Keani Peninsula week one

HAD TO LEAVE THE BIG CITY BEHIND 

TIME TO GO FISHING

The drive along the "Turn Again Arm" on Steward Hwy was great. The weather was a bit better than the day before on the train (I was not ill from motion sickness) so the view was much improved.

  
Spent 3 days in Sterling & Soldotna checking out the scene. 

This sign sort of sums it up 

WOW what a scene. Elbow to Elbow fishermen and women all over the place. This is the Russian River not far from our campground in Sterling.

Carl watched, asked questions, learned and got excited. So off to the sporting goods store to get outfitted and licensed.

Before heading on down the road we checked out a few of the local sites.

In the town of Kenai we stopped at the local visitors center filling up on information and pamphlets

Checked out the historic district with this Orthodox church and had a nice moca latte at Vericona's (a building dating back to 1918 with hand hewn logs).

Above picture is at Boy Scout Park (town of Kenai at the mouth of the river) with it's fantastic views of Cook Inlet and also where I snapped the photo of Carl looking through the telescope - hundreds of dip netters (only Alaskan residents are allowed to dip net) camped out for the season run of salmon). Since Kenai has the only choice of large stores on the peninsula we ordered a small freezer (Lowes and Home Depot sell out in the first day or two of each shipment) to take back our intended stash of fish (checking the prices on shipping frozen fish quickly prompted that decision).

Stopped at the Soldotna visitors center where we saw this record 97lb 4oz King Salmon caught in 1985 (record has yet to be broken)  along with strolling the fish board walk along the river. These towns are busting at the seams with fishermen during July so you can find out everything you ever wanted to know about Kenai river and Cook Inlet fishing.

Had fun checking out this local venue. What a wonderful collection of wood carvings

Wow, these guys are great artists. What a interesting place.  Not only did we get to see some carvers at work, but also enjoyed the shop with unique items for sale.

Was hoping to purchase something but unfortunately everything that caught my eye was WAY out of our price range. Like this cowboy boot bench $1200 (3 1/2 ft wide with boots about 32" high and mountain & bear scene etching - I loved it) or the end table with carved fish legs ($325).

The all wood carved carousel included saddles depicting various native animals. Simply amazing.

 We used one of our 2-4-1 coupons and had an excellent dinner at Acapulco Mexican Cafe. We can now recommend this restaurant. Struck up a friendship with another couple staying at the same campground in Sterling who were enjoying their first experience up here. Carl now has a fishing buddy.

 Down South - End of the Road 

Most Westerly Highway in North America

Headed farther down south to Anchor Point as we had reservations. Nice little park close to the boat launch.

Not a marina as we are used to, instead, the boats are launched directly into the surf by tractors. The launches all go according to the tides.  Really something to see,  check out this video of launch

After visiting Homer (20 miles up the road) and checking out various Halibut charter options Carl decided to take a trip out of Anchor Point.  Found out all the Halibut charters leaving Homer end up coming down here anyway as this is where the fishing grounds are the best. Why take a 2 hour or better boat ride to get close to the fish when they are well under an hour off shore from where we are staying.

Just so happened one of the most experienced fishing charter captains is set up right across the road from the campground. How convenient is that.  

Carl walked across the road to catch his charter boat and rode the boat less than half a mile to the beach for tractor launch. Left our camper around 8:30 am and back at camper by 2:30 after the 5 guys on board each caught their limit. No record sizes but over 25lbs of cleaned halibut. Yummmm! Considering halibut fillets sell for anywhere from $19/24 a pound we are very happy.

We had a view of the launch area from our campsite which was on a bluff over looking Cook Inlet. We could see several campers actually camped on the beach. Discovered they had to drive down the beach on low tide to get to a parking spot. How interesting. 

Did our tour of the end-of-the-road Alaska little town of Homer and World Famous Homer Spit (a narrow finger of land that juts over 4 miles out into Kachemak Bay).  At the Spit there are over 700 charter and commercial boat operators (have been known to go up to 1500 during peak fishing season) 

Carl checked out this one as he had heard about the overnight double limit deal (4 instead of 2 fish). No deal in his opinion. It carries a minimum of 25 maximum 36 fishermen at a time. Too many for his taste, figures all one would be doing is untangling lines. Not worth it. 

