RV-Dreams Journal

2019 Alaska Trip - Daily Post Index

Here are links to the individual posts for our 2019 Alaska trip from the day we crossed the Canadian border on April 27. We'll update this index as we go. At the time of this posting, we are updated through August 15.

These links take you to that specific post and then you can go forward or backward a day at a time by clicking on the links at the top of the post above the post title and date.

 

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 1 - April 27 - Entering Canada & Welcomed By A Blizzard, Calgary, Alberta

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 2 - April 28 - Safe & Sound With Friends, Cochrane, Alberta

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 3 - April 29 - Visit With An Old Friend & Resting Up, Cochrane, Alberta

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 4 - April 30 - Beautiful Drive Though Banff National Park & Jasper National Park (Icefields Parkway), Valemount, British Columbia

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 5 - May 1 - Short Trip From Valemount to the Beaver River Recreation Site, McBride, British Columbia, Canada

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 6 - May 2 - Hanging Out At Beaver River Recreation Site, McBride, British Columbia, Canada

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 7 - May 3 - Moving From Beaver River Rec Site to Cobb Lake Rec Site With Lots of Bear Sightings, Vanderhoof, British Columbia, Canada

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 8 - May 4 - Relaxing, Paddling, Bird Watching, and Eating Well At Cobb Lake Rec Site, Vanderhoof, British Columbia, Canada

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 9 - May 5 - Peaceful Morning At Cobb Lake, Then Continuing West With A Stop At Sunset Lake Rec Site, Topley, British Columbia, Canada

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 10 - May 6 - Change of Plans, Short Move To An RV Park, Houston, British Columbia, Canada

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 11 - May 7 - RV Service in Houston, And A Move to Ksan Historical Village, Hazelton, British Columbia, Canada

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 12 - May 8 - Beautiful Day At Ksan Campground Ends With Pork Fest, Hazelton, British Columbia, Canada

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 13 - May 9 - From Hazelton to Terrace, British Columbia, Canada

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 14 - May 10 - From Terrace to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada & Taking the Ferry to Ketchikan, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 15 - May 11 - Getting Logistics Squared Away in Ketchikan, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 16 - May 12 - Morning Boat Tour Then Ferry Ride to Prince of Wales Island, Craig, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 17 - May 13 - Boat Tour, Beach Combing, & Evening Search For Fishing Spots, Craig, Prince of Wales Island, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 18 - May 14 - Island Tour & A Little Fishing, Prince of Wales Island, Craig, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 19 - May 15 - Boys Do A Charter Fishing Trip & Girls Do A Beach Combing Trip By Boat & Then We Moved, Prince of Wales Island, Hollis, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 20 - May 16 - Kayaking & Crabbing, Prince of Wales Island, Hollis, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 21 - May 17 - Ferry Back To Ketchikan & Signal Creek Campground, Ketchikan, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 22 - May 18 - Misty Fjords Boat Tour, Ketchikan, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 23 - May 19 - Fishing Ward Creek & Ferry To Wrangell, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 24 - May 20 - Morning Beach Combing & Afternoon Boat Tour To LeConte Glacier, Wrangell, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 25 - May 21 - More Beach Combing, Fishing, & Ferry To Petersburg, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 26 - May 22 - Laundry & Catch-Up Day, Petersburg, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 27 - May 23 - Morning Rain, Afternoon Beach Combing & Fishing, Petersburg, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 28 - May 24 - Three Lakes Loop Hike & First Moose, Petersburg, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 29 - May 25 - All Day Ferry Ride From Petersburg To Sitka, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 30 - May 26 - Intro To Sitka & Starrigavan Recreation Area, Sitka, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 31 - May 27 - Harbor Mountain, Blue Lake, Beaver Lake Hike, & Beach Combing, Sitka, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 32 - May 28 - Charter Fishing, Sitka, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 33 - May 29 - Library, Totem Park, & First Brown Bear Sighting, Sitka, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 34 - May 30 - Impromptu Fly Fishing, Sitka, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 35 - May 31 - Rainy Day Move & Keto-fying Our RV, Sitka, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 36 - Rainy Daytime Beach Camping, Evening Fishing, & Late Night Ferry Boarding, Sitka, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 37 - Ferry From Sitka To Juneau, Mendenhall Campground, & Wildlife, Juneau, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 38 - Ferry From Juneau To Gustavus & Bartlett Cove, Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 39 - Glacier Bay National Park Boat Tour & Evening Ranger Program, Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 40 - Bartlett Cove & Ferry To Juneau, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 41 - Beach Combing On Douglas Island & More Wildlife, Including Bears, At Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 42 - Anniversary Kayaking To Mendenhall Glacier & Ice Cave Exploring, Juneau, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 43 - Ladies Beach Comb & Guys Hang Around Camp, Juneau, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 44 - Going Solo On Tracy Arm Fjord Tour - Bears, Seals, Whales, & A Major Glacier Calving Event, Juneau, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 45 - Ferry From Juneau To Haines & Getting Our Bearings In Haines, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 46 - Chores & An RV Electrical Problem, Haines, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 47 - Figuring Out RV Repair Options, Then Linda Beach Combs, Haines, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 48 - Fishing Charter In Haines, Haines Highway, & Day Ends With Bears, Yukon Territory, Canada

