The Eagles Have Landed

It has been some time since I posted.  Things have settled down since we are not traveling into new areas every day.  We have kept busy doing odds & ends around camp and the trailer.  Last Sunday we drove to Sterling and had supper with our friends that also drove from Wsconsin getting here June 18th.  There were two ther couples that are "locals" that joined us. We had a great meal and nice visit.  We will be going back there this Saturday for a neighborhood 4th of July celebration.  We have also checked out several vacant lots and some homes, but nothing has really caught our eye, but there is a possibility by Ninilchik.  The salmon have not started running yet, so we are waiting for that.  Ken is scheduled to go out on a halibut charter Thursday with 5 other campers from the park:)   The park has been pretty full for the last week with people from all over such as; Illinois, Ohio, New Hampshire, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, England, Australia and yes even another couple from Lodi.

This morning I took the dogs to the Ninilchik beach (Our favorite dog walking place) and Spirit had fun chasing up eagles and seagulls.  Before I let the dogs out I took a photo of these guys eating fish cleaning scraps.   This afternoon I cleaned the inside and outside of the truck now I hate to drive it:)



Eagles and Seagulls on Ninilchik Beach




Inmature Eagle on Ninilchik Beach



Zzzzzzzzzz

All work and no play makes Ken, Spirit & Casper very tired.  Used the weed eater around the Scenic View RV Park this morning and then pushed mowed 1/2 the sites before being taken for pizza lunch by Bob.  After lunch I finished mowing the sites and then Justin took over and mowed the center areas and remote campsite.   I tried to watch the news, but was overcome with tiredness, a good nap was had by all.  Thanks Rosie for taking our picture.

Spirit & Ken taking a nap



Casper



Somewhere Over A Rainbow




Note second rainbow to right of prominent rainbow

  Second rainbow of the trip, this one is over Cook Inlet - looking west 9:15 a.m. local time.

Fish On!!!!!

First fish of the trip....Canned red (sockeye) salmon. 

The Deep Creek Fish Processing Plant will process your fish however you want. Fresh, smoked, kippered, whole, chunked, canned, smoked canned, froze, whatever - just tell them what you want.

More Pictures

Pictures Across Cook Inlet

Sunday June 17, 2012 (Father's Day)

Cleaned our house today and did some re-arranging, then went for a ride south towards Anchor Point.  Looked at a small house east of the Sterling Hwy. that is for sale and listed on Craig's List.  Then saw another house for sale and stopped and had a nice visit with the lady selling it, she lives in this 320 sq ft house that she built herself with her 10 year old daughter, it has no running water and outside privy without a door.  It does have electric and phone.  There were several fresh sets of moose tracks in the driveway. She was very interesting to talk to and we could have spent the entire afternoon there visiting with her.

We also stopped at the Ninilchik beach and ran the dogs and saw several eagles.  While in Ninilchik we stopped at the American Legion who was hosting the traveling Vietnam War Memorial.  We walked along the wall and both got emotional, what a tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

Once back at camp we ate supper and sat by the campground fire and visited and then viewed some video another camper is shooting of Alaska.

It is 11:00pm and the sun has not yet set.

Ninilchik Beach



Ninilchik American Legion - Vietnam War Memorial



Ninilchik American Legion - Vietnam War Memorial

Ninilchik American Legion - Vietnam War Memorial



Ninilchik American Legion - MIA Soldiers Tribute



Storm across Cook Inlet

Storm moving across Cook Inlet about 10:00pm last night.

Saturday June 16, 2012

Yesterday morning we packed up from Sterling and headed towards Nininlchik stopping first at Fred Meyers in Soldotna for groceries and fuel.  Fred Meyers is a big "Wal-Mart" type store that has anything you could ever want including fuel.  They aslo let travlers stay in their parking lot (3 nights max) and even have a dump station.  Prices were more moderate, but we still managed to spend a lot, but did stock up on some things.