This is a picture from the overlook pullout on top of Baycrest Hill as we  are about to enter Homer. You can see Homer Spit sticking out on the left, Kachemak Bay and the Kenai Mountains.  Visited several

 campgrounds (most with a good view of water and mountains) all seemed to be busting at the seems (the whole town and spit were busting at the seems) except this one. We couldn't figure out why it had so many empty sites. Later discovered later they charge $83 a night - no wonder they had so many empty slots

Here are a few scenes from Homer Spit We had a great fresh seafood platter and chowder at Captain Patties (the yellow building) with a great view of the bay.
Walked the street for a bit, peeked in at a couple of the shops, and headed back to the main town.  

This is what we saw as we came onto and left The Spit. Not sure if it is a junk yard, boat grave yard, or just a place where folks are trying to garner interest. No matter what, it caught our eye.

 While in Homer we visited the Pratt Museum of Art, Science and Culture where we were enlightened (and delighted) about the local history and culture while enjoying great displays and many interactive exhibits on the Ring of Fire , tides, Aquarium room (displays of 125 years of Commercial Fishing), Exxon Veldez  effect on community-bay some 20 years later and oh so much more. The Living by the Tides exhibit relating to the ever changing extremes in the waters of Kachemak Bay and the way this has shaped the community was most interesting. Up to 22' high tides are contrasted with minus 5' foot low tides. We actually got to experience some similar changes. A simply amazing place where anthropology, history, art, earth sciences, biology, photo, quilt collections and more all meet together. We have never visited such a all encompassed museum. Well done Pratt. 

As we leave Anchor Point heading back up the Sterling Hwy to Ninilchik where Carl will fish and we will wait for low tide to do some razor clamming I spied this restaurant. Didn't go inside, but discovered there are several such bus businesses. Not an unusual site unless you are from the lower 48.

Family, Alaskan Railroad & Seward

Off to Seward on the train for an overnight and Marine Boat tour.

Thanks again to our faithful guide and friend, Ann. Too bad I didn't take my motion sickness med earlier. The trip, for me, was horrendous but I survived. Seward is situated at the head of Resurrection Bay on the Kenai Peninsula and is one of Alaska's oldest communities. It is known as the "Gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park" and famous for its Resurrection Bay Tours.

We passed some beautiful scenery including

Spencer Lake and the Placer River as well as having  interesting commentary from our conductor. Arrived in Seward in much better shape once we touched land.

Had a nice lunch and short tour of the town. It is definitely a fishing and port town. 

Took in a short movie at the local library which featured interviews from local residents about the 1964 earthquake and how it effected them and changed Seward. This is a recommended stop and worth the $3 admission and 45 minutes. Also picked a few books at their used book sale. 50 cents a paperback and huge selection.

No visit to Seward would be complete without a visit to the famous  Alaska Sea Life Center which not only features marine life and it's history but is also a rescue, rehabilitation, and sanctuary center. Very informative with a hands on area to touch the many small sea creatures.

Nap and relaxation at our Inn which doesn't look like much in the photo but very nice (check out link to see inside), clean and quiet with a great view of Resurrection Bay.

Later we walked the shoreline and harbor area for dinner at "Chinooks"  where we were treated to an upstairs window table with a fantastic view and great food.

Our marine tour was very successful. The weather took a break from wind and rain just long enough for a pleasant 3 hour ride out Resurrection Bay

We were treated to viewings of sea lions, otters, eagles, mountain goats

whales (quite a show for a long time and close to boat), dolphins, puffins, and more.

 Our captain took us close to the edge several times for a close up views.

We had a National Parks Ranger on board providing narration and hands on (like this sea lion pelt) information about seas life and the area. 

The all you can eat prime rib, salmon, full bar, hot drinks ( I just had to have a couple "hot otters" (hot chocolate, Irish creme, Kahlua, peppermint schnapps), then dessert bar to boot, all made for a very happy group. Sorry I didn't think to snap this photo before we started eating so the plate is a little messy. Oh well! Carl struck up a conversation with several guys from the west and talked fishing for much of the trip.

The wind picked up and rain started on our return trip. Again, fantastic views of mountain ranges, islands and the town of Seward. Notice the RV parking, much of the water front is open to camping, some private and some run by the city. Many folks were bundled up sitting around their campfires when we walked the shoreline the evening before.

Time to get back on the train and return to Anchorage, this time I prepared better for the train trip and "NO MOTION SICKNESS" but tired from our day at sea. Pictured here are: dining car which had much larger windows and comfortable seating and Turn Again Arm view. The train also had a dome viewing car which afforded great views, but a little on the chilly side.