Plans Change, Isn't that what this lifestyle is about?

Our plans for Ninilchik was to stay a month to hide out during the peak of the fishing.  Not being avid fishermen puts us as a minority.  We have learned however, we are getting more fish from people that have caught more than they can eat or ship home than if we went fishing ourselves.  On my last post I described the RV park as vintage.  The Scenic View RV park is indeed vintage and essential services are in need of repair.  The longer we stayed the more the short falls were in our faces and our noses.  The sewer never got fixed and unfortunately we were at the end of the line so we were bombarded with unpleasant smells that were not ours.  I understand things break down, but the owner preferred sunbathing over fixing things.  The park was dirty and loud with clammers and fisherman making noise at all hours.  The small area of the place made it impossible to walk the dogs and get some exercise.  Many of the amenities their web site touted were not there.  We were looking forward to walks down to the beach, but the trail is not at the park, but 8 miles south!  Crazy that the owners think it is ok to tout something and not have it.  The park owners acted like they are in need of friends and were really clingy.  Really too weird for me.  It all became too much for us and we got our money back and came back to Cooper Landing at the Princess Lodge.  aHHH, I can breathe and enjoy the turquoise waters of the Kenai River, clean facilities and the hot tub.

Since coming back here, we have done more walking which we both badly need the exercise.  The walk down to the river is still nice, and now we have our trusty Alaska Tennis Rackets that are bug zappers.  Nothing thrills us more than hearing that zzzttt sound as another mosquito bites the dust.  ;-).

The pups are more relaxed here also.  We can avoid the big scary dogs and find alternate routes.  Right now they are sleeping on the chairs.  We will take a little walk to the river in a while and they will be in heaven.  They have little rodents in the woods called Pica's.  They are rolly polly little fat things that can't run too fast.  Our two think they are lots of fun to look for and if they find one, they want to chase it but on leashes, they are limited.  There is a brown bear that has been seen several times at night here in the park.  I think our pups can smell where he has been and they love all the birds flying around.

Today was housecleaning day and we had a lot of rain last night.  It sounded so nice and has cooled things down a bit.  Once in the night we heard the pitter of gentle rain and the pelting of hard rain at the same time.  Very refreshing!

The little tour we took of Ninilchik was short as there is not much there.  We went to the Old Ninilchik Village where we got the hopes up of the owner that she might sell something.  We didn't mean to disappoint, but when you live in your beast, you have to avoid filling it with unnecessary stuff.  After looking at the amber and polished stones made into really nice jewelry pieces, we ventured up the hill to the Old Russian Orthodox Church.  Along the way, dogs ran out protecting their turf.  My oh my, I'm not sure how the dogs make it here as none are on leashes or fenced yards.  Anyway I digress....

We made a stop at the Post Office...

The boats in the Harbor are stranded during low tide.  They lean on to the next boat and at times, lean a bit much.

When the tide comes in, they can go out for their fishing.

Since there wasn't much to do, we headed to The Homer Spit for some FishNChips and some beer at the Salty Dawg.  Overall a fun day!

This is what too many Fish N Chips, Apple Fritters and Beer Looks like!  Whew I need to start my diet!

We saw these Sandhill Cranes on the side of the road in Homer

And a Moose!

The Kenai Peninsula is very pretty but with not a lot to see and do if you don't fish.  We will be heading to Seward for a little over a week on Monday.  Grocery Shopping is a must and a hike to the Exit Glacier is on my list.  May take in the Sea Life Center or do their fund raising 5K fun run/walk.  I feel the need to get out and move!  A little cabin fever may be setting in....

Geology, Fishing Lesson, and the End of the Road (Really)

Homer is a lot of fun with lots of things to do.  The 'city' has Farmer's Markets on Saturdays with real farmers that actually grew the items they are selling.  Today we collected parsley for 'Poor Man's Lobster' and radishes to just snack on.  They look delish!  Salad greens looked good as did the fresh herbs.  On my list for next week since I'll be stocking up for the month long stay in Ninilchik.  It's only 30-40 miles up the highway, but who wants to travel back to where you've been?  I'm guessing we'll make a run or two down here since we do like it here ;).

We took the advice of ML from Lowe's Travels and took the scenic drive into the mountain area around Homer.  Very easy to do, get on the main road and keep going til you reach this sign...

The views were amazing of the icefield across the way.  There were really big nice homes and lots of rustic cabins.  Well worth the drive.

This bay is home to 3,000 sea otters they say.  A flotilla swam by the other day taking turns diving down, grabbing a mussel or clam and swimming on their back enjoying their dinner.  They were too far out for my camera to get a clear shot, but you get the idea...

'Homeriadians' are concerned that the otters are eating all the clams and crabs and think perhaps the population may be too much for the bay.  They don't know how many were here before since no one kept count of the otters trapped for their fur.  It would not surprise me to hear that they try to get rid of the otters in the bay.  Seems the sea animals always lose the battles and Alaska is very prohunter.  It's a little shocking for a city girl at times.  

Have you ever heard of 'mead'?  I hadn't.  It is an alcoholic beverage of fermented honey and fruits or spices.  The Ring of Fire Meadery offers tastings, so off we went.  Very sweet of course, with a honey flavor.  Very good, so of course we bought a bottle.  