We found Scenic View RV Park and were greeted by our hosts Brenda & Bob, they are a great couple from Washington that love running this small park during the summer.  They are very accomodating and hepful.  We got un-hooked only to realize the trailer wasn't as level as we hoped, so hooked up again to make adjustments, now it's perfect.....  I will attach a link to their site which has a place to click to see a live webcam of the park, if/when you check it you may be able to spot us.  http://www.scenicviewrv.com/index.html  So, we are scheduled to be here until August 1st and will use this as our basecamp for our travels around the Kenai.






Our Spot At Scenic View RV Park - Ninilchik




Mount Redoubt (Volcano) Across Cook Inlet 



View from our picture window (It's 42 miles Across The Inlet)

Thursday June 14, 2012

Had a nice visit with Rich & Kay from Sterling today.  Then stopped and had an ice cream cone before heading east of Sterling to Drive Skilak Road, an 18 mile drive that loops south off of the Sterling Hwy.  First stop was Bottenintnin Lake (Your guess on pronunciation is as good as mine) to let the dogs have a break and swim.  After our stop we continued east checking out campgrounds and turn-offs.  Near one campground we got to see a black bear in the road, but it was to quick for a picture.  Then when we were about 3 miles from hooking back up with the Sterling Hwy. we came across 2 more bears on the road, they were more cooperative wit having their pictures taken.  We also saw a porcupine on the road, but didn't stop to take pictures.



We sent Spirit out to retrieve a stick, but he brought up a lilly pad. Bottenintnin Lake



Spirit & Casper swimming in Bottenintnin Lake



Bottenintnin Lake




Casper




Spirit




Black Bears on Skilak Road - Sterling

 Tomorrow we pack up from our RV spot near Sterling and head to Ninilchik for our next stay.

Monday June 11, 2012

Kenai Lake along the Seward Hwy

Moose Cow W/Two Calves - Sterling

Moose Cow & Calf at Real Alaskan Cabins & RV Park - Sterling

We packed up from Stoney Creek Campground at Seward this morning and drove further west onto the Kenai and are spending 4 nights at Real Alaskan Cabins & RV Park on the east side of Sterling.  It is a smaller private park that looks inviting with tree'd sites and a nice bath & laundry facility.  Just after registering a cow and calf moose passed through the park 30 yds from us.  After getting set up and eating some lunch we took a drive to Soldotna and fueled up at Fred Meyers (The pump shut off at $150 and I wasn't quite full - OUCH!)  $4.74 a gallon.  We then drove around a bit and stopped for supper at Susie's.  Then drove around a bit more looking for an exercise area for us and the dogs.  We ended up on a gravel road a ways out of town.  While driving around we saw several cow and calf moose.  We also topped off our LP cylinders @ 3.89 a gallon.  While driving to Soldotna we had great views of the volcaneos, I think the closest one is Iliama.

We hope to spend the next 3 days  checking out some of the areas around Sterling we have not scouted before, one place is Funny River Road and a campground we checked out the spring of 2007 north of Sterling.

We seem to be getting in a routine for hooking and un-hooking and then getting everything arranged in the trailer before and after set-up.  Temps today hit 60, lows have been in the 40's.

06-08-2012

Resurrection Bay - Seward

Resurrection Bay - Seward

"Sweet Mary"

I fixed our electrical problem, the GFCI outlet in the bathroom had shorted out and needed to be replaced.  I'm proud of myself for finding and fixing the problem:)  We then went to Seward and checked out a fishing spot, looked up Jerry Stroebel's boat, checked out a fabric store, a gifts store, had an ice cream and drove in as far as we could to Exit Glacier.  Saw some type of seals in the Bay, but not sure what kind. Came back to camp and made Chili Cheese brats on the grill with mac & cheese.  Most of the day was clear and nice, but now has clouded over and starting to sprinkle.

