June 19 Portage Glacier Alaska Again!

We woke up today to say goodbye to Dennis and Diane's family and went down to walk with D&D on Homer Spit.  Very touristy with charter fishing boats and little restaurants and souvenir type shops.  The highlight though was the world famous Salty Dog Saloon.  I've seen sweat shirts all over Alaska and in the lower 48 states that say Salty Dog Saloon and this was my chance to see it. It's a small bar with a pool room and that's it.  The thing that makes it different is that it's walls are plastered with at least 5,000 dollar bills all with autographs of every Tom, Dick and Harry who've frequented the place.  Also panties, bras and other assorted undergarments decorate the walls and rafters.  A great way to end our trip to Homer.

We said our sad goodbyes to D&D and began what is really our way back to Nevada. As this was our furthest distance from home.  We traveled back on the Sterling and Seward highways to the same campground we stayed at 6 days ago.
That's all folks

June 18 Homer Alaska

After a nice dinner last nite with Diane and Dennis and their daughters family we talked till 11pm (yes still very light out). We got up early today to take the boat to Soldovia which is on the western side of the water where there are no roads. It was a quaint little town with a beautiful small Russian church and without a whole lot to do except eat and sit, my two favorite pastimes. As the boat left Homer Spit (love that name) we passed the Holland America ship Amsterdam. The last time we saw that ship was in Cadiz Spain in the middle of April. It just struck me weird that here it was in Homer Alaska.

We got back to Homer Spit at 5 pm and had a nice italian dinner at Fat Olives (a strange name for a restaurant) but really quite good. Back at the camp ground we lit an Alaska fire (more like the great Chicago fire) and talked till 10pm. Then it was off to sleepy time.
That's all folks.

June 17 Homer Alaska 40TH ANNIVERSARY & VAL'S BIRTHDAY

Obviously you who are following my blog realize I didn't write anything about yesterday. I fell asleep so here is June 16th. We visited an old Russian church and talked to the old Russian priest. He was very verbose and we learned a lot. After that we drove to the Kenai cultural center and saw some Kenian artifacts and a video on the life cycles of the moose. I know you're saying "boring" but I've gotten a real interest in the wildlife of Alaska. They have a Challenger learning center here. We thought that that would be interesting to see but there was no one there and it could have been missed on our tour agenda.

We went back to the RV for a nap. In the evening we had dinner with Diane,  Dennis, Brian, Tanya, Abigail and Isaac. The dinner was brisket and delicious. Dennis lit a fire in the fire pit. Alaskans when they make a fire nearly burn the house and forest down. This was a heck of a fire!

June 17 and my lovely bride and I are married 40 years and she deserves a medal. I know you will find this hard to believe but I am not the easiest person to live with! Today we headed to Homer Alaska the Halibut capital of the world. On the way we stopped at the western most road in North America. Big deal! We got to Homer and drove out to see Homer Spit. No no no Homer doesn't actually spit but it's called that because .... Well to be honest I have no idea. We camped in Homer with Diane and Dennis. Boy these poor people are probably pretty sick of Ellen. Nobody can be sick of me it's not possible.
That's all folks.

June 16 Afternoon Kenai Alaska

Out the Bathroom window

Who ever said Kenai ain't got no "Culture"

Ellen discussing Russian Orthodoxy with a new friend

Isaac receiving Birthday presents

Abigail and Sadie, the 2 cutest Alaskans

Left profile shows adorable family resemblance

June 16 Kenai Alaska EARTHQUAKE!

Yes there was an earthquake at 11:06am here in Kenai. I'd like to give you a dramatic report of the rocking and rolling and the horror we felt. Unfortunately we felt nothing and have checked the tsunami reports and nothing! So we are fine and it looks like a 5.2 cannot be felt by the hearty souls we have become.

June 15 Kenai Alaska

It's easier to shop for fish in Safeway



One picture shows why I could not brave the winter here




The Russians have been here before 1867


















Today was a special day as I got up before Ellen for the first time in 30 days.  The reason was simple I sleep in the "loft" of the RV and waking up in Seward on a normal day means its pouring rain and my head is 6 inches from the roof.  It sounds like hammering going on right on top of you.  This really is the first day that started out with horrible weather and it was 43 degrees.  So we headed back north and after 38 miles turned west toward the city of Kenai.

We stopped at the Russian river where today was the first day of fishing on the river and it was packed.  You literally had hundreds of fisherman all in the river, with rain and 45 degree temperature.  I guess there is no accounting for one man's enjoyment.  Me, I'd rather be sitting on the dock with a newspaper in my hand.  I was cold just watching them.  We drove through Soldatna on our way to the city of Kenai.

Now one asks, why Kenai?  Remember back 3 weeks ago us meeting our neighbors (Diane and Dennis)from Mesquite in Great Falls Montana. Well guess where they live.  So we found a nice campground on the water, did our laundry and Dennis came to pick us up.  He showed us the vehicle of choice in the winter(see photo), the oldest Russian Orthodox Church (remember the Russkies were here first) and then took us to their home in Kenai.  A treat was to be in store for us, a home cooked meal in a home which doesnt have wheels.

We met again Tonya and Brian (their daughter and son-in-law) and got to see the highlight of the day, Abigail and Isaac.  Abigail is 10 and tomorrow Isaac turns 8.  These kids are so cute and personable and were a pleasure to be around.  We all sat down to a family dinner that was delicious.  We felt as if we were one of the family.  They invited us down to Homer for the weekend.  Luckily there is no room on their fishing boat so I can avoid handling dead fish and getting a fish hook in my hand. I only have to enjoy their company.  They leant us their car so we can travel around Kenai without the RV.  Boy they are nice people.
Thats all folks

June 14 Seward Alaska

 

Location Location Location Unless Tsunami

Tsunami Tsunami

Portage glacier



Ellen with frozen toes 

Even the fire hydrants need gloves in Alaska

Doing dentistry on a fish. Damn big tongue in the way

Ellen went fishing, I read a book!!

Visiting Seward for Ellen's Folly

Today we visited portage glacier which was cool (no pun intended). Due to the lack of light getting into the ice only the blue spectrum gets thru which is why the ice appears blue.  That sounds like a good reason but who the hell knows.  Ellen went to put her toes in the water(she always does that at any body of water we visit) and learned the physical chemistry lesson of supercooled water.  That is water that can be below 32 degrees.  After cracking her toes off her foot she is learning to walk without using toes :-)
We then headed down the Seward highway to the city of Seward (makes sense). Seward was washed away in the 1964 earthquake tsunami and one can see how that happened.  It is at the bottom of a hill and the water comes right up to your door.  If you look at the photos you can see where our RV was and how close we are to the water.  We stayed right on the water for the night again tempting fate that the gods will delay the inevitable.  We went down to the fishing docks and found some freshly caught salmon and halibut.  I still like fish better on a plate with potatoes and vegetables sitting next to it.  A dead fish still looks like a dead fish. See the photo of my salmon friend having his teeth cleaned.
Thats all folks