location has to offer.
We drove to Soldotna, AK today, the heart of the Kenai
salmon fishery. 156 (11,460). This trip took us around the top of Turnagain
Arm, a glacial valley that is now covered with shallow water until it meets the
Cook Inlet.
At the top of the arm, we found the Portage Glacier and
several others.
We got to Soldotna about noon and went directly to the
Swiftwater Campground, a Soldotna City Park on the shores of the Kenai
River. Being a Sunday and arriving right
at checkout time, we were lucky enough to get a place to park for a couple of
days (most parks are completely full this time of year). The park has a long river access so I tried
my luck at salmon fishing this afternoon.
Nobody was catching much of anything, everyone said the run has not
really started yet, but I did manage to hook one fish, which promptly spit my
hook and swam away to spawn and die. It
would have been so much easier to let me catch it.
After dinner, we took a drive to the mouth of the Kenai
River to watch dip net fishing, something that only Alaska residents are
allowed to do. This amounts to standing
in the river, holding a circular net about 5 feet in diameter mounted on a pole,
and waiting for a salmon to swim into it.
The whole process looked pretty boring and we didn’t see anyone actually
catch a fish. I’m sure they do quite
well when the fish are running, the limit is 25 per adult per year, but today
did not look like a very good day.
On the way, we saw a big male caribou with an absolutely
HUGE rack. Unfortunately, we left the
camera in the camper, so no pictures to share.
Day 91 - 2015-07-20
What’s For Dinner?
SOCKEYE SALMON. I met up with our
mailman Jim H and a couple of his buddies today to fish for sockeye
salmon. They fish the run here every
year and were gracious enough to show me the ropes and their honey hole. We all got 3 fish limits. Here’s a picture of
my 3.
We were done fishing and cleaning by about 10:00, so I had
plenty of time to get the new puncture wound in the right front tire taken care
of. This gave us a chance to walk around
Soldotna and check out some of the stores – the hardware store is something to
behold – like a real hardware store should be.
We came back to the campground and found the river still
full of hopeful fishermen – not as crowded as it was over the weekend, but
still a lot of people trying to catch fish. 11 (11,471).
Day 92 - 2015-07-21
What a day this has been.
I started the day at 5:00AM.
Coffee and pastry at the Holiday gas station, then off to meet Jim &
friends for another morning of fishing.
I was first to arrive, so I geared up and took off for the hole. To access the honey hole, you have to walk
along a narrow, muddy pathway. I took
one wrong step and sunk in the muck up to my thigh. Stuck.
The harder I tried to get out, the deeper I sank. OK, no way to get myself out. As I resigned myself to the fact that I would
just have to wait for help, the guys appeared on the path. A few good tugs and a little leverage and my
stuck leg finally came free. We got to
the hole to find another guy already there.
No problem, plenty of room for everyone.
Within about 30 minutes of fishing I had my second 3 fish limit of the trip,
including one on the first cast.
Wow. I can’t believe how good
this hole is. Thanks again to Jim H and
friends for sharing with me. This has
been a really special part of the trip.
I got back to the trailer about 9:00 and we packed up. Off to Seward. We backtracked a bit on the Sterling Highway
(AK 1), then picked up the Seward Highway (AK 9). Our campsite is about 6 miles before town, so
we stopped and got set up.
On the way to town, we turned off on the access road to
Kenai Fjords National Park to see the Exit Glacier. We got a good view of it from the road.
We’ll go back another day to take the hike to the viewing
area. This is probably the closest normal
people can get to a glacier anywhere. We
are pretty excited about seeing it up close.
We drove into Seward to look around and waste some
time. What a cool town. It is nestled in the top of a fjord,
surrounded by mountains with glaciers all over them. There is a nicely developed main street and a
very busy harbor area that caters to fishermen and sightseers taking fjord tours
and whale watching trips.
We stopped in to the Seward Brewing Company where both of us
had their locally brewed red. We liked
it. Afterwards, we walked the docks just
as the fishing charters started coming in.
Unbelievable. Tub after tub of
halibut, ling cod, yellow eye, and silver salmon. No kidding, we saw easily 500 fish, the
largest being a 78 pound halibut, but I bet the days catch reached into the
thousands. 128 (11,599).
