8-3-2013 Don'tcha know it’s a laid back day

After getting back from the Island about 10:30 pm and getting back to the motorhome, we slept in the following morning.  Bob worked on the blog.  

Sharon and Joy headed out to run a few errands and pick up some rhubarb. When we first arrived in Homer they had met a local resident at the look out and were talking about some of the local vegetables that are grown in the area. Sharon expressed her love for rhubarb. The kind lady invited them over to harvest some from her garden. So that’s precisely what they did.

 

The gals decided that we would have some of the salmon we had caught earlier in the week and rhubarb pie for dinner.   Don and Joy’s son Bobby, not only an airline captain but a great cook, prepared the salmon to perfection. The rhubarb pie was really good, too.

We did not get many pictures that day. The pictures that we have included are a continuation from our trip over to Halibut Cove. We have so many great photo shots it has been very difficult to select which ones to use in the blog.

We will depart Homer a few days earlier than we have initially planned for so we can show Bobby more of Alaska. Our next major stop will be Valdez. We will halibut fish in the am tomorrow and have plans to go to a restaurant that evening that will cook our catch. Maybe that’s wishful thinking but this is “the Halibut Capital of the World” and we expect for it to live up to its reputation.

You do not always have control of the cards you are dealt in life so as Kenny Rogers once sang, “You gotta know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em”. Draw upon your life’s experiences to guide you thru the troubled waters.

Thought for the day!
“Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want”

 

 

 

 

 

 

8-2-2013 Homer Bear Creek Winery and Halibut Cove

Today was our day to checkout Homer.  It doesn’t take long to ramble through this quiet small town.  Sharon had made a list of places to check out.  One of those was the Bear Creek Winery.   We did a wine tasting and tasted some good ones.  It was after noon by the way. We bought a few bottles to take home (Christmas is coming!) and enjoyed talking to the staff about the history of the Winery.  They also have a lodge at the winery that overlooks the Kachemak Bay and the Grewingk Glazier.

We then stopped by a local manufacturing facility that specialized in making products out of canvas and fleece materials.  They started making boat covers and expanded their business using their imagination to develop all kinds of products made of canvas.  It goes to show what you can achieve when you apply yourself.

 

 

We had made arrangements to take a short cruise over to a small island, Halibut Cove.  We took a privately owned boat, the Danny J, over to have dinner and explore.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When Bob booked the reservation, he inquired what was available to see while on the island.  They suggested a beautiful overlook with a cottage that resembles a light house.  We arrived about 6, dinner reservations weren’t until 7:30, so we had plenty of time to hike over to the cottage.  Bob had stuffed a bottle of wine into his backpack so we could relax and enjoy the ambiance.  Found the cottage, and it was a beautiful setting.

 

 

 

 

 

We spent an hour enjoying each other’s company and reflecting the many wonderful places we have visited, not only on this journey but other trips that we have taken in our 40 years of marriage. We have been truly blessed.

 

 

 

We were the only ones that strolled over to the cottage.  Didn’t know they missed a beautiful opportunity to observe the best view from the island. 

 

There are a couple of art galleries where local island artists display and sell their handiwork.  Not that we need any more pieces of art, but it is always interesting to see how other people interpret their vision.  One of the artists actually uses octopus ink which is really different.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The community of Halibut Cove is quaint.  Most of the homes and facilities are connected by elevated boardwalks. The tide can rise as much as 23 ft in the spring and early fall.  But at this time of the year the boardwalks are very high above the water.  Guess it is always a good idea to plan ahead.  There is an isthmus that was constructed between the island and the State Park that is adjacent to the island.  It was built to protect the cove from the horrendous storms and tides that develop in the winter months.  If the isthmus was not there the cove would be destroyed. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back in the early 1900’s there was a herring processing plant near the cove that employed over a 1000 people. They would use salt for processing the herring and dump the byproducts back into the bay that eventually destroyed the largest herring spawning grounds in the world. After the herring industry vanished the land was homesteaded by several families.  There is no other way to get to the property other than boat, which means all of the materials to build their homes and businesses came by boat or taken from the facilities that were left behind when the factories closed.  The main building for the restaurant was purchased and floated in place when the tide had risen to 27 feet.  This is a quite an amazing story.