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 49 - Completing The Haines Highway & First Time On The Alaska Highway As We Made Our Way Back Into Alaska Staying At Deadman Lake Campground

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 50 - Horrible Alaska Roads & Tolsona Wilderness Campground, Glenallen, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 51 - Glenn Highway To Anchorage & Cabela's, Anchorage, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 52 - RV Electrical Verdict & Backtracking, Anchorage to Eureka Summit, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 53 - On To Valdez For A Few Nights, Valdez Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 54 - Prince William Sound Glacier & Wildlife Tour, Valdez, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 55 - Paddling Valdez Glacier Lake, Valdez, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 56 - Valdez To Chitina, Worthington Glacier & Moose Sightings, Chitina, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 57 - Copper River Fish Wheels, Chitina, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 58 - Chitina To McCarthy & Root Glacier Hike, McCarthy, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 59 - Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark, Kennecott, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 60 - Packrafting On Kennicott Glacier Lake & Trip Back To Chitina, Chitina, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 61 - Moving To Copper Center For Some Salmon Fishing, Copper Center, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 62 - Salmon Fishing Success On The Klutina River, Copper Center, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 63 - Town Run, Business Stuff, & Late Night Salmon Fishing, Copper Center, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 64 - More Klutina River Salmon Fishing, Copper Center, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 65 - Chores & More Klutina River Salmon Fishing, Copper Center, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 66 - Another Fishing Charter Bust, But More Salmon & Fun At Salmon Grove Campground, Copper Center, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 67 - Just Fishin' & Hangin' At Salmon Grove Campground, Copper Center, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 68 - Travel Day From Copper Center To Anchorage, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 69 - RV Repairs & Lovely Dinner With Another New Friend, Anchorage, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 70 - Errands In Anchorage Then Travel To Whittier, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 71 - Blackstone Glacier Tour, Whittier, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 72 - Portage Pass Trail, Whittier, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 73 - Travel Day From Whittier To Seward, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 74 - Fishing Charter & Reunion, Seward, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 75 - Shore Fishing & Beachcombing, Seward, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 76 - Morning Fishing & Afternoon At The Alaska Sealife Center, Seward, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 77 - On To Cooper Landing & The Beautiful Kenai River

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 78 - Moose & Soldotna Fishing Scouting From Cooper Landing, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 79 - Back To Anchorage & Preparation To Go To Katmai National Park

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 80 - Travel Day To Brooks Camp, Katmai National Park, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 81 - Amazing Day Of Bears At Brooks Camp, Katmai National Park, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 82 - Another Amazing Day Of Bears At Brooks Camp, Katmai National Park, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 83 - More Bears With A Side Of Wolves At Brooks Camp, Katmai National Park, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 84 - Last Day At Brooks Camp, Katmai National Park, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 85 - Anchorage To Soldotna In The Kenai Peninsula

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 86 - Sockeye Salmon Fishing On The Kenai River, Soldotna, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 87 - More Sockeye Salmon Fishing On The Kenai River, Soldotna, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 88 - Morning Fishing In Soldotna & On To Homer To Catch A Ferry

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 89 - Ferry To Kodiak Island & First Day Exploring, Kodiak, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 90 - Fishing For The Boys & Beachcombing For The Girls, Kodiak Island, Alaska

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 91 - Rainy Day Fishing For The Boys & Chill Day For The Girls Until We Found Out We Were Stranded On Kodiak Island

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 92 - Do Nothing Day On Kodiak Island

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 93 - Successful Fishing Charter On Kodiak Island

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 94 - Birthday Fishing Charter & Planning Our Escape From Kodiak Island

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 95 - Self Evacuation From Kodiak Island & Camping In Homer

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 96 - Hanging In Homer

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 97 - Travel Day To Russian River Campground Near Cooper Landing

