Jul 4, 2010 - Happy Birthday, America

Happy Birthday, America! and Thank You to all who have worked to defend our nation, whether in the Armed Services or by being support at home! Never take our freedoms for granted, and remember, Freedom is not free, someone has made a sacrifice for you and me. I can't remember if I have celebrated a Fourth of July and been able to see your breath when you talk! The day started sunny and windy, quickly turned to overcast and windy, and ended with misty and light showers. Everyone enjoyed being able to have a leisurely morning. After a late...

Jul 4, 2010 - Ninilchik, AK

Well, the 4th of July Holiday weekend is over, and so is our stay at Scenic View RV Park in Ninilchik. Since arriving here Thursday (7/1) the owners of the park, Bob and Brenda have been great hosts not only to us, but everyone who stays here. Everyone gathers around the campfire at night and shares stories and experiences of their travels. Being a small park, 18 sites, everyone gets to know each other and by the end of our stay we have met many great people and had a great time here. For those of you planning to head out this way, we...

Jul 3, 2010 - Up and At 'em

We were up early....5:15 a.m.....to get Trisha, Brady, and Tanner to the airport for their flight south. The plane left on time, landed in Chicago, had a four-hour layover, and then another flight to Tulsa. They landed on time with no problems. Trisha was planning on driving to their home after landing in Tulsa. The sleeping bags and air mattresses were folded and put away. The extra chairs were folded and put away. I had the front seat in the mh all to myself today! :) The motorhome was QUIET today! We miss all of you, Trisha, Brady, and...

Jul 3, 2010 - Sat. July 3

We covered a lot of ground today. All the travelers met up today at Portage, unhooked vehicles and went through the 2.5 mile tunnel that the vehicles share with the trains. I have this information on previous entries so won't bore you with it again. It was just as amazing the second time as it was the first. In Whittier, we ate at a little quaint restaurant that we had eaten in before. The halibut and shrimp were as good as we remembered from the first time we ate there. From there, we headed to Ninilchik for the Scenic View RV Park where...

Jul 3, 2010 - Halibut Fun

Today I went halibut fishing with some people from the campground. We met at the charter office. Seven people got into a Ford F350 and with boat in tow drove to Deep Creek Beach. Here you climb into the boat and a skidder launches you from the beach. It costs $55 in and out. After an hour boat ride we were fishing in 275 feet of water. Using a 6 lb weight and a herring. It is a job just to check your bait. Becky from Calif. was in the lead with a 38 pounder. Next she catches a 32 pounder. I did not catch a fish for an hour and a half. Empty...

Jul 1, 2010 - Pacific Ring of Fire

If you want to fish the Kenai River $10 will get you to the other side via ferry. We are now camping across from Three volcanos. Mt Redoubt erupted in April 2009 is straight across from our campsite. Mt Iliamna and Mt Douglas volcanos are south of us. We went to Homer Split yesterday. We had lunch at Capt. Patty's. It was real good. The split was a dairy farm until the volcano of 1964. Now its a narrow strip of land with water on both sides. Salmon counts are way down and fishing on some rivers is closed until 7/14. I'm going to try Deep...

Jun 29, 2010 - Ninilchik Ak

We left Coopers Landing headed for Homer Ak. We were able to get a campsite at Scenic View C.G. in Ninilchik Ak. We are right on the waters edge looking at an active volcano. We rode into town and visited a Russian Church and the fishing harbor. The boats were in sitting on the mud. Alaska Fish and Game put a two day stop on salmon fishing. We had a group campfire and owners Bob and Brenda supplied smoked and grilled salmon. Hope to get some better pictures tomorrow.

Aug 13, 2009 - Fishing the Kenai Peninsula

On Tuesday, we headed down the Seward and Sterling Highways to the Kenai Peninsula, traveling with our friends Bob and Carol. Much beautiful scenery along the way - along Turnagain Arm outside Anchorage, Kenai and Russian rivers, several lakes, and the Portage glacier. After picking up small freezers at Lowe's, we headed to the Alaskan Angler campground in Ninilchik. Once we settled in, we arranged for 2 fishing trips - one in the Kasilkov River for silver salmon, and the other a chartered boat for halibut in Cook Inlet. Then we explored...

Aug 3, 2009 - Clamming at Ninilchik

We got a late start driving to Ninilchik as we had a few last minute things to do before packing and moving on. We arrived in Ninilchik around noon where we decided to camp on the beach rather than the river as most of the activities we wanted to do were right on the beach. The campground had a simple layout containing about 20 sites, all back-ins that have you facing the beach which is only about 30 yards from the sites. The CG was virtually empty with the exception of a Native Alaskan named Henry who was very talkative, friendly and...

Jul 20, 2009 - Clamming

We spent several hours watching and learning yesterday to learn how to clam. We were after razor clams. The limit is 60 per person. Fortunately the tides were very low and perfect for clamming. We spent 3 hours, working hard digging many holes to find 19 clams! It is not as easy as it looks or we definitely need more lessons. In Ninilchik Village we located a clam cleaner. Nyaka was a delightful Russian woman in her eighties who held a local record of cleaning 60 clams in 90minues. She stood in a cold lean-to cleaning clams for up to 8...

Jul 19, 2009 - Ninilchik - Sunday

Thursday: During our trip to Homer, we had stopped at an art gallery by the Alaskan artist Norman Lowell. Norman has been in Alaska 52 years painting the scenery. When I went into his gallery it was like "WOW". These painting are magnificent. Many of his painting are of a large size like 6 x 8 feet and best views from 30-50 feet away. He is an outstanding artist and we got to meet him and his wife. They spend the summer at the gallery, and in the winter, they travel Alaska to see the scenery and then he comes back and starts painting what...

Jul 17, 2009 - Ninilchik

Ninilchik is about 4 hours south of Anchorage. The Deep Creek St. Campground is on the edge of the Cook Inlet Bay. The area is know for its’ very low tides and claming. We spent hours walking the beaches and watching the ever flowing tide. We were lucky to meet Larry and Peggy (fellow Escapees RVer’s) who invited us and several other campers to their home in the hills above Ninilchik. They left CA 22 years ago for a different life style in AK. They prepared a delicious halibut dinner and told many exciting stories about life in AK.