Soldotna, Alaska Days 58-59 June 29-30, 2013

Yesterday was a quiet laid back day. I tried fishing for a while, and didn't catch anything. I came back to the 5er and got Cindy. We went and did a little shopping and then went to some yard sales. Cindy found some quilting things at one of them, and that’s all we bought.

We went and checked out one of the city RV Parks. Neither of us was too impressed. It had no dump station or water that we could see, and all for $25.00 a day starting next week. The only thing I could see was access to the river for fishing. I had already checked with the Edgewater, and they will let us boondock here for $20.00 per day. When we get through with Ninilchik and Homer we will come back here for the salmon fishing. I hope I can catch some then.

Cindy spent the rest of the afternoon working on her quilting. I went back to the Kasilof River to try my luck again. Still didn't catch any more salmon. On the way back I did have a moose cross the main highway right by the RV Park. I tried to get a picture, but it didn't turn out, so sorry there won’t be any pictures with this post.

This morning (Sunday) we went to church. When we got home, Cindy made salmon chowder with some of the small pieces of salmon I had, while I was learning to fillet them. I think that I’m getting better at it, because I don’t seem to have all the small pieces when I fillet them. Hopefully, I can catch some more to fillet to see, if in fact, I am better at it.

This afternoon we are probably just going to  relax, so this is a short post.

Thanks for visiting.

Soldotna, Alaska Day 57, June 28, 2013

This morning I started out the day by going fishing at the Kasilof River. It is located about 13 miles south of Soldotna. I tried fishing for about 2 hours and didn't get anything, so went back to the 5er.

We then went sightseeing. We started out at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. It is located close by to the RV Park. They have many displays including a pair of moose antlers that were locked together resulting in the death of both combatants. There was a sign about them, and I have included the picture that tells about the mystery.

This is where I was fishing.

We went on a nature walk and found a little cabin that belonged to an Alaskan big game guide. There was also a nature walk that led down to a lake by the Visitor Center. The differences in the terrain were quite pronounced. It goes from dense forest to what looks like Arctic tundra. While we were on the walk the mosquitoes were awful. They would swarm you if you stopped to take pictures, and I even had one try to fly in my nose. I guess it’s a good thing I sprayed Cindy and I with mosquito repellent before we went on the walk. The people from here tell us this is the worst year for mosquitoes they can ever remember.

Notice the size of my hand compared to the bear paw mold.

All this is within 1 mile of Soldotna.

We then went to the Homestead Museum, where there are several cabins, and an old school house. There were also several flower beds with different examples of Alaskan flowers. Of course Cindy had to take picture of them.

As we were driving along we noticed this street name. We thought some of the names of streets were interesting.

My fishing line had been tangling, and I decided to get new line put on. While there I asked about fishing. The lady told me they had been catching them on the Kasilof River. I told her I hadn't had any luck there. She said it was because of the tides. When I asked her what she meant, she explained that on high tide the fish came into the River. It takes them about 2 hours to swim the 8 miles to where we fish. She gave me a tide book that said high tide was at about 9: 30 tonight, and I needed to be there at about 9:00 to get ready. 

When I got to the place she recommended, there were about 8 other fishermen. At first nobody was doing anything, but at about 10:00 the other fishermen started to catch fish. I’m sure because I don’t know what I’m doing, I didn't get anything. I finally gave up at about 11:30, but decided to try once more by the bridge by the parking. When I got down to the water, I could see 2 fish just resting in a quiet spot near shore. I decided to see if I could catch them, and after several try’s, I managed to hook one of them. I tried to catch the other one, but got him in the side, and he got away. When I looked some more there was one other fish in the spot, so I tried again. After several casts, I hooked this fish in the mouth, and got him in easily. That was all I could see, so I got two nice salmon.

Thanks for viewing.

Soldotna, Alaska Day 56, June 27, 2013

This morning we went to The Moose Is Loose Bakery. Their sign says the best apple fritters in the universe. I don’t know about that because I haven’t tried them all, but they were very good. Cindy thought some of the cookies were kind of neat being made in the shapes and colors of different fish. They also had a cinnamon bun they called road kill. It was flat, but we didn't choose to try it. They did have samples of some of their buns and doughnuts and being the junk food junkie that I am, I thought they all were tasty. If you are ever in Soldotna, make sure not to miss this place.

These are really thin.

Cindy took a picture off the menu at Sal’s yesterday and thought it was funny, so I included it today.

We spent part of the morning at McDonald's using their wi-fi. Cindy ended up buying some embroidery patterns.

 After McDonald’s, we went back to the quilt store in town to take pictures of the shop and of the quilt we are going to buy the kit for, and a picture of the quilt she bought the kit for yesterday.

This is the one we ordered the kit for.

 

Cindy is working on a quilt like this as a memento of our trip. She is making changes to some of the blocks. It might end up larger than this display.

After lunch we headed toward Kenai but it took a long time to go the 10 miles. Every mile or so there was a sign for a yard sale. Yes they have them on Thursday. We didn't buy much, but had fun looking. I

guess I was trying to make up for all the yard sales I have missed.

We finally got to Kenai and stopped at the Visitor Center. One of the ladies there was a fisherman, and told me about a river about 20 minutes away from Soldotna that is supposed to have salmon running in it. I am going to try it out tomorrow while Cindy stays and works on her quilts.