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 98 - Fetching Our Jeeps & Fishing The Russian River/Kenai River Confluence

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 99 - Chillin' At Russian River Campground

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 100 - Back To Soldotna For More Fishing

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 101 - More Sockeye Fishing & Evening Visit From Friends

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 102 - A Short Move & The Fish Keep Coming

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 103 - One Last Day Of Fishing In Soldotna

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 104 - Move To Captain Cook State Recreation Area

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 105 - Beachcombing & Takin' It Easy At Captain Cook State Recreation Area

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 106 - Last Day At Captain Cook State Recreation Area

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 107 - Filling The Freezers And Travel Day To Anchorage

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 108 - Esther & Linda Beachcomb in Nome

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 109 - More Nome Beachcombing Then Back To Anchorage

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 110 - Our Last Day In Anchorage & The Last Day As A Foursome

2019 Alaska Trip - Day 111 - Final Farewell & Travel Day To Denali State Park

 

 

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2019 Alaska Trip - Day 111 - Final Farewell & Travel Day To Denali State Park

Linda got up earlier than normal this morning, had her two cups of coffee and ran a couple of errands. 

I started getting things put away for today's move and Esther & Steve were doing the same.

Linda returned and they walked over to say final farewells. With hugs and handshakes and perhaps a moist eye or two, they departed around 10:00 a.m.

We weren't far behind. After dumping tanks and taking on water here at Centennial Campground in Anchorage, we hopped on the Glenn Highway for our 130-mile drive to Denali State Park, not to be confused with Denali National Park.

Along the way, we saw Esther & Steve on the side of the road at an exit, so we called them just to make sure all was okay. It was just a short break and they hitched up their Jeep. They fell in behind us and took this photo of our rig.

 

 

Eventually, we continued north on the George Parks Highway, while they veered east on the Glenn Highway. Linda waved and Esther flashed her motorhome lights as we diverged.

We had 100 miles to go, and it was a fairly easy trip with decent roads. There were a couple of areas of construction, but we had only one short wait.

Eventually, we entered Denali State Park which is cut in half by the Parks Highway. At approximately 325,000 acres it's about 42% of the size of Rhode Island, but that pales in comparison to the 6 million acres of Denali National Park & Preserve.

In my research the last couple of days, I discovered the K’esugi Ken Campground in the park which just opened in 2017. This new state park campground has an RV loop with 32 campsites with electrical hook-ups, one of the few Alaska state park campgrounds with electric. About half of the RV sites are reservable and half are first come, first served.

But it is such a nice campground a good distance off the highway, it fills up quickly, especially on weekends. With it being Thursday, I was hoping to arrive early and snag one of the non-reservable sites, Sites 21 - 37.

The roads are paved and the sites are large gravel sites. There is a self pay kiosk where you can pay with cash or check or use the electronic option and pay with a credit card.

We drove through and found a few sites available. We were confused, however, by the fact that some of the non-reservable sites had "Reserved" signs on them. I'll be checking into that. Still, there were five or six sites to choose from, and we selected Site 31.

 

 

As you can see, the sites are well-spaced.

 

 

 

The sites have nice firepits and picnic tables, and there are a few vault toilets. There is a spigot to take on water near the kiosk where you pay, but there is no dump station. The electrical pedestals have 20, 30, & 50 amps. There is a self-pay wood shed near the dumpsters for firewood.

We went ahead and paid for four nights.

At some point today, I tweaked my back (probably adjusting the placement of our freezer full of fish) and was in a bit of pain. I put some heat on it and took a nap, and it improved enough for me to get out our chairs and our grill, and fetch some firewood. And the clouds had disappeared and it became warm and sunny.

The forecast for Denali National Park about 80 miles north was a hundred percent chance of rain for today and tomorrow with an expected inch each day, so we seem to be just south of the rain. The forecast improves for the first of next week when we have reservations, so we'll stay with that plan.

I grilled some Sockeye, and Linda made a salad for dinner.

Then we went to a ranger program at the interpretive center. Before the program, we had a couple of small world moments.

First, a lady we met this past winter at the Butterfield RV Resort in Benson, Arizona was there. Linda played mahjong with Deb many times, so it was great seeing her. She is traveling Alaska with two other solo women.

We also thought we recognized another couple at the presentation. Yep, they had parked next to us in Chitina way back on June 22, and we had lunch with them in McCarthy the next day. Linda remembered their names, Greg & Kathy. In a group of about ten people, we knew three of them. 

