THE ALASKAN ADVENTURE Day 38, June 23, 2009 The Russian / Kenai River

I woke to the battle cry of the Salmon Fisherman. " Man, its cold out here " and it was kind of chilly. However the hearty ones braved the weather ( it was 44 degrees ) and after gearing up I joined them for a little fishing. When I arrived at the river I noticed an area where nobody was fishing just around a small curve in the river. Upon arriving I saw the reason sitting on the shore. A large grizzly bear, I am assuming male as there were no cubs. At this point my superior intellect and good common sense kicked in. I decided that he could have that fishing spot.

Kathy took the picture of the bear after it had it's fill and was starting to wander away. He was a lot closer to some of the fishermen than it appears. The bear actually stole a fish while it was on the line of one of the fishermen. Wisely the fisherman did not argue as in this case, The Bear Wins.

I moved upstream, picked a spot and started fishing. Again the fish won. I did get one that I fought for about 5 minutes but it eventually got off. I did back hook one that I legally had to let off but that was about it. I will say that standing in a rushing river with a current that strong, had a say in how long I was in the river. It was a workout. After about an hour we pulled stakes and headed down the road.

As soon as we got back on the road we were back into the mountains and the beautiful scenery.

We continued along the Sterling Highway until it T'd into the Seward Highway, at which point we turned south. It was about 30 miles from the junction of the two highways into Seward and it was pretty special. The clouds were low and mountain peaks jutted above and through the clouds creating another Alaskan masterpiece of scenery.

On our way to Seward we passed through Moose Pass. A quaint little village located on the shoreline of Upper Trail Lake at Mile 29 of the Seward Highway. Moose Pass is part of the original Iditarod Trail that was used for transporting gold and supplies and was blazed through this valley in 1910. The abundance of moose in the area prompted the town’s name.

We saw this on the way through town. Its too bad it wasn't running because I did have an axe to grind.



We continued down the Seward highway amidst more beautiful sights until we got to Seward.




We took a drive around town and then stopped at the Kenai Fiords Boat Tours and booked our 6 hour cruise to the fiords. The question is will I see any of it or will I be hung over the side. I know Kathy will enjoy it so at times we must suck it up and take it on the chin. Eh Rick.



It started raining so we found a campsite and settled in for the night.


Animal Count for the Day


Grizzly Bear 1

THE ALASKAN ADVENTURE Day 37 June 22, 2009 Soldotna to Russian River

We woke up this morning with a hankering for fish and chips, excuse me, Halibut and chips. Since it was a cold and rainy day there was only one thing to do. Hope in the truck and head back down the road to Homer. So we did and the timing couldn't have been more perfect as it was lunch when we got there. Then to top it all off the halibut and chips were pretty good.

After lunch we stopped at the tourist information booth and ended up having a nice chat with a couple from Osgood, Ontario which is just outside of Ottawa. They were touring around for about another month before they headed to Vancouver.

Once we were back on the road we realized that we had not gone to the end of the road at the campsite at Anchor Point. The end of the road is Latitude 59 degrees, 46 minutes and Longitude 151 degrees and 52 minutes and that is important as it the most westerly point accessible by road in North America.

We weren't the only ones on the beach as there were a few Bald Eagles along with a bunch of seagulls feeding on Salmon carcasses.

Once we had satisfied our curiosty we headed for the Combat Zone. One of the Combat Zones is where the Kenai River is joined by the Russian River and it is great Salmon Fishing. Another combat zone is the Russian River just before it hits a waterfall but we could not get in there as it is booked out well in advance. There is a hike there we would like to take but it was have to wait until later in the trip.

When we got to the campsite which says it has 180 campsites. We find it is actually a parking lot with spaces for 180 vehicles with an overflow lot to handle a few more vehicles. We must have timed it right because we were able to get in and get parked. The first thing we did was walk down to have a view of the river and the fishermen.

As you can see it gets pretty crazy as the lust for Salmon hits this hardy breed up here. The rush is over as there were 3 times as many people here on the weekend. I can just imagine what it was like during the gold rush if Salmon has this effect. We stayed and watched them catch fish for awhile before heading back to the camper for something to eat. We played a few games of crib and called it a night.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring. I may even don my armor and enter into battle.