Day 93 - 2015-07-22
We took the Major Marine tour of the Kenai Fjords National
Park today. 12 (11,611). We sailed from Seward on a 36 passenger boat,
out to the Gulf of Alaska, to the Northwestern Glacier. It was a long day, 8:30 to 5:30, which
started out overcast and turned into intermittent rain by the time we reached
the glacier. Even so, the wildlife and
landscape viewing were amazing – MANY glaciers along the way, humpback whales,
sea otters, sea lions, puffins, and many more birds I am still unfamiliar with. The scenery was spectacular.
The Northwest Glacier is a tidewater glacier (meaning it
terminates at the sea). It is the bluest
of any glacier we have seen. We got
within a few hundred yards of it. Here
are a couple of shots.
The highlight of the day was a breaching humpback
whale. I was lucky enough to get this
shot of it (shot of a lifetime for me - very lucky).
Day 94 - 2015-07-23
We took it easy today.
We headed toward Seward, but turned off on Nash Road and followed it out
to some overlooks of Seward from across the fjord. Nice views of a different perspective on the
town since the mountains on that side are much more wooded. Our next stop was Lowell Point, the furthest
you can drive down the fjord from Seward.
We walked on the “beach” (all ground up rock and flat stones like flint
or slate) and enjoyed the views. After a
quick stop to buy a postcard, we made our way back to the Exit Glacier area of
the Kenai Fjords National Park, where we hiked the 2 mile or so trail to the
Edge of the Glacier Overlook. This is
pretty darn close to the glacier and was a beautiful sight.
Tonight’s cooking was supposed to be wings and tater
tots. The grill was doing fine until the
gas ran out. Oops, not a big deal but it
cost a few minutes. I put on a new
bottle and, of course, it had more pressure so the fire burned hotter and the
wings flared up. Not a total disaster,
but we had not planned on “blackened” wings.
About that time, Bettie discovered she had not turned on the oven, so
the tater tots were still ice cold.
Oops, not a total disaster, but we had to eat the wings as an appetizer
instead of the main course. What then to
do about dinner? We have polish sausage,
so on they go while we eat wings. Yea,
they didn’t burn and we finally got to eat.
Sometimes, Murphy just rules the day.
51 (11,662).
Day 95 - 2015-07-24
Today we drive to Homer.
181 (11,843). The drive along the
lakes leading into Seward and the Kenai River valley are some of the most
scenic and beautiful of the entire trip.
The water in the Kenai River is a rich teal green, not clear, but very
pretty from the mineral contained in the glacier runoff. This is a major salmon river and there were
lots of drift boats fishing along the way.
We went back through Soldotna and headed our toward Homer
along the Cook Inlet. The views of Mt.
Iliamna
and Mt. Redoubt
were gorgeous. These
are about 50 miles away.
We stopped at Deep Creek, which is famous for its eagle
population. There is a VERY busy boat
launching operation at the beach here.
The eagles come for the carcasses of the fish, which are
everywhere along the beach. They must
have already had their fill by the time we arrived because we did not see a
single one. We’ll try again on our
return trip.
Further along, we came to an overlook with an excellent view
of the inlet.
We got a first row site at the Driftwood RV Park in Homer.
Homer is home to the Homer Spit, the longest natural spit in
North America. It is known as a place
for RV'ers to camp while fishing the inlet for Halibut and Salmon. It’s also pretty touristy in terms of the
businesses there, kind of like a cruise ship town, but we think we’ll stay
there a night just get the experience of it.
Day 96 - 2015-07-25
Today, I went Halibut Fishing. 11 (11,854). The weather sucked, 4-5 foot seas,
intermittent rain, windy and cold.
Perfect day to get the Homer fishing experience, so all 6 of us on the charter
elected to go anyway. Alaska allows you
to keep 2 halibut, one of which must be 29 inches or shorter, no upper
limit. The biggest caught on the boat
was about 70 pounds, mine went about 40 pounds.
Here’s the intrepid crew and our days bounty. My fish are the second from the left.
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