The state and national parks work together, so a national park ranger did tonight's program, a fun diversion on National Parks in the movies. Ranger Jessica started with a little wildlife safety, and then she provided a brief description of a movie which we were to guess.

 

 

Then we were to guess on which public lands scenes from the movies were shot. If we weren't sure, she would hold up photos of movie scenes in the parks as a hint. So, that was a different little interactive program.

Afterward, we chatted with the folks we knew, I picked Jessica's brain about Denali National Park, and I checked out the exhibits in the interpretive center which is just a large pavilion with informational signs.

Back at our campsite, I got a fire going, and Deb came by for a short visit.

 

 

It was a lovely evening until some tiny bugs wouldn't leave us alone. We had some leftover cheesecake, and then retired to the rig for the evening.

I really like this campground, and I'm looking forward to getting out on the trails the next few days. On a clear day, you can see the big mountain - Denali - from here, so we hope that opportunity arises.

Stay tuned.

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2019 Alaska Trip - Day 110 - Our Last Day In Anchorage & The Last Day As A Foursome

We crossed the border into Canada on April 27 and we started our journey through Alaska on May 10 by boarding the Alaska Marine Highway System ferry to explore the Inside Passage. We've been with our traveling companions Steve & Esther that whole time except for two weeks in the middle of June and our recent 4-night trip to Katmai National Park. 

Well, today is the last day we'll be together on this trip. We've had such amazing experiences and we've seen so much, but we're all feeling like it's time to head back. Their RV is smaller and the addition of a chest freezer has shrunken their already tiny space, so they are looking to get back to Ottawa where they can spread out. So, they've decided to leave tomorrow.

And though we have Denali National Park on our list of places to still go, we're not sure that we're going to see anything better than what we've already seen. Plus we had a great visit to Denali back in 2004, so it's not like it's an absolute "must do" for us.

We're both ready to start back as well. But, we want to see some friends north of Fairbanks and spend a few days there, so we're going to continue in that direction. And if the weather is good, we'll go ahead and make our planned stop in Denali.

The plan all along was to leave Fairbanks around September 1, so we will depart somewhere around there, maybe a day or two before the first of the month. But the adventure is far from over. We will take almost a month getting back through Canada.

Today was all about getting prepared for the last part of our amazing trip, and spending our last evening with our dear friends.

Early this morning, Linda spread all her glass from Nome out and took the pictures I posted in yesterday's entry. She spent time with Esther.

And I took the RV to the Anchorage Cummins location to have our generator serviced. We have no idea if the prior owner of our rig ever serviced our Cummins Onan generator, and it has been cutting off after running for a while. It just went over 100 hours, so it was due for service, and I was concerned about the air filter and fuel filter.

So, for $250 the Cummins shop would do an inspection of the generator, replace the air filter, replace the fuel filter, replace the spark plugs, and change the oil. Since we need that generator to help keep our freezer cold and our fish frozen until we get to Florida in two and a half months, I wanted the pros to check it out.

They were quite friendly and professional. It took them about an hour and forty-five minutes, and the generator came through with a clean bill of health. I feel better about it.

Back at the campground, the ladies had made plans for our last evening together, and Linda was going to make a dessert. She also said she needed to do laundry and go to the grocery, but she didn't feel like it today. In a moment of weakness, I offered to take the laundry to a laundromat and grocery shop on the way back. It was a combination of wanting to help out and not wanting to have to do it in the morning before we vacated Alaska's largest city. I found a nice campground for the next few days, and I want to move that way at a reasonable time in the morning.

When I got back, we all sat and chatted a bit before going out to dinner and reminiscing about this summer's epic adventure. 

Returning to the campground, we were going to enjoy Linda's dessert - a cheesecake with an almond/coconut crust and a mixed berry topping.

 

 

Steve took the last photo of us together.

 

 

We didn't get many photos of the four of us, and now I wish we had been more diligent about that. 

It's hard to say how our trip would have been different without them since we did most everything we planned before they signed on, but I know Linda enjoyed herself more having Esther along to share beachcombing and creative cooking. And she liked the fact that Steve and I could just go off and do our own thing, so she could relax more. Of course, we wouldn't be eating Keto style, and we wouldn't have dropped a few pants sizes, if they hadn't joined us.

I fished more with Steve than I would have on my own, and most of my dreams at night are about fishing in one way or another. I tended to make our travel plans and offered suggestions to the group. After some discussion, we came to easy agreements. We're both pretty independent traveling couples, so traveling as a team isn't our normal mode, but I can't think of anyone else that we could pull it off with for so long. We're four pretty strong personalities, and we had our moments of course, but they were all minor in the overall scheme of things.

