On July 8th we returned to Soldotna and spent a good deal of time at the local laundry and showers. With everything fresh and clean we picked up our mail drop at the Post Office then headed to Fred Meyers again.
We topped off both of our propane tanks (took 6.1 gal at $3.69/gal) filled the gas tank and noticed that on the south side parking lot there was a dump station with fresh drinking water!! Far better than the "rusty" water we had in Ninilchik. We had filled twice there and the second time I think it was at the bottom of the "barrel" so to speak after all the holiday travelers passing through. We purged what was left in our drinking tank and refilled with the good clean tasting water.
I had missed the sunday service in Homer so I wanted to be sure to go to the Tuesday evening meeting in Soldotna. We drove to the Kingdom Hall and made supper there. I changed and went to the meeting 7:30 to 9:30 pm. That allowed Bob to go down to the St. Elias Brewery and Pizza House. We had missed that one on our first trip into town (as well as the one in Kassilof). Bob tried the 10 beer sampler that was all that they had at present. Five were quite good. He settled on the XPA for his pint. All the beer they make is sold on site. Growlers can be filled and taken out. Apparently the brew-master is very busy just trying to keep up to what is sold through the restaurant bar. He makes some quality brews.
Meanwhile I enjoyed a nice meeting. The Soldotna and Kenai groups switched days and I missed Jenny and her family from the Kenai group. I had memorized the girls names well this time too! They were so nice. But I found a few faces that I had spoken to last month back at the Anchorage Regional Convention and I knew I was among friends. The reason for the switch was their Circuit Overseer (from NJ) was there this week and he gave a very motivating talk. I also received permission to spend the night in the parking lot. Perfect for a nice quiet night.
The next morning we drove up to Russian River Forest Service Campground and found many openings. The fish run had slowed down considerably. I thought it was "closed" but found a few fishermen here and there. They may have been restricted to 1 fish a day. We did see a nice one being carried down the Russian River Falls trail. When we arrived at the viewing deck (2.3 miles each way) we could see a lot of fish in the backwaters at the bottom of the falls, but not as many as 2 1/2 weeks ago. We did see a female duck with a brood of 6 ducklings swimming up from the lower falls into this backwater. She had made many attempts to go up the fast moving water and slowly was succeeding when they all were washed down stream. At one point a sea gull pulled one out of the water! It later dropped it but that one was so far back from the still advancing mother that we doubted it would ever reach her. She got 1/3 of the way up the falls when she decided to go up the moss/rock face on the far side instead. It was very steep and she had also lost another duckling in the process. But that little one was trying to go "up" the rock face just a bit upstream from the mother. It would have been easier to go around the corner to find it's mother, but kept trying where it was. I must say both separated ducklings were very determined. It was exhausting watching them. After a spell we headed back down the trail to our camper. The rains began in earnest and we could hear them all night. In the morning we slowly made our way back down Sterling Hwy and south down Route 1 to Seward. We stopped for a short hike to Kenai Lake which was beautiful and got our last 2 stamps in Moose's Pass and in Seward. We checked out the USFS campgrounds along the way and would favor #10, Trail River CG. We may stay there on our way north to Anchorage. There were a few others that looked nice too, and one that favored tenting.
In Seward we stopped at the Visitor's Center (for that stamp) and then south to the Resurrection Bay. It was at that bend that the Alaska Sea Life Center is located and we parked there. We had a coupon for 20% off adult fare ($20) which was better than the 10% Senior discount. That Kenai Peninsula Passport book was helpful again.
We spent a couple of hours checking out the exhibits there. My favorites being the water fowl habitat, and a friendly seal that liked to dive and blow bubbles while it ascended in full view of the lower level.
We went out down the street a short ways to the Seward Brewing Co. and had an early supper (lunch was an ice cream!). They had a nice grilled halibut fillet over a bed of spinach, with a creamed cauliflower and a creamed celery pate on the plate. Very tasty. They have been in business for only 2 years and we were told had new owners as well. The restaurant was very nice and the 4 beer sampler was pretty good too. Bob chose another offering, the Glacier Brewery's IPA for his pint tonight. We returned to the Sea Life Center and enjoyed more exhibits.
We intended to spend at least 3 days in Seward and those USFS campgrounds were at least 10 miles north of town so we spent the first night at the Safeway grocery store. There were several other campers there. I went inside to ask permission and was told "there are no signs prohibiting it" by the customer service rep, and that others had done so without any problems, though the store does not promote it. We had a quiet night. It stopped raining half way through the night but then misted on and off during the next day. We walked around the downtown and checked out a few of the murals on the sides of buildings. Seward is the "Mural Capital of Alaska". There were many informative ones and some very artsy ones as well. I liked the Native Alaskan ones and the blue whales.