Land of the midnight sun

10:00pm 06-07-2012 Near Seward Alaska

This is what I'm talking about

Spent Monday, Tuesday and until 2:00pm Wenesday in Anchorage at TrailerCraft having both axles replaced, bearings packed and a new tire installed.  This was the result of a bent front axle, that I'm pretty sure was that way when we bought the trailer.  The original axles were 84" which I was told is an uncommon size.  TrailerCraft had 85" in stock, but they would have to replace both, so that's what we did.  Now we should be all set for the summer and our trip home in the fall. 

While in Anchorage we visited all the places we wanted and drove south on the Seward Highway along the Turnagain Arm Tuesday night to view the bore tide.  It wasn't the show we anticipated, but still a sight to see that much water moving so fast.  (The picture shows the tide as it moved from right to left) There were a couple of surfers ready to catch a wave that didn't materialize along with 100's of people in cars parked everywhere to watch.  Traffic was backed up for miles southbound, luckily we parked facing north and could get back on the road easily.  I also stopped at Sportsmans Warehouse and got loaded for bear (literally) with the purchase of some 00 buckshot and slugs, I also got a canister of pepper spray that Rosalie can easily carry.  During our travels in Anchorage we found a couple of nice secluded spots to exercise the dogs and saw numerous moose right in town.  People drive past them like we do cows, even though they are feet from the roadway.  One day we ate lunch at Qdoba, they have three of them in town.  Diesel fuel is around 4.35 a gallon, so a bit more expensive than the lower 48.

Yesterday we pulled out of Anchorage  in the rain heading south on the Seward Hwy, one of my favorite drives, the scenery is spectactular and the roads are good.  There was plenty of evidence of the record snows still around as there were several feet of snow in the spruce/pines in the passes even at lower elevations.  We pulled into Stoney Creek RV Park about 6 miles northwest of Seward around 4:30pm.  It is a bigger RV park, but well maintained and well cared for.  We paid for 5 nights, but may stay more, since it is such a nice park, I would guess there were 25 campers total last night , many of them Great Alaskan Holiday RVer's.  There is a nice "Stoney Creek" not to far from the camper where we can walk the dogs and dream about finding gold.  I wish I had bought a gold pan at Sportsmans Warehouse as I just know there is "Gold in dem dare hills".

Today our plan is to do laundry, take showers and do some housekeeping around our house (Trailer) and then maybe do some scouting around the area.  We are still fighting an electrical problem with three outlets, I got the number of a local guy I may call to see if he will check it out.

Bore tide along Turnagain Arm

Our campsite at Stoney Creek RV Park - Seward

06-04-2012

Dropped the trailer off at TrailerCraft in Anchorage by 7:05am, then had breakfast at Gwennies.  After breakfast we checked out several RV parks in Anchorage and found a couple that are much nicer than the others.  We then took the dogs for a walk along the Earthquake park trail before meeting Allan Skinner and his friend Mary for lunch at China Town, a favorite of Allans.   Then drove around town a bit before getting back to TrailerCraft only to find out they didn't get time to look at our trailer today, but promised tomorrow.  So, we are camped in their parking lot tonight which has poor scenery, a busy hwy and is near the end of the runway.  See Pic:)

Oh well, at least the lot is free and they are providing the power.....

Stay tuned.....

Good Morning from the Great Land.  Had a few sprinkles overnight and woke to heavy overcast skies.  Temperatures are in the 50's with no wind.  Being Sunday, we read the pastors sermon which he sends us every week and are relaxing and doings odds/ends around camp.

Palmer Hay Flats - Wildlife Area

Mountain View Campground - Palmer

Rosalie, Casper & Spirit at Palmer Hay Flats

We are going to stay one more night at Mountain View Campground at Palmer before leaving early (5:30am) tomorrow morning for Anchorage and the trailer repair place to have the axles/tires looked at.  We will then sight see around Anchorage until 12:30pm when we are going to meet with our Friend Allan Skinner for lunch.  Hopefully the trailer will be done by early afternoon and we will then begin our trip further south onto the Kenai.  We are thinking of staying a day/two in Seward.

Palmer III Pictures

Hatcher Pass

Bald Eagle

Palmer II Pictures



Hatcher Pass



Hatcher Pass

Hatcher Pass