In the end, we've had incredible experiences together, and we're parting with no qualms about traveling together again in the future. We look forward to the next opportunity.

We called it a night, and we'll say our final "see you laters" in the morning as they head east and we head north. As I end many of our Journal entries, I'll end this one the same, but with dual meanings. Until next time.

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2019 Alaska Trip - Day 109 - More Nome Beachcombing Then Back To Anchorage

Linda and Esther were spending all day in Nome beachcombing before returning to Anchorage on a late flight this evening.

After sleeping in, they went to breakfast and were glad to find that it wasn't raining today.

Friends Leonard & Darlene picked them up, and Leonard deposited the ladies in separate areas and waited for them.

They had another great day on the beach .... a beach that only a true beachcomber could love. It's not photogenic nor does it make you "Oh, I've got to go there!" just from the pictures.

 

 

But Esther and Linda didn't want to leave and are already talking about a return trip someday. They got more sea glass in about eight hours of beachcombing than most people will ever collect in a lifetime. Photos of Linda's collection are posted later in this entry.

Eventually, they went to the airport in Nome and boarded their 6:30 flight. Esther's seatmate took some photos for her.

Leaving the tundra around Nome.

 

 

Then they had a stopover in Kotzebue which sits on a gravel spit in the Kotzebue Sound.

 

 

After that brief stop, they were back in the air again headed to Anchorage. They flew over Denali ....

 

 

and the Alaska Range.

 

 

They arrived safely in Anchorage around 9:30 p.m., and Steve picked them up at the airport.

As promised, here are photos of Linda's two-day haul from Nome.

This is all the beach glass except the brown.

 

 

And here is her big pile of brown glass.

 

 

A closer look at her various shades of green.

 

 

Here are her blues along with some of the rarer colors.

 

 

Here is a chart and list of sea glass colors in order of worldwide rarity (from West Coast Sea Glass):

 

1. Orange
2. Red
3. Yellow
4. Turquoise
5. Pink
6. Teal Green
7. Honey
8. Gray
9. UV Lime
10. Cornflower Blue
11. Lavender
12. Black
13. Cobalt Blue
14. Olive Green
15. Aqua Blue
16. Seafoam Green
17. Emerald Green
18. Brown
19. Frosty White

 

So, an addition to volume and large pieces, Linda got some rare colors as well.

She also found tumbled pottery.

 

 

And here are some of the rocks she couldn't resist.

 

 

She plans to have a heart-shaped rock garden someday.

And this is one of her favorite finds - she thinks it was a bottle stopper.

 

 

This rock with a hole in it is pretty cool. But I need to get a better photo.

 

 

So, there you have it - the girls' version of a fishing charter.  They were quite pleased with the results of their two days in Nome.

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2019 Alaska Trip - Day 108 - Esther & Linda Beachcomb in Nome

Ever since our friend Darlene in Sitka came to our campground back in late May with part of her beachcombing collection from Nome, Linda made sure we could carve out some time in our schedule for her to go to Nome.

Well, that time has come. She and Esther booked flights a few weeks ago, and they were flying out this morning, staying one night, and returning tomorrow. Esther is ticking off various bodies of water, so she signed on partially because this was an opportunity to dip her toe in the Bering Sea.

They packed their little suitcases with boots and rain gear, and Steve took them to the airport this morning.

They arrived in Nome in the pouring rain at the tiny airport. Linda said it was complete chaos, but they managed to get cab to their hotel, the Aurora Inn & Suites. It's supposedly the best hotel in Nome, and the ladies could walk to the beach from there. According to Linda, the outside looks nice, but the inside was nothing like what the website portrays. Apparently, the lobby was under construction and the rooms were decent but way overpriced.

Darlene & Leonard have a place just outside Nome that they visit from time to time from their home in Sitka. It just so happened that they were there now, so they picked the gals up at their hotel and took them to the Polar Cafe for breakfast/lunch.

It was still pouring down when Leonard dropped all the ladies off on the beach. Here are Esther & Linda in their matching rain jackets.

 

 

Linda texted me that she forgot her rain pants. Oops. And one of her new boots filled with water - she wasn't sure if it leaked or it was rainwater running down her leg. At any rate, she got pretty wet.

Later that evening, Linda posted these photos on her Facebook page.

 

 

 

 

Apparently the beach glass was amazing. There were a variety of colors and big chunks of tumbled glass.

