Category: Alaska Yukon 2017

We made the decision to head north and not wait for the weather to change. According to the forecast, the weather was improving as we moved away from the Kenai. Our day of travel turned out OK. We had only the occasional sprinkle of rain and even though it was cloudy, we felt we had made the right choice. We had a couple of stops right in Anchorage – Cabela’s to buy Paul a new pair of hiking boots – his have totally disintegrated in the cushioning of the sole and we didn’t like risking them on a trail. We got a great deal on some Merrell boots which we hope will be comfortable for him. We also made a stop in at Costco – last chance for a few of the bulk items we’ve been using plus their diesel fuel is the cheapest around – just a bit challenging since they only take cash or Visa and so we go into the store to buy a cash card that we can use to buy fuel at the pump!

We headed north about 30 minutes to what we would consider a suburb of Anchorage – a small community of Eagle River. We found a nice campsite in a state park and settled in.

Then it was off to town for Joyce to get a haircut as well as pick up a few more groceries and fill our water jugs. The campground once again has questionable drinking water. Although it is labelled “potable”, it is in a large, plastic tank that is filled regularly instead of being on tap. However, the Tesoro brand of fuel has many stations in Alaska which have not only a dump station, but potable drinking water, all for no charge. The Fred Meyer chain of grocery stores also has a free dump, but no water. We enjoyed a nice campfire back at the trailer and made plans for the next few days. Tomorrow will be a trip out the Eagle River Loop Road and then a visit to the nature centre there. Hopefully the weather will cooperate for a hike!

Sunday we drove north from Homer trying to decide where we would stop for the night. We decided our destination would be in the area of Soldotna and the town of Kenai. Just before arriving in Soldotna we made a stop at a woodworking shop beside the highway. It is known as “Three Guys, No Wood”. They make turned bowls, plates, vases, etc. The product they have is beautiful and they also offer woodturning classes. We considered Paul having a 1/2 day class, but he decided that since he doesn’t have a lathe at home to practice what he is shown, it wasn’t the right time for it. Guess it’s an excuse to come back to Alaska again!!

We arrived at the campground we had picked – and got to a REAL campsite. Not a parking lot, nice treed lot and lots of space between sites. It also had a picnic table and fireplace, something we haven’t had for over a week.

We got the trailer unhooked, had a bite of lunch and then headed out for a walk down to the river. At the river, people were lined up at the shore fishing. The river was running fast, and everyone had on chest waders. Really good to see that the kids all had on lifejackets, whether they were fishing or just playing at the water’s edge. Alaska has this program where at public water accesses, they have kids’ lifejackets hanging for people to borrow.

This fishing is different from what they do in the saltwater. It is done with a single hook and you just keep throwing the line in and out, hoping to actually pass the hook through the fish’s mouth because they aren’t hungry anymore so won’t take bait well. There were a few being caught but certainly not in the numbers that we saw in the ocean at Seward.

We headed back to the trailer, put some supper on the barbeque and enjoyed a nice campfire.

Monday we headed out for a drive up through Soldotna and Kenai to Captain Cook State Park. It was a dull day, and we wondered if we might see rain. On our return, we saw another new type of fishing for us – dip-netting. It can only be done by those who actually live in Alaska. They have a huge net (up to 5 or 6 feet in diameter) that they stand on the shore and hold vertically waiting for the fish to get caught as they swim along. It was a real family affair we discovered as the sand beach was full of people who had set up camp everywhere.

Afterwards, we took the opportunity to get the oil changed in the truck which will last us until we get home. We may stick around at this campsite for the next couple of days – there is supposed to be rain moving in for a few days and since the site is so nice, we may wait it out.

After that, it’s Anchorage and north!