Where Have The Days Gone?

Wow, I have  been very derelict in keeping up with this blog, sorry about that!!  We headed south from Fairbanks along the Parks Highway.  The weather was overcast and rain threatened for the next couple of days.  We knew we would not be able see Denali (Mt. McKinley) and didn't really feel the need to take the bus trip back into Denali Park in that kind of weather.  Eleven years ago we had perfect weather and were able to see and photograph the mountain in all her glory.  We decided to stop for lunch in a rest area just outside the entrance, along the river.  We ate our lunch while watching a group set off on a float trip down the river.  We were still able to see the lower, closer snow capped mountains - spectacular!! 

We saw a couple of moose on the trip south - Chuck caught sight of one when it lifted its head with good sized antlers and I spotted the other one as it peeked around a stand of little birch trees.

We checked into Riverside Camper Park in Houston - between Willow and Wasilla where we had camped in 2004. Monday was a lazy day - finally got moving and went into Wasilla for gas and groceries later in the day.  Sadly we didn't bump into Sarah while there.  Darn!!


On Tuesday we headed for one of our favorite spots, Hatcher Pass.  It is an old mining road that goes up through the mountains and comes out over toward Palmer.  We found out that the road over the summit does not open until July 1 so we knew we would not be able to all the way across.  In 2004 we were there later in the summer so went all the way across and picked blueberries up there.  One of our favorite photos from that trip is one that my Dad took of us by Summit Lake.  We started up the road, amazed at all the cabins that have built up that way in the last 10 years.  We got about 10 miles up (its about 50 miles across) and came upon trucks, road graders, and a water truck working on the road.  Ok, I give up, end of that trip!! So we back-tracked back to the highway and headed for Talkeetna - our second destination for the day.  Talkeetna is a funky little town that is kind of off the beaten path but is home to artists and adventure lovers - hikers, climbers, dog sledders, and kayakers.  Lots of the climbing groups for Denali use Talkeetna as their jumping off point.  We walked through town and wandered through the shops. 

Had lunch at the Talkeetna Road House - great food and wonderful ambiance.  After lunch we meandered our way back home and got ready to head further south the next day.  Pasties (salmon!!) and blueberry pie, yum!!!


Wednesday we headed south through Anchorage to the Kenai Peninsula . . . ahhhhh!! Gas and a few things from Fred Meyers in Anchorage and we head south along the Turningan Arm - mountains on the left and water and snow-capped mountains across the water on the right.  We are heading toward the Russian River/Kenai River where the first run of Red (Sockeye) Salmon is about to begin.  There is a huge parking lot along the Kenai River and near its confluence with the Russian River.  They run a ferry there to take fishermen (no vehicles) across the river.  We parked there on Wednesday night and Chuck did some scouting, visiting, and got the lay of the land.  You can park there for $15 for 24 hours (1/2 that if you are an "old fart").  He decided we would need power to plug in the freezer if he was going to start fishing so he scouted out a campground back about 3 miles and made a reservation for four nights there.  We moved on Thursday and he headed out to fish.  It wasn't too busy and crazy on Thursday and even Friday but Friday night they started pouring in - the poor younger folks who are still working M-F!!  The place was jammed over the weekend.  My cousin Mary's oldest son, Matt, lives in Anchorage and he came down on Friday with a friend and they stayed in the same campground.  Chuck had a great time fishing with Matt - Matt let him use his fly rod so one day he caught all three salmon on that - FUN!!

Matt headed back to Anchorage on Sunday and we stayed that night and headed further south on Monday.  I had a great time - sitting outside in the sun and reading, listening to music, stitching, and looking at the mountain - that never gets old!

Through Soldotna, Sterling, Ninilchik, etc. down to Homer, my favorite place in Alaska (and very possibly in the world).  Spectacular views of the mountains, an artsy little fishing village . . . love it here.  Chuck booked a halibut charter on Monday afternoon with a charter that Matt recommended out of Ninilchik. You can only get two halibut per day on a charter - one must be under 29" and the second can be any size.  He came home yesterday with four BIG fillets and four little fillets and the cheeks.  We spent the next couple hours portioning the fish and vacuum sealing it for the freezer.  The freezer (a little 3 cu ft one) is about half full.  They went out at 7:30am and got back about 3pm. Today he booked a second charter for Friday morning out of Homer - they cannot take halibut charters out on Thursday - government regulation!! So, the freezer may get full yet!! He also stopped by the Homer Spit fishing hole today and found out he can fish for king salmon there - soooooooo, I know where he will be tomorrow and Friday evening, and Saturday morning!!!  I'm taking him down to the hole tomorrow and to the boat on Friday so I can have the truck to check out some of the places in town!!

Today we walked the shops along the spit - art galleries, souvenir shops, etc., drove through town, and took a ride out East End Road - it goes about 20 miles east out of town and gives you spectacular views of Kachemak Bay. 

At the very end it becomes private property and goes through a small Russian community - we went until the pavement ended and it became private property.  Need to go back out that way either tonight or tomorrow night closer to sunset when the sun will be behind us and shining on the mountains!!  Of course the sun won't set until after 11:30pm!!

As you have probably heard, there are several fires burning in Alaska.  The biggest one is up by Willow - between where we stayed in Houston and Talkeetna.  There are a lot of dog mushers in that area as the Iditerod starts in Willow.  Their association had an evacuation plan in place and they put it to use when the fire broke out - they evacuated over 500 dogs in about 2 hours!!  There are a couple of smaller fires down here on the Kenai Peninsula - one near Cooper Landing where we stayed while Chuck fished the Russian River.  We are keeping up to date with them in case they close the Highway back to Anchorage.  At this point we plan to head back that direction on Saturday.  I promise to update you after Chuck gets back from fishing on Friday!!