After going back to the hotel and getting out of their soaked clothes, they went to the Gold Dust Saloon in the Nome Nugget Inn where they had Happy Hour and dinner.

After dinner, they walked back to the hotel via the beach. It had stopped raining for a little bit.

 

 

And this is what they picked up on the short walk back.

 

 

They were thrilled with their beachcombing and were looking forward to doing it again tomorrow. They don't fly out until 6:30 p.m., so they'll have all day to add to their bags of treasures.

So glad they're having fun.

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2019 Alaska Trip - Day 107 - Filling The Freezers And Travel Day To Anchorage

We had tossed around several options for our next few days of camping. We considered going to Hope on the Turnagain Arm south of Anchorage or to an RV park in Houston on the Little Susitna River north of Anchorage.

But, ultimately, we decided the most practical thing for us was to go ahead and stay in Anchorage. We preferred to have electricity for three nights, so our usual stop at Cabela's wasn't in the mix this time. 

In doing our research, we found that the full hook-up RV parks in Anchorage are pretty expensive, and they don't get the best reviews. We ended up settling on Centennial Campground, a city-run park that has 21 electric sites (plus some dry camping sites), a dump station, and potable water stations. It's a flat $35/night for the electric sites as opposed to the $45 plus at other Anchorage RV parks that tend to have long-term residents. And, though Centennial is close to the Glenn Highway, it looks more like a public campground with wooded sites and decent site spacing rather than the usual gravel parking lots that are pretty common in Alaska.

Now Centennial doesn't get stellar reviews either due to the highway noise, their old bathhouses, and their past problems with vagrants, but security has been beefed up and now there are codes to get in the bathrooms that are changed every week. The noise is still present and the bathrooms are still old, but we can deal with that.

We pulled out of the Discovery Campground at Captain Cook State Recreation Area around 10:30 and made the drive south to Custom Seafoods in Soldotna to pick up three days' worth of fish we left to be processed.

I paid our tab, and took the receipt to the rear bay to pick up our fish. My tickets estimated that I should get back about 58 pounds of fillets. When the three bins of fish came out, I asked if I could weigh them. They told me the weights of the bins, and I put each one on a scale. After subtracting out the bin weight, I had 67 pounds of Sockeye fillets, a whopping 65% of the weight of the whole fish I dropped off, much better than their 55% estimates.

I wheeled the bins out to the rig to put the frozen fillets in our freezer.

 

 

Linda had moved some fish into our RV refrigerator's freezer, and then she filled the chest freezer to the brim.

 

 

The lid barely closed, and we had no more room for any new fish. Any further fishing will be "catch and release" OR we have to eat four fillets to keep one new fish. Esther & Steve are in the same situation.

So, I'm trying to calculate how much fish we've actually retained. These are conservative estimates - it could be higher

• 14 pounds of halibut and King salmon from Prince of Wales Island (plus a Dungeness Crab feast and four more pounds of cooked, shelled crab meat)
•  2 pounds of rockfish from Sitka
• 20 pounds of Copper River Sockeye from the Klutina River in Copper Center
• 15 pounds of rockfish from Seward (currently stored in Anchorage)
• 20 pounds of Kenai River Sockeye from our first stop in Soldotna
• 54 pounds of halibut, rockfish, lingcod, King Salmon, and Silver Salmon from Kodiak Island (shipped to Florida)
• 77 pounds of Kenai River Sockeye from our last stop in Soldotna (67 pounds from the processor and 15 pounds from the first day when we processed it ourselves)

That's 202 pounds of Alaska fish. I figure we've eaten about 20 pounds, and we've shipped about 70 pounds. When we pick up the 15 pounds of rockfish in Anchorage from our friend, Renee, we're going to leave her with a corresponding amount of Sockeye as a thank you for fish storage, handling our mail, and having us over for dinner a couple times. So, we'll still have about 100 pounds of fish with us when we leave Anchorage. 

We turned on the generator to let it run while we drove toward Anchorage. The generator just went over 100 hours, and we don't know if it was ever serviced in the years before we bought the rig last year. So, we're going to get that done while we're in the big city.

After our 190-mile trip, we made it to Centennial Campground. Esther & Steve had already arrived and they picked out campsites for us. We checked in and paid for three nights.

We dumped tanks and took on water and then backed into Site 18.

 

 

 

 

It's a nice campground and they assured us some of their past security issues have been addressed. If not for the highway noise, it would seem like a state park campground in the Lower 48. The bathhouses are old, but they are clean, and there is no extra charge for the showers. New facilities would be nice, but we've seen worse.