 

   

There is a quilt shop in Kenai, an of course we had to go see it, and Cindy bought this pattern for the Alaska quilt she has been working on.

More tomorrow, thanks for visiting.

Soldotna, Alaska Day 55, June 26, 2013

Last night I went fishing again. I stayed for about 3 hours and had several hits, Lots of snags, and managed to catch one salmon. There weren't near as many people and it didn't seem like they were catching as many fish. I think the run is about over.

This morning I went to try one more time. I got there early and had nothing for a long time, and no one else seemed to be catching any fish either. I finally hooked one and it turned out to be a really nice fish. I don’t remember if I told about where I've been fishing, but it is where the Russian River goes into the Kenai River. It is necessary to take The Russian River Ferry to the other side of the river. It seems that the fish want to all go up the far bank on their way to spawn.

It has been kind of fun, but I feel bad leaving Cindy alone so much, but she says she likes me getting salmon and it’s alright.

This sign greeted us when we got to Soldotna.

The fishing seems to be getting so much slower, that we decided to go to Soldotna and go into a campground. We didn't take any pictures of the drive to here, but some of the way the terrain looked a lot like the tundra we saw one the way to the Arctic Circle.  Here we are able to get TV and having water and sewer is nice to have. The Campground is the Edgewater RV Resort. It’s nothing special as far as campgrounds go, but is adequate. We plan on spending a little time here and do some sightseeing.

After I got here, I went to talk to a man at the fishing tackle store about where or when the best time or place was to go fishing. He said the only place he had heard about was the Russian River. I told him that the fishing there seemed to be getting scarce. He then told me that in about 2 or 3 days it probably would be over until the next run came in, and everyone expects that to happen on about July 10^th.

He also told me that the first run has about 60,000 fish, while the next run will have 21 or 22 million fish. He said the run would last a lot longer and the fishing in Soldotna will be a lot better than I have seen so far.

We were both hungry by then, and Cindy found a 2 for 1 coupon for a hamburger with all the fries you could eat. It was a place called Sals Klondike Diner. The fries were very good and lots of them. The hamburger was on homemade sourdough bread. It was good and more than we could eat, so we probably have another meal. It is a little blue Kenai coupon book that we got at the Visitor Center.

After lunch, we found the local quilt store. The lady was very nice and her prices were more than reasonable. She had a quilt on the wall that Cindy liked well enough to order a kit. They were out of it, but she promised to have it ready before we left Soldotna. We might have to pick it up on our way back from Homer, but it all is good. Cindy forgot to take a picture of the quilt kit we ordered, but I have included some she did take in the shop.

Cindy a few days ago got some picture of swallow nests on the ticket building at the Russian River ferry, and asked why they were there. The response was that they liked the swallows because they ate mosquitoes. I have included the picture.

Thanks for visiting.

Cooper Landing, Alaska Days 52-54, June 23-25, 2013

Sorry, I didn't have much to report the last couple of days. Sunday we went to the Kenai Princess Lodge to see the views of the Kenai River. We got some good photos from there. It seems they have a really tame ground squirrel that runs around the outdoor deck (and goes inside sometimes, but he got chased out). The staff there have named him Charlie, and told us he had been there for two summers. The lady that chased him outside, also chased him off the deck, but he reappeared at another part of the deck soon after. He seemed to be looking for a handout or spilled food from the guests.

This is Charlie. He seems to go about anywhere he wants.

Monday I went combat fishing, and managed to catch one salmon. In the afternoon it had quieted down a lot, and I had 5 fish strike, but couldn't seem to catch them. So I changed hooks, and soon caught 2 nice salmon. Monday morning there weren't near as many people fishing as there were on Saturday, but there were still a lot of fishermen.

I went fishing again this morning, but didn't even get one strike. From looking around, there didn't seem to be as many fish being caught. I don’t know if the run is slowing down or what, but am going to try again this afternoon.

After I went back to the 5er, Cindy and I went to see the K’Beq Interpretive Site. It is a place hosted by the Kenaitze Indian Tribe. We took about a 20 minute guided walk with a young Kenaitze Indian girl,named Josephine, or Josey for short. She told us story handed down by her people about the plants and animals of the region. In the center of the walk, there are the remains of a house from 600 years ago. She told us how it was built, and they have a display in the Visitor Center showing a cut away model. Central to the home there was a fireplace built with stones and sand and was built up about 2 feet. There was an opening in the roof to let smoke out. When the rocks and sand got hot, they would radiate heat into the home for quite a while. There was a replica of this type home at The Native Heritage Center in Anchorage. This is a free tour, and we found it informative.

This is a quilt Cindy has been working on since we got here, while I've been fishing. She finished it yesterday. 

Cindy got quite a few flower pictures, and some are included in this post. Josey told us that usually when you see Fireweed, it means summer is winding down, but this summer has been unusually warm, so some of it is starting to bloom now. Growing on the lower limbs of the Spruce trees, there is a plant called Old Man’s Beard. The natives would eat it in time of need.

This is the first Fireweed we have seen blooming.

This is Old Man's Beard. Do you see where it gets it's name?

I’ll let you know about this evenings fishing. Thanks for visiting.