Next stop was the Bear Creek Winery.  For a $5.00 fee you can taste up to 6 of their wines.  All are made locally and they had tons of yummy wines.  We bought a few bottles...Peach Apricot, Kiwi Pear, Strawberry Rhubarb, Alaska Port, Black Currant, and Blueberry Mirlo.  Listen to this description "Intricate layers of caramel, chocolate, vanilla, raspberry and deep wine complexities".  Sounds delightful doesn't it?  I do believe we will be making another visit to the Bear Creek Winery....

We took a tour with the Pratt Museum on the spit that offered the history of Homer, some of the landmarks and fishing boats.  It was a bargain at $5.00 for 1.5 hours.  So now a little history...

Homer was previously called Coal Point due to the amount of coal, particularly out on the spit.  There is still coal on the beach.  The early pioneers to the area were gold miners that were disappointed to find only coal.  They needed a post office, which required the town to have a name so they named it after their boss Homer Penneck.  He was kind of a conman and left the area when he realized there was no money to be made.  

The Spit was formed by the receding glacier that formed Kachemak Bay.  The Spit formed from the remains of the pushing deposits as the glacier receded.  All of Alaska glaciers are receding according to our guide. The glaciers we see across the bay have receded 1/4 to 1/2 mile in the past 25-30 years.

A little bit more history about the Salty Dawg.  The small front building was the first building to be built (around 1898) on the Spit.  It was originally at the end of the Spit and was moved to its present location mid century.  The lighthouse attached was built in the early 60's and used to signal when it was open.  While we were waiting for the tour, we noticed a mannequin in the window ala Norman Bates.

After the Salty Dawg, the tour took us down to the marina.  The marina was built in 1964 and then promptly destroyed in 1964 from the Anchorage Earthquake.  It was rebuilt shortly afterward.  The docks themselves must accommodate the extreme tides the Spit experiences.  The sea can rise 28 feet during an extreme tide cycle, with 15 feet minimum tide.  

We saw Seiner's, longliners, a gold dredger destined for Nome, and Gillnetters.  It was interesting see the charter boats offloading and filleting their catch from the day.  There were no really big Halibut caught.  Makes you wonder if you keep catching the little guys, they will never grow to the be 350 pound monsters caught in the past.  I guess you can tell that I prefer to think my Fish & Chips and grilled Salmon jumped into the boat willingly and committed suicide.   

The days catch

Fillet o Fish

Our guide explains the Purse Seiner

GilNetter

Gold Dredger

Pleasure boats and water taxi's

 Mowgli got up real early this morning.  He didn't want us to miss this sunrise....

He and Gidget have a new favorite thing to do and that is beachcombing!  They have a blast running on their long leash and looking for the barnacles that make noises on the rocks.

Guess what time it is?  Yep it is Happy Hour!  Til next time....

Nighty Night Patrick!  

The cool down is here!

I forgot to mention that on our last day in Cooper Landing we were hiking on the path down to the turquoise Kenai River and I mentioned that it was a perfect spot for moose with all the little plants growing like crazy.  No sooner had I said that and I looked out and saw two little skinny legs in the bush.  Right there was a momma moose and her little baby.  They really paid us no mind and the pups didn't see them.  I liked Cooper Landing with the Kenai Lake and Kenai River.

The weather has cooled down considerably and is very comfy with a little jacket and jeans.  The mosquito's are bad, just not as much.  The other morning Gidget growled a little as she was on her spot on the dash.  Eric looked and there was a moose right in the campground.  

Objects are closer than they appear

We have enjoyed our stay in Kasilof.  They town of Soldotna is nearby, an awesome little sandwich spot to get Philly Cheese steak (the best I have ever had!) is across the highway and a fun bakery called the Moose is Loose!

The Fritters are the best! 

We have been out on the lake in the kayak most days.  

Gidget wondering what the lilypads are

Mowgli before he dove in.  He likes birds....

Mowgli was the first to get wet.  I'm not sure what he was thinking, but off he went into the drink.  Good thing they have vests, he is not the most coordinated dog.  We cut the paddling short since it was a little chilly to be wet.  Afterwards, everyone got a bath.  

The flowers in the lake

A common Loon

Arctic Tern

Leech,  eeww

I was surprised and grossed out to find a leech on the kayak.  yuck.  There were kids playing in the water earlier.  No swimming for me!  

On Friday evening we headed to the Solstice festival in Kenai.  Not sure what we expected, but it was a very quick walk around and then out.  Three different groups handing out bibles, jam booths, renaissance costumes and rolls of linoleum for sale.  Weird combination.  A not so bad band was playing and that was drawing the crowd.  The longest day of the year in Alaska is just not the same as in the lower 48.  Sunrise is at 4:30 every day, Sunset at 11:30, but it does not get dark.  There is no supermoon here today, only sunshine!

 

We have seen baby terns, a duck family with 10 ducklings trailing behind, the loons, eagles and of course the moose.  We liked this place with all the wildlife.  Surprisingly, we have pretty much had the campground to ourselves.  We are told that everything is pretty dead until July, then its crazy.

Speaking of crazy, tomorrow we head to the Homer Spit for two weeks.  The skies are grey and it is a lazy day so far.  Made dog food, made a stew in the slow cooker and we'll venture out on the lake for one last trip around.  Then we'll get everything ready for the very short trip of 60 miles to Homer.  Life is Good!