July 20-24 Moving on to Valdez

July 20 Update - Gary went fishing while I was writing the previous blog. I decided to take the girls for a walk and we went to see how he was doing.  When I arrived this is what I saw.



Our truck had been redecorated.

We looked on the windshield and didn't find a note. Then we started asking people around if they saw anything.  Somewhat discouraged we went to get in the truck and Gary found a note on the driver's door.  He called the number and the man was very nice. He called his insurance agent (State Farm) who then called us so we're all set to get it fixed when we get home.  Thank goodness he didn't hit it in an area that would have impeded our travel.

That night Gary went fishing again and caught about 20 salmon and got 7 up to the shore.  He had a great time.  He gave one fish away and released the rest.  We have no more room in our freezer.

July 21 - This morning we got up and took the girls to the groomer at 8:00 am. From standing in the river and flipping the line I somehow did something to my right hip. I could barely walk.  I decided I couldn't go any farther without seeing a chiropractor.  Luckily we found one who could see me in half an hour so we waited.  An hour later I had had an adjustment and we were again on our way.  I could at least walk but I was pretty sore.  (July 24 - I'm still sore but now I can walk and lean over and except for muscle soreness I'm almost back to normal.) 

We picked up the girls and by noon we were on our way to Valdez. 



My beautiful girls. Gracie already lost her kerchief.

Jane and Roger had left the day before and made the drive in one day.  



Along the way, near Girdwood, we stopped at a Wildlife Refuge where they keep animals who have been orphaned or otherwise unable to live in the wild by themselves. They rehab them and return them to wild when they are able.

Moose

Musk Ox

They're pretty big when they're up close.



They are trying to reestablish wood bison herds.

By 4:30 we were in Palmer and registered at the Homestead RV where we had stayed before. This is a really nice campground and has two couples from near Monument as camp hosts.

July 22 - We left Palmer headed for Glennallen and then Valdez. This is the Glenn Highway and of course has beautiful scenery but the road was pretty bumpy.

 



Gary said the tire we'd been having trouble with felt funny so we stopped and sure enough it had a slow leak. There's not much for towns between Palmer and Glennallen so every 50 miles or so we had to stop to add air. We made a few phones calls to see if there was a tire store in Glennallen but found there was a filling station who had some. Thank goodness they had a few truck tires. After fixing the tire it still wouldn't hold air so out came the spare which they said was good enough to put on and then we bought another tire for a spare. All this took about 2 1/2 hours. It was now 3:30 and Valdez was still 110 miles away.

We're usually settled by 3:30 or 4:00 so this day was seeming to go on and on. About 50 miles from Valdez the scenery became gorgeous. Some of the mountains were very rugged.



Worthington Glacier - the bottom reaches almost to the parking lot.



Thompson Pass, the snowiest place in Alaska, is just around the corner to the south. In the exceptional winter of 1952-53, the pass got 974 inches -- 81 feet -- of snow from storms blowing off Prince William Sound.





Bridal Veil Falls

We finally arrived at the Bayside Campground where Jane and Roger were camped.  Shortly after we arrived they returned from a drive and we went out to a Mexican restaurant for dinner.  It wasn't The Rio but it was alright. 

July 23 - This morning we slept in, then decided on a drive to look around.  We drove to the sight of  Old Valdez.  Old town Valdez was pretty much wiped out by the 1964 Earthquake that devastated Anchorage and Seward. As a result the town was moved four miles west.

We then drove around the bay.  The tide was out but people were out fishing for pink salmon.  We stopped to see the weir at the fish hatchery. 

The Weir



Fish in the hatchery

These fish were born at this hatchery and are now returning to spawn.  They will strip the eggs from the females and fertilize them.  Then those fish will return next year and the process goes on.  This is one way they assure that the fish population remains stable.

One guy told me that last year a sow and her 3 cubs came most evenings to get fish. 

There is a dam across the road and up in the hills.  This sign would flash red and emit a warning if the dam should be breached.