The restaurant, the Saltry, was named to honor the industry that originally established the community.  Our scallop dinner was delicious.  We had the best seats in the house overlooking the cove and observing the eagles and water fowl feeding in the cove.  The restaurant is built right into the hillside.  There was a starfish pond adjacent to the fire place.  It started to rain, but we were kept dry by the roof overhang. Many others had to relocate tables under the roof to keep from getting wet.

 

 

 

We had headed over to the cove on the Danny J. This boat was built in 1942 and used during WWII as an officer’s liberty boat.  It has been restored to its original condition.  We returned to the Spit on the Stormbird, bit larger boat.  It was built in 1953 and served in the Korean War as an enlisted man’s liberty boat.

This experience will be long remembered and one that we will look back on fondly for years to come.

I encourage all of you to explore every opportunity to its fullest potential.  Do not be afraid to open a few locked gates and walk down uncharted paths.  You will have some the most enjoyable memories and experiences that life has to offer.  Don’t forget your bear spray!

8-1-2013 Homer Otters, Eagles, and fishing plans

Early in the day Sharon and Joy watched a raft of otters float on the bay right out in front of our motorhomes!  It was amazing to watch the raft grow in size and these frolicking little guys.  Otters will raft together when there is a school of fish nearby or easy access to clams. We've learned each otter carries his favorite rock under their arm to use to break open the clams.  What fun to watch as they roll around in the water!  They can sure open the clams quickly.

We've seen a few eagles from a distance, but not up close and personal like we would like.  While visiting one of the local shops we heard a lady was given special permission to feed the eagles (something that is very unusual and not encouraged throughout the State).  She would feed them the byproducts from the fish processing facilities.  We understand there were eagles everywhere on the Spit.  The locals didn't like it because of the bird waste left behind when the eagles departed. After she died in April, 2011, her children were granted the permit for another year, but not this year, so the eagles no longer hover over the Spit. We have also heard of a spot up at Deep Creek where they like to frequent at low tide.  So we headed up there to see if we could locate them. We saw a couple but nothing like we expected.  Oh well, we still have some time to explore the area.

The next few days they are predicting rain so we have decided to go out halibut fishing Monday. The girls are going along as well.  Don & Joy’s son, Bobby, will join us for the next few days, too.  With 5 of us, we will have a limit of 10 halibut, two per person per day. We are not sure what we do with all of the halibut. Most likely we will keep some to eat while we are here and the rest we will have processed and shipped to the lower 48.  Put your orders in. The halibut is really abundant here so we should get our limit.  Homer calls itself “the Halibut Capital of the World.”   We‘ll see.

                                                            The end of another day.

7-31-2013 Relocating from Soldatna to Homer

We headed out to Homer around 10am but not before we stopped by the fish processing plant to pick up our catch from a couple of days ago.  We received 18 vacuum packed fillets of salmon. We packed them away in the freezer and headed down the highway.  The skies were blue and the anticipation of viewing Cook Inlet and the Alaskan Mountain Range were in our favor, until we hit a marine layer of fog about 20 miles down the road.  We stopped a couple of times to wait it out but that didn't happen.

Within an hour or so the fog lifted and the skies were back to normal, for us anyway, deep blue with a temperature of about 65 degrees.  In Anchorage, they have broken the standing record of 14 consecutive days of 70-degree temperatures and it looks like they may take it to 17 or 18.  Will have to wait and see. But we can say we were here when it happened, unlike last summer when it was rainy and cold all summer.

We were traveling at an elevation of 300 ASL and knew we would be at sea level by the time we reached Homer. Then it happened.  We rounded a corner and there was a lookout over the Cook Inlet and the Spit where we would be staying for the next 9 days.  The mountains and inlet were a beautiful sight to behold!

After getting settled down at the Heritage RV site on the spit, which is facing the Kachemak Bay we headed out for sightseeing in the surrounding area.  We headed up the hillside to have a better chance of viewing the entire bay, not only the Kachemak Bay but the Spit and Cook Inlet as well.  