ANIMAL COUNT FOR THE DAY

Moose 2

Bald Eagles Whole Bunch

THE ALASKAN ADVENTURE Day 34,35 & 36 June 19, 20 & 21, 2009 Dolly Varden Campsite, AK

We spent the morning getting ready to head up Swanson Lake Road. Groceries, Gas, Propane etc. but I must admit we did not get a real early start. Undaunted by the late start we headed out anyway and made to the campsite without any mishaps. We did have a young black bear dart across the road in front of us. He as moving so fast that even super click ( Me ) could not get a picture of him.
Swanson Lake Road turned to gravel shortly after we turned on to it at Sterling. Dolly Varden Lake was the first campsite of the three in the area and we stopped in to have a look. We realized it was pretty full and as this was the biggest campsite of the three we decided we had better grab a spot,. As it turns out it was a good thing we did as the campsite filled up shortly after we got parked.

Our Campsite and views of the Lake

We spent the evening having a little BBQ and then sitting by the fire. You can't have marshmallows if you don’t have a fire. I did have to send the wood scavenger out a couple of times.

If someone had told me that I could spend a day just sitting around and watching a fire I would have told them that they were crazy. Well, that is exactly what we did yesterday. We sat by the fire, watched the lake, ate lunch, watched the fire, watched the lake, ate dinner, watched the fire, roasted marshmallows and it was time for bed. It was one of the most enjoyable days I have had in a long time.

This morning we got up to a dead battery, camper not the truck, so we got going as early as we could. Early is always a challenge for us. We finished the drive up to Rabbit Lake which was at the end of Swan Lake Road and then headed back into Soldotna for a new battery.

Soldotna is the largest city in the Kenai Peninsula with a population of about 4000 people. However during the two salmon runs the town explodes with people from Anchorage, Fairbanks and of course the tourists. The City has 3,700 feet of elevated fishing boardwalk along the Kenai River and over 220 campsites and during Salmon Season they are filled. The largest King Salmon was caught here weighing in at 97 lbs 8 ounces.

We also re-stocked the fridge, got propane and headed for an RV park. We needed one with Wifi so that I could catch up on the blog. It has been a little harder keeping up with the blog when we are dry camping.

We are not sure what tomorrow will bring but I think we are heading for the Russian River to do a little hiking and maybe a little fishing.

Animal Count for the Day

Black Bears 1

THE ALASKAN ADVENTURE Day 31,32,& 33 June 16,17,18 2009 Soldotna, AK

We have spent 3 glorious days at the Riverside Campsite in Soldotna. The campsite has been very peaceful and we have had good weather, anywhere between 50 – 75 degrees and no rain to speak of. We have not done anything touristy and as a few chores as possible, grocery shopping etc. We have just relaxed and enjoyed being retired in Alaska.

We enjoyed watching the fishermen as they fished along the bank of the Kenai River. They are not actually fishing as they are snatching the fish by using a method called the Kenai Whip. The salmon stop feeding once they hit the river on their way to their spawning area so it is no use putting any kind of bait on the hook. The Kenai Whip is a method where you toss your line into the water and let the line slide downstream. The Salmon are coming up stream and in the process of using their gills they are opening and closing their mouth. The line then goes into the mouth of the fish and you set the hook when you apply the Kenai Whip. It sure seems to work as they are pulling out fish.

We have spent a lot of time in front of the campfire and we have worked out a good routine.

Kathy the Wood Scavenger

Rod the Fire Tender

I personally thing it is a perfect routine and distribution of duties.

We have watched the fishermen catch some nice size salmon so I figured it would be a good idea to try it. So off to Fred Meyers ( the local Walmart ) we go and we get Rod some gear. Fishing Rod, Tackle, Hip Waders, Knife and a club. ( Oh yes, I forgot, when they pull the Salmon out of the river they beat it to death with a club) We headed back to the campsite so I could fish when we realized I didn’t have a license, so back to Fred Meyers.