 Valdez is surrounded by 7 glaciers.  It really is a gorgeous setting but there isn't much to do here besides fish, hike and tour the Prince William Sound.  Yesterday afternoon we went to a local store where they showed videos of  the Alaska pipeline, which begins at Prudhoe Bay and terminates here, and the 1964 Earthquake.

July 24 - Today it is in the 40s and rainy - the first day we've had like this for a long time.

 

From our camper door.

Jane and Roger are on a 9 hour Prince William Sound cruise.  I hope they were able to see all they had hoped.  We're taking the same cruise tomorrow and I think the weather is supposed to be similar.  We're baby sitting their dogs and then they'll return the favor. Gary has been smoking salmon.  It is sooooo good.  After while we're going to drive around the bay to see if the sea lions and seals are close enough to see. 





July 17-20 The Reds are Here

Camping in Soldotna's Centennial Park

Gary is a pro at putting the RV in the smallest of spots.  Small tree branches are touching us on both sides. We've been in Soldotna since last Wednesday.  Tonight (7/20) is our 8th night here.  There is no way to explain what they call "combat" fishing.



Everyone has their own little space and you fish by flipping your line out from the 2 o'clock position to the 10 o'clock position over and over. You're only going out about 15-20 feet.





More fishing and a cleaning table.



Our catch for one day.  Gary got 2, I got 1.



The next day the score was Karen 2, Gary 0, but I think he went out later and got 1 or 2.  If I look a little wet it's because I lost my footing and fell in the river.



I told you about dipnetting in my last blog. Here's what their catches look like.

July 20 - I'm being lazy today. Gary just left to go fishing for a couple hours and then we have to do laundry and grocery shopping. 



Don't know if we'll keep anymore of the reds.  Our freezer is full to overflowing and we've been eating fish at least fifty percent of the time.  We even had to take our icemaker out to make room.  We still have silver salmon fishing to go later in the month and early August.

Tomorrow we take the girls to the groomer at 8:00 a.m. and as soon as they are done we'll start our journey to Valdez.



July 13-16 Waiting for the reds

July 13 - We left Seward this morning and went back to Soldotna.  We stopped to see a campground about 11 miles before Soldotna called Bing's Landing.  Jane and Roger decided they wanted to stay there.  We decided to go on to Centennial Campground in Soldotna.  Good thing we came when we did because the red salmon are expected any time and there were no campspots we could get into.  We were going to camp in their overflow campground when a guy came along and said he found a spot he liked better than where he was and was moving.  The spot he had was perfect for us so we got settled in.  It's about 1-2 blocks to the campground's Kenai River access. 

July 14 - We just snooped around the area to see what was going on.  Got my nails done. Not much else.

July 15 - We all decided to go to Clam Gulch clamming.  We had no luck at all.  The few, and I mean few, clams we got were very small.  From what we hear we should have driven the extra 20 miles to Ninilchik where we had clammed before.  Guess they had great luck there.  We stopped for lunch on our way back and it was very good but after we ordered it took forever to get our food.  There went another day.

July 16 - Now comes the craziest thing we've ever seen.  Alaska natives can dipnet salmon as part of the state's subsistance program.  Head of household can take 25 salmon and then they can have 10 per person in the household - babies and all.   It's amazing.

This is the Kenai River where it comes in from the ocean.  You should enlarge this photo and take a good look.  The banks are lined on both sides with hundreds of people dipnetting with very large nets. They are camped all up and down the beach.  Anyone who is not a state resident cannot have anything to do with this process.  You can't even ride in the boat with someone who is dipnetting.

The red salmon can be spotted in a huge group in the ocean.  Heard a report today that the run is 3 miles wide and 9 miles long.  When they come up river, where they will spawn and then die, you can catch gillions (limit is 3 per day).  The talk is all, when will the salmon be here. Supposedly they will be at our location tonight or tomorrow morning.  And the way you fish for them is funny too.  You just flip out about 12 feet of line and just keep flipping it over and over until you catch one.  They don't bite but their mouths are open as they go upriver and when you feel a bump on your line you set the hook.  Never fished like this before except the couple days we were fishing for King Salmon.  This is really going to be an experience.