To the east across the bay is the huge Grewingk Glacier along with at least 4 other glaciers.  When we were in Seward the Exit Glacier we hiked was to the west.  All of these glaciers are part of the Harding Ice Fields (named for President Harding) running down the peninsula.   As we have traveled around the state we continue to be amazed at the massiveness of the glaciers up here.

After finding the most amazing view of the entire bay we continued exploring on some back country roads and happened upon the Valley of Fireweed.  That’s my name for it.  It is beautiful.  Fireweed is abundant all over the state, but this valley was breath taking.  If our pictures have a lot of it (and they do) you understand why.

Coming down from our fireweed high, we headed to the Spit.  We had heard the place to have a beer was called Salty Dogs.  So we found it and went in to quench our thirst.  It lived up to its reputation.  As you can see by the pictures it is a bit unusual.  I gave it a new logo “ This is where the shit hit the fan and the dollar bills stuck to the walls” approx $35,000 of them anyway. I don’t think they will use my new logo in advertising but I surely think its catchy.

After a few brewskis we headed to the BFC (Boardwalk Fish and Chips) for some of that world famous Halibut this town is known for.   It was delicious. We topped it off with ice cream and headed back to the RVs to regroup for tomorrow.  Haven’t decided what that will be but it will be special whatever it is.

You have to open your eyes and mind to your surroundings to truly enjoy the present moment you are experiencing.  Go on, take it in!  Isn’t it great?

View out our front window!!

Grewingk Glacier

7-30-2013 Cook Inlet

On our last day in Soldotna we decided to do some exploring so we took off to drive along Cook Inlet.  That’s Capt. Cook by the way.  This dude got around.  We have also visited one of his spots in Hawaii.  One of our goals is to travel all of the paved roads in Alaska, so we had to see what was at the end.  When you reach the end of the road at Captain Cook State Recreation Area, you are there.  You can explore further only if you have an off road type vehicle.  I mean off road.  The path heads out into no man’s land.  If you survive the bumpy road and the potential for bear encounters you have accomplished something.  We decided that they ended the road for a reason and would not challenge their decision.  We stopped at the lookout to see what it had to offer.  There was a 60 foot drop off to the beach so we enjoyed the view from our vantage point.

Along the way we stopped at several roadside lakes.  The lakes are so inviting, with the brilliant blue cloudless sky the lakes radiate there beauty.  It is very serene  and peaceful, a place that you could spend the day finding your purpose in life and being thankful for all the blessings that God has provided you.

We spotted a moose basking in the sun and feeding along the side of the road.  There have been 9 moose killed along the highway in July alone in the Kenai area.  They have been clearing an area along side of the road to allow the drivers better visibility to avoid a collision with the animals.  The moose is very unpredictable and skittish so when they get scared you do not have a clue which way the will take off.  We are very vigilant when we travel the roads to be on the lookout for them.  They are not easy to see even though they are as big as a horse.  They blend in so well.

After leaving the inlet we headed down to the mouth of the Kenai River to walk the beach.  You have to pay $20 to park and have access to the beach (this is mainly for fishing).  When we arrived at the pay station we must of have that “deer in the headlights look” about us and the attendant leaned out the window and said “ I suppose that you want to look at the beach?”  Maybe it was the Texas license plate but the long and short he let us in for free.

The beach is littered with fish carcasses from the salmon run.  They recommend that when you clean the fish you are to throw the remains into flowing water.  Well the flowing water ends up at the mouth of the river and consequently on the beach.  The seagulls are having a field day with all of the fish parts that have washed ashore.  We did not see any eagles or bears but they too would be attracted to the area.

On the way home we spotted a caribou in the marshes, feeding on the lush grasses that are so abundant.

There was a farmers market along the side of road so we stopped to buy some of the locally grow vegetables.  Fresh vegetables are hard to come by due to the short growing season here in Alaska. We picked up some radishes, turnips and swisschard.  What a strange combination, but then again look who you’re dealing with.

 It was a fun day and we will have many fond memories of the Kenai and Soldotna area.

When the going gets tough the tough get going! What’s your excuse? Make it happen and enjoy life. It’s not something to be wasted on concerns that we have no control over.