There is still a fire ban on here, so we won't be able to have a campfire.

After hanging out, having Happy Hour, and enjoying some appetizers and a dip Esther made, we threw some salmon on the Blackstone for dinner. It's a challenge to figure out how many different ways we can prepare salmon.

After dinner, we retired for the evening. Linda and Esther fly out in the morning. They are meeting our friends, Darlene & Leonard, in Nome for some beachcombing for a couple days while Steve and I hold down the fort.

I hope they have fun and take lots of pictures, 'cause I won't have much to report on this end.

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2019 Alaska Trip - Day 106 - Last Day At Captain Cook State Recreation Area

Not much to tell today. Linda & I slept in until about 10:00 a.m.

Our freezer would get up to about 15 degrees overnight, and then we'd bring it back down to 5 - 7 degrees with the generator. We ran the generator one to two hours at a time two or three times a day.

Esther went beachcombing, but Linda never got that far today.

We both spent the day reading, and I dozed off a couple times. Life is tough.

Tonight, I grilled some salmon and Linda whipped up some Konjac (aka Shirataki) noodles (a calorie-free, gluten-free, no-carb Keto pasta substitute) with a nice sauce. These noodles are made from the Konjac root which is sometimes referred to as White Yam. At any rate, though the texture is slightly different than pasta, it worked well and we'll use these noodles going forward.

After salmon dinner, we sat around the campfire and just enjoyed the peacefulness until the yawns took over and we called it a night.

Tomorrow, we'll pick up our Sockeye from Custom Seafoods in Soldotna, and then we'll make our way to Anchorage for a few nights. Linda and Esther are flying to Nome the next day for an overnight beachcombing excursion, their version of a fishing charter.

Until next time.

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2019 Alaska Trip - Day 105 - Beachcombing & Takin' It Easy At Captain Cook State Recreation Area

It was another gorgeous day with temps in the low 70s and no wind. We still can't believe the weather we've had throughout the last month in the Kenai Peninsula.

Linda walked down the trail to beachcomb around 10:00 a.m., and I spent pretty much all day in my lounger reading.

She eventually returned with more rocks, agates, and a couple pieces of beach glass.

 

 

 

Linda then made us a crustless pizza in her Ninja Foodi. Basically, it's like a casserole made up of the toppings of a supreme pizza. That was a nice break from fish.

After dinner, it was our usual evening around the campfire.

 

 

The evening temperatures were not too hot, not too cold - perfect for a campfire.

We're really enjoying our time at Discovery Campground at Captain Cook State Recreation Area.

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2019 Alaska Trip - Day 104 - Move To Captain Cook State Recreation Area

Today, we left Soldotna and drove about 35 miles up the Kenai Spur road to the end of the pavement. The destination was the Discovery Campground in the Captain Cook State Recreation Area.

It's a no hook-up campground and there is no dump station. There is a pump for water, but I'm not sure I'd rely on it to fill a tank. We filled our fresh water tank and dumped before we left the Klondike RV Park this morning.

It's a first come, first served campground and the fee is $15/night.

The access road, the campground loop, and the sites are all gravel, but sites are spacious. The sites are kind of hit and miss as to how level they are. The campground sits on a bluff overlooking Cook Inlet and the mountains/volcanoes on the other side. But only a few sites have limited views of the water, as the campsites sit back from the edge of the cliffs with a vegetation barrier.

Two of the best sites for views were closed when we arrived as workers were taking down a couple of trees.

So we ended up taking Site 22, with a limited view of the water, but a nice, big private yard with picnic table and firepit.

 

 

 

 

 

Next to us was a trail to the rocky beach below, although paths went in several directions and it wasn't always easy to determine which one to take.

This is the type of camping we like, and our site certainly had the "it factor". It wasn't long before Linda was laid back in a lounger.

 

 

Esther & Steve parked in Site 23 next to us, .....

 

 

but later moved to a different site across the road with a bit more privacy.

We went for a little walk on a narrow path through the Devil's Club to an overlook.

 

 

The beach below is popular with agate hunters.

 

 

 

And across Cook Inlet was Mt. Redoubt.

 

 

Linda was ready to do some beachcombing, and since we hadn't yet explored the trail to the beach, we drove to the day use parking area where access was pretty easy. There is a gravel road leading to the beach, and ATVs and 4WD vehicles could drive out at low tide.

 

 

Soon, Linda was in her element and focused on her treasure hunting.