July 10-12 Seward

July 10 - Today we left Homer and drove to Seward.  As usual the scenery is fabulous.  We arrived in Seward to camp at the city's campground on the waterfront.  They have 400 campsites, some of which are for tents. We're really pleased with our location overlooking Resurrection Bay.  When we arrived there was a cruise ship in the harbor that left early evening.

The structure in front of the ship is for loading coal onto
container ships. The coal is mined near Healy.

The campground was full but we got an end spot and since the ground is tiered we don't even see the camper behind us. (We're on the upper tier.)



Mount Marathon

Every year on the 4th of July Seward goes from 3500 inhabitants to 35,000 inhabitants. Most are there to watch runners compete in a near vertical race up and down the mountain for the fastest time.  Look carefully and you can see the trail up the mountain.  The current fastest time is somewhere around 48 minutes.

Just across the Bay - stunning!


A closer look.

The end of the day -- must have been a hard one!

Gracie

Lexie

Gary - in case you couldn't guess.

July 11 - Today was for getting out and looking around the town.  It's really kind of quaint place.  They have quite a few murals.

Main Street Seward

One of my favorites

Exit Glacier -- so called because when the first person traversed the Harding Ice Field (700 sq miles within the Kenai National Park) this is where they exited.



Resurrection Bay. This path went for
a long way along the Bay and was on the edge of our campground.

July 12 - Today was a really fun day. We took a 7.5 hour tour of the Kenai Fjiords.  When we woke up it was sprinkling but it soon became partly sunny and was a beautiful day. We left at 10:00 am and got back at 5:30. There were about 150 people on the boat. 

We were just taking off when I realized the camera memory card was still in my computer - in the camper.  Panic!!!!  The Ranger who was onboard announced that we desperately needed a memory card.  Three people immediately came forward and offered a card.  We purchased one from one guy.  The day was saved!!



Our Captain Nicole

 


Leaving the Harbor





 

 We hadn't been gone very long when we ran into a pod of Orcas - killer whales. It was so difficult to get a picture because by the time you snapped the camera they were under water again. They were accompanied by Dall porpoises which look very much like the Orcas in color.

They swarmed the boat. Really cute but impossible to get a picture of them.  Then we saw a humpback whale a little way off. Wonderful!

When rounding this beautiful point the water was a little choppy. A few people got pretty green.

Holger Glacier has a face of 400-600 feet.  When it calved the roar was like thunder.

Compare this large tour boat with one of the indentations at water level.



Following our view of the glacier we stayed in calm water and were served a very delicious all-you-can-eat salmon/prime rib lunch with rice pilaf, salad and a soft drink.

Ice like this (well maybe smaller pieces) made for delicious glaciericious margueritas.

Bear Glacier

Pilot Rock has a weather station and web cam on top.  They suggested
we check out the weather here in February.

Throughout WWII barracks, gun placements and searchlight stations like this one and the following one were built atop headlands and on remote rocky islands in Resurrection Bay.

Before too long we could see the water spouts of several humpback whales.  Several times they leaped partially out of the water but it was almost impossible to be quick enough with the camera.  However, I did get shots of a couple good splashes.  They said it was quite rare for so many be to at the entry to the Bay.

See the fin?





Sea Lions



Dall Sheep

Puffin - They are much smaller than I imagined.
They basically propel through the water with their wings
and steer with their feet.

 

The Park Ranger who gave us lots of information and was great at pointing out all of the creatures.

As we began our return to  the harbor the crew announced all-you-can-eat dessert
-- cheese cake, carrot cake, brownies, jello, fruit.

What a great day to see all the wildlife, glaciers and beautiful scenery.

Thanks to Jane and Roger for minding our girls so we could enjoy this special day!