Alaska 2014 Week 7

July 4  Today was a pretty busy day.  We had to get up early to go Halibut fishing.  We had to report to the boat at 6:30am and be there to get our tickets at 6:00am.  But it was worth it.  We each got 2 Halibuts each.  Mem and Larry had never been before and they both really enjoyed it.  We got back to shore about 12:30pm and when we got back to the RV we had to pkg the fish up and put it in the freezer.  The boat crew fillet the fish for us and put it in a big plastic bag for us but then we had to repackage it in serving sizes that we wanted to freeze and put up.  So I used my ulu knife and Jim and I did a team effort and got it put up in the freezer.  We figured we had about 30-35 lbs of halibut.  Its going to be some good eating.  Both of us took a good long nap after that job.  Around 6:00pm we went to the Homer 4^th of July parade today.  It was your typical small town parade where they throw out candy for the kiddies.  I was pleasantly surprised to see they had horses in the parade and enjoyed seeing them.  Earlier in the day, I was asking where the fireworks would be and I was told they were midnight on the 3^rd because it gets dark here around 11 at night so if they had fireworks on the 4rth they would actually be having them on the 5^th.  So looks like we missed them.  But then some people down the way started lighting them off at about 7 or 8 and a few dogs here in the campground got scared and ran off.  I felt so bad for the owners because it’s not like these dogs would know where to come home to.  Several of us in the campground starting looking around for the dogs.  Finally one lady got a text that someone found her dog.  Thankfully, because hers was a little one.  But the dog two campers over from us didn’t have a collar on because she was recovering from neck surgery.  I was walking my 3 dogs about 9 o’clock when I saw the dog come running up from the beach.  I couldn’t grab her because I had my 3 dogs so I’m yelling to these people help me she’s a runaway and her owners are looking for her.  Please grab her she’s scared.  So this guy grabs her and I put my dogs in the RV and our neighbors (who have a big dog) and Jim were talking outside and went and got a collar and leash to put on the dog so  we could get her calmed down til the owners came back from looking for her.  The owners were so relieved to see her when they got back to the campground.   I was so happy for them. 

July 5  Today I went fishing for King Salmon in the lagoon in Homer.  However, I did not get a single nibble.  But it was pretty exciting watching the folks on the other side of the lagoon catching the Kings.  I was getting purely entertained by the families on either side of me though.  There were two little boys on one side who were so excited.  Their dad would cast the line out and let them reel the line in.  But after reeling it in after so many times without catching a fish they were getting pretty frustrated.  They couldn’t understand why their dad couldn’t catch a fish since they could see them swimming by.  The same thing was happening on the other side of me only it was a little girl and her dad.  She was having fun when they first got there but after awhile she was getting mad at her dad that she wasn’t getting a  fish.  I felt bad for the dads.  But they were pretty good dads and were pretty understanding and off they went for ice cream.  Jim did a lot better than those dads though he took his girl out to dinner.  We went to AJ’s Old Town Steakhouse.  It was very good but very expensive.  On the way home from the spit I had to stop and take pictures of the boat house this couple live in.  They were here 10 years ago and they are still living in their boat house which is really a ship wreck.

 

July 6  Today was a rest day sort of.  I cleaned up the motorhome and got the laundry caught up.  Jim cleaned the windows and outdoor carpets.  Then we went to the grocery store and got caught up on provisions.  We are going to be dry camping the next few days.  Our friends have a cabin on an island and we are going to park our RV in a state park and visit their cabin during the day.  They are going to pick us up by boat.  They live in Williamsburg, VA now but spend their summers in Alaska..  Lucky them.  We are really looking forward to seeing them and their cabin and hoping to go salmon fishing off their dock.  Going to be another fun few days.

July 7 What a wonderful day we had with the Lawrences. The Lawrences live in Williamsburg, VA and also have a cabin on Caribou Island on Skilak Lake.  We parked our motorhome at the Skilak Recreational State Park and they came over from their island by boat and picked us up to include our 3 dogs.  Sharon insisted we bring the dogs with us.  I’m so glad she did; they had a wonderful time.  Anyway there are only 20 cabins on this island and the folks that own them homestead for the summer.  They have no electricity or sewer.  They use solar panels, and have outhouses.  Their cabin is rustic, charming, and cozy.  When you walk in the door you just want to curl up and take in the view and grab your favorite book and chill out.  They use the glacier lake water for drinking water. (Filtered of course).  They have gas refrigerators and stoves.  There are no roads on the island; thus no vehicles.  There are just paths or trails leading to each others properties.  Some have ATV’s.  But everybody looks out for each other and everybody helps each other.  We got to meet some of their neighbors and see some of the other cabins.  Sharon’s outhouse was so cool.  She had it painted with sparkly paint and fur lined toilet cover, movie posters on the wall, a battery light and sheer curtains. I’m really looking forward to visiting them again someday!  If anyone is interested there is a book written about homesteading on this Island written by lady who lived in the cabin that the Lawrences bought.  It is called Winds of Skilak written by Bonnie Ward.  It is an excellent book.  Both Jim and I are reading it now and we are both enjoying it.  You can  get it a Amazon.com

July 8  We arrived in Anchorage today.  On our way to Anchorage, we saw our first moose.  It was huge.  At first I thought it was a horse, but then I saw its face and realized it was a female moose.  After we got settled into the campground, Jim and I went to check out the salmon fishing at Ship Creek.  The second run of salmon has not started yet.  Its supposed to be any day.  We are hoping it starts while we are here.  We also checked out the Ulu Factory to see if there is anything new there that we might be interested in.   

July 9   Today we went to Costco and Fred Meyer to stock up on provisions.  Then we went downtown to shop for souvenirs.  Mem and I found some really good deals.  We showed Mem and Larry the Ulu Factory.  You can’t come to Alaska and not get a Ulu knife.  We got ours the last time we were here and I use mine all the time.  

July 10 We spent the day visiting with Jim’s niece, Chelsea Fields whose husband, Brandon is stationed in Air Force at Elmendorf Air Force Base.  We got to meet their 2 year old baby girl, Briar, who is just precious and smart as a whip.  She and I bonded immediately.  I bought her a baby doll and she immediately climbed up in my lap and we were buddies the rest of the day.  It was so cute.  After Brandon got home from work, we took the kids out to dinner at a restaurant called the Bridge.  It was a really nice restaurant overlooking Ship Creek.