 

 

This was only part of the beach, so she should be able to keep busy for as many hours as she wants.

 

 

Esther & Steve joined us, and Esther moved slowly down the beach with Linda, ....

 

 

while Steve and I explored on our own. This was Steve's version of beachcombing.

 

 

I found a piece of beach glass for Linda and several agates. I've never seen so many agates anywhere else, and some of them were rather large compared to what we're used to seeing.

 

 

I walked down past the point and some larger boulders in the direction of our campsite.

 

 

 

Steve showed me where the trail came out that leads to our campsite, and I decided to head back after taking the keys to the Jeep to Linda.

 

 

There were some Greater Yellowlegs feeding in the mud, so I snapped a couple photos on my way.

 

 

Back at our campsite, I got my Kindle and leaned back in a lounger. Before long, I dozed off. It's very peaceful here.

Surprisingly, we have a 4G roaming signal, but my "Sockeye elbow" was too sore to do any work on the computer. I bought an elbow brace for tennis elbow to try to stabilize it.

Eventually, everyone returned, and I put a couple salmon fillets on the Blackstone.

 

 

We got a campfire going, ....

 

 

and Linda laid out her findings from the beach.

 

 

She only got a couple pieces of glass, so it was mostly rocks and agates.

 

 

 

We're all quite relaxed here, and it's nice to be back in nature enjoying the peace and quiet and beautiful weather.

Well, it's quiet except for the times we have to run our generators to keep our fish frozen in our freezers. Fortunately, having spent the two days with electric hook-ups and getting the freezer temps below zero, they were holding their temperatures pretty well. We feel comfortable spending a couple more nights here.

So, if you RV to Alaska, and you want to get away from the other tourists and the fishermen frenzy of the Kenai River corridor, we would suggest a little side trip to the Discovery Campground at Captain Cook State Recreation Area.

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2019 Alaska Trip - Day 103 - One Last Day Of Fishing In Soldotna

As planned, we were on the river this morning around 5:00 a.m. Two weeks ago there would have been about 40 people already there, but this morning there were only four. We had our choice of spots.

But this morning, for some reason, the fishing was slow. Everyone said so, but they were still getting limits, eventually.

Steve brought both his fly rod and his spinning rod today. Both of us were struggling to get a fish on. But then he found a spot and hit a groove with his spinning rod. It took a while, but he got all six of his fish by around 9:30 or 10:00. And, in a turnaround from our first day back here, I had zero.

Since he was finished, I moved into his spot and started using his spinning rod. I caught two pretty quickly, but using the heavier spinning rod was killing my elbow. The repetitive motion of flipping and "flossing" got my elbow hurting at the end of June at Copper Center when I was using my spinning rod. Since I got the fly rod, it's been sore but much better.

But today, I was back to full-blown "Sockeye elbow". I had to go back to my fly rod. Fortunately, I caught a couple more and then got my fifth. Those five came in about an hour after getting shut out for the first five hours. Then, I knew I was going to stay until I got the sixth. It took 30 or 40 minutes, but I finally got number six, my biggest fish of the day. Whew, glad I pulled that off. It was more about the challenge and the goal than the fish. We have enough fish.

And today, we took pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

That was a satisfying four days of Sockeye fishing. I got 24 fish which averaged around six pounds each, and today's catch was closer to seven pounds each.

After dropping our fish off at Custom Seafoods and telling them we'd pick all of them up on August 11 as we pass back through, we went back to the RV park.

We're moving on tomorrow to Captain Cook State Recreation about 35 miles north, and we promised our wives that we wouldn't go back to the river for more fish before we traveled. We're not sure whether the fish we get back from the processor is going to fit in our freezers as it is.

In the afternoon, we got our Jeeps washed, and then we cooked - what else? - salmon for dinner. I cooked Sockeye on the Blackstone, and got some King salmon started for Steve who finished it up.

Now, our friends Kory & Sara had invited us to go to the park for a little festival and live music this evening, but we passed. So, they dropped by and we chatted until we called it a night ..... a bit earlier than the the other night. We parted with hugs and handshakes and again thanked them for storing our fish for us. We invited them to join us up at Captain Cook since it's not too far for them.

And that pretty much ends our time here in Soldotna. One of my big hopes on this trip was to catch a bunch of Sockeye salmon .... on my own, without a guide - mission accomplished.

We're planning three nights of camping at Captain Cook State Park to do nothing but relax and give Linda and Esther a few days to beachcomb on the rocky beach there. We're all looking forward to getting away from the crowds and back to nature.

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