To date the fish are winning. I have been out twice and have not caught anything. It really doesn’t matter as it is very relaxing on the river. I think that is what all of us who have not caught anything say.

Even the eagles are getting shut out.

Sadly the 3 days are at an end and we are heading out to Swan Lake in the morning. We plan to spend a couple of nights but are not sure which campsite yet.

THE ALASKAN ADVENTURE Day 29 & 30 June 14,15 2009 Homer to Soldotna, AK

This is the view we went to bed to last night. I think I could get used to this real quick.

We actually got up at a normal time today, had breakfast, did a little laundry and then headed down to the Homer Spit. The Spit is a gravel bar that was left over when the glacier receded a long time ago and created Katchemak Bay. Today it is a commercial enterprise all on it own with restaurants, sales offices for bear watching, halibut fishing, salmon fishing and sightseeing tours. It also has clothing shops, fish shops both retail and processing. The harbor is also situated at the spit which holds both personal and charter boats. The ferry terminal to the outer islands is also located here

There were three things we wanted to check out while we were in Homer.
1) Halibut Fishing
2) Take the Ferry to Kodiak Island with a stop in Seldovia
3) Bear Watching

We didn’t do any of the above because:
1) Sea Sickness ( Rod)
2) Ferry was going to take to long out of the trip
3) Too early to see the bears catching salmon

As we headed off the spit we saw this sign. No matter where you go, nature is still boss.

We drove to the end of the road in the Kenai Peninsula and then came back via a road that overlooked Homer. The view was quite spectacular and we got a fantastic look at the Homer Spit.

During the drive we had a good view at the glaciers across Katchmak Bay along with just more beautiful scenery and some odd sights. We also got a good close up of the wildlife as a moose and her calf ran across the road in front of us. Fortunately we stopped in time.

Alaskan Mobile Home

End of the road past Homer

The next step for the day was to head up the road to Anchor Point and check into a park for the night. We ended up with a nice quiet campsite, set up the bbq, lit a fire and enjoyed the evening. While we were enjoying the fire ( and marshmallows ) we received a couple of visitors. A pair of Eagles and the male had a kill with him, not sure what it was but it looked like a large fish. We watched the eagles as we let the fire burn out and called it a night.

Animal Count for the Day

Moose 5
Black Bear 1

Bald Eagles 2

ANCHOR POINT TO SOLDOTNA

When leaving Anchor Point in the morning we decided to see if we could get to Tustumena Lake which is the biggest lake in the Kenai Peninsula and is in Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. The most effective way we could see was to take the only road ( pretty smart eh ) that was on the map. The road was called Johnson Road and it was a gravel road that got us almost to the lake. It actually stopped at the Kasilof River that flows into the lake about 5 miles down stream. The end of the road was quite nice and a good spot to stop for lunch.

Our next stop was Clam Gulch Beach where when the timing is right people dig for clams. The campers with their ATV’s were camped on the beach and by the looks of the campsites some of them had been there for awhile.

We parked the truck and went for a walk on the beach as I had to put my toe into Cooks Inlet before we left.

It was cold.

The huge rocks in the picture above are called “Erratics” and they were brought by glaciers from the volcanoes across the inlet 10,000 years ago. There are a number of these rocks littering the beach.

We left Clam Beach Road and headed for Soldotna with a stop at the information centre for the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. We then took drives along Ski Hill Road and Funny River road. Mainly just to see where they went.

It was supper time so we headed to Swiftwater Park to settle in for the night. The park is right on the Kenai River and our view from the camper was quite awesome.

There were a number of fishermen on the banks of the river as the first run of silvers ( salmon ) has just started. After supper we took a walk and I learned from one of the fishermen that there are about 5000 fish a day coming up the river. However the later run at the end of July is a lot bigger and there could be as many as 150,000 fish a day. He said it gets a little crazy and the fisherman are shoulder to shoulder lining the banks. As well as crazy it also gets a little dangerous and sometimes there is the odd fistfight.

The mosquitoes started to get bad so we headed home and called it a night.

Animal Count for the Day

Moose 3
Bald Eagles 4