We discovered there is a city campgrounds with several areas along the bay. Dry camping is only $15/night (one night free with 6 in a row) and we found several sites available along the water. As we were pulling up there was a sea otter floating on it's back just a few yards from shore eating clams. A perfect site! There are some picnic tables and stone fire rings available. We moved our rig into position and will settle here for the next 3 nights.
They have a beautiful Library with a museum in it that we will check out tomorrow.
The next morning we drove up to Russian River Forest Service Campground and found many openings. The fish run had slowed down considerably. I thought it was "closed" but found a few fishermen here and there. They may have been restricted to 1 fish a day. We did see a nice one being carried down the Russian River Falls trail. When we arrived at the viewing deck (2.3 miles each way) we could see a lot of fish in the backwaters at the bottom of the falls, but not as many as 2 1/2 weeks ago. We did see a female duck with a brood of 6 ducklings swimming up from the lower falls into this backwater. She had made many attempts to go up the fast moving water and slowly was succeeding when they all were washed down stream. At one point a sea gull pulled one out of the water! It later dropped it but that one was so far back from the still advancing mother that we doubted it would ever reach her. She got 1/3 of the way up the falls when she decided to go up the moss/rock face on the far side instead. It was very steep and she had also lost another duckling in the process. But that little one was trying to go "up" the rock face just a bit upstream from the mother. It would have been easier to go around the corner to find it's mother, but kept trying where it was. I must say both separated ducklings were very determined. It was exhausting watching them. After a spell we headed back down the trail to our camper. The rains began in earnest and we could hear them all night. In the morning we slowly made our way back down Sterling Hwy and south down Route 1 to Seward. We stopped for a short hike to Kenai Lake which was beautiful and got our last 2 stamps in Moose's Pass and in Seward. We checked out the USFS campgrounds along the way and would favor #10, Trail River CG. We may stay there on our way north to Anchorage. There were a few others that looked nice too, and one that favored tenting.
In Seward we stopped at the Visitor's Center (for that stamp) and then south to the Resurrection Bay. It was at that bend that the Alaska Sea Life Center is located and we parked there. We had a coupon for 20% off adult fare ($20) which was better than the 10% Senior discount. That Kenai Peninsula Passport book was helpful again.
We spent a couple of hours checking out the exhibits there. My favorites being the water fowl habitat, and a friendly seal that liked to dive and blow bubbles while it ascended in full view of the lower level.
We went out down the street a short ways to the Seward Brewing Co. and had an early supper (lunch was an ice cream!). They had a nice grilled halibut fillet over a bed of spinach, with a creamed cauliflower and a creamed celery pate on the plate. Very tasty. They have been in business for only 2 years and we were told had new owners as well. The restaurant was very nice and the 4 beer sampler was pretty good too. Bob chose another offering, the Glacier Brewery's IPA for his pint tonight. We returned to the Sea Life Center and enjoyed more exhibits.
We intended to spend at least 3 days in Seward and those USFS campgrounds were at least 10 miles north of town so we spent the first night at the Safeway grocery store. There were several other campers there. I went inside to ask permission and was told "there are no signs prohibiting it" by the customer service rep, and that others had done so without any problems, though the store does not promote it. We had a quiet night. It stopped raining half way through the night but then misted on and off during the next day. We walked around the downtown and checked out a few of the murals on the sides of buildings. Seward is the "Mural Capital of Alaska". There were many informative ones and some very artsy ones as well. I liked the Native Alaskan ones and the blue whales.
We discovered there is a city campgrounds with several areas along the bay. Dry camping is only $15/night (one night free with 6 in a row) and we found several sites available along the water. As we were pulling up there was a sea otter floating on it's back just a few yards from shore eating clams. A perfect site! There are some picnic tables and stone fire rings available. We moved our rig into position and will settle here for the next 3 nights. 
They have a beautiful Library with a museum in it that we will check out tomorrow.
Nice to read your blog. We are in Corner Brook, Newfoundland heading towards Labrador. I'm having trouble posting my own blog here in Canada. They (Govt.) I think keeps changing by blogspot.com to blogspot.CA This didn't happen last year. Anyways I'll try and keep up to your blog as best as possible.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that you are able to use internet in CA, I shut off my "hotspot" so as to not incur added international costs by my service provider. (AT&T) When we first got our cell phones years ago Canada was included in the USA states rates. I will try to follow your Newfoundland travels. I've always wanted to tour that area. We have next door neighbors in our "camp" by the Seward Ak shore that are from Newfoundland! It was nice to chat with them.
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