Tom's Journal - July 18 - July 25
Soldotna, Homer, and
Seward
A Wet Week
It was a very soggy week. It was drizzly, dreary, overcast and rainy but still our disposition was bright and sunny because this is Alaska, the Last Frontier! Okay, cut and print it; end of commercial.
Still, it did not slow us down much. We have been very fortunate with the weather. Before this week, we had very little rain and when it did, it was considerate enough to only rain overnight or as we were driving . The dreary cloudy and overcast days did stop us from getting any views of the mountains and volcanoes that we were told are gorgeous along the Kenai Peninsula. Oh well, we have had some spectacular mountain views elsewhere on our trip. We are still fortunate as last year was the wettest in record for Anchorage. This year, many of the locals are complaining about the heat (high 80's to 90 degrees). We are still having a blast.
In the last journal entry, we had left that quaint wonderful Alaskan town of Anchorage (1 on map) along with most of its population and drove down to the town of Soldotna (2 on map) just inland on the Kenai River. This week, we continued down the peninsula to Homer (3 on map) for three nights and then headed back up the peninsula and down the other side to Seward (4 on map) for four nights. From Seward, we are now headed back up and around to Valdez but that story has yet to unfold.
Day 41 (Saturday, July 18)
Before hitching up the wagon and heading to Homer, we took a walk over to the Soldotna Visitor Center (across the street from our RV Park) to see their displays, talk with an informative attendant, and walked down to the river to see the same fishing enthusiasts out again. We walked back, hitched the team up to the trailer, and headed over to the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center a couple of miles down the road and took a short hike down to Headquarters Lake.
 Visitors Center at Soldotna |
 Can't get enough of that fishing! |
 Headquarters Lake |
 Becky, we're home! |
On
to Homer: with a few stops along the way, we finally headed on to Homer,
the Halibut Capital of the World.
We stopped by the Homer Visitor Center and the Alaska Islands and
Ocean Visitor Center for an interesting film on their research vessel.
A drizzly and cloudy day.
Day 42 (Sunday, July 19)
We started this rainy day with a little sunshine at the Christian Community Church of Homer; a big small town church.
The weather was overcast and drizzly but it wasn't really rainy while we were out and about. We spent the afternoon sightseeing around Homer including a drive out to the Homer Spit, a walk by the Salty Dawg Saloon (the oldest saloon in Alaska--Mark and Ron, was that you I saw in there?), a great view of a Bald Eagle, and a sightseeing drive along the coast.
 Homer Spit |
 The Salty Dawg Saloon |
 Eagle in Flight |
 Eagle Watching over his domain |
Day 43 (Monday, July 20)
We had planned to take a sightseeing cruise but the weather and water conditions changed our minds. In stead we relaxed and went to the Pratt Museum. The Pratt Museum had some information on local wildlife, but also interesting information on the Exxon Valdez oil spill and a live cam of bears (about 6-8) fishing on a river.
Day 44 (Tuesday, July 21)
Time to head on, we headed out of Homer back up the Kenai Peninsula around and back down the other side to Seward. Apparently, the Harding Ice Field gets in the way and stops you from just driving across the peninsula from Homer to Seward. I guess the Harding Ice Field was there first and it moves VERY SLOWLY, like a glacier; actually, the ice field is the collector and contributes to the many glaciers that feed off of it.
It was a pretty but overcast drive and we still didn't have any views of the volcanoes (Redoubt, the one that has been burping recently) across the bay.
After getting settled in at the RV park, we drove into town and checked the cruise ship dock but didn't see any cruise ships in port. We drove around town to get the lay of the land and then, oh yah, we walked through several gift shops. After the exhaustion of walking through gift shops, I couldn't make it any further so we stopped out for pizza (the great American energy food).
Day 45 (Wednesday, July 22)
Decisions, decisions, decisions. The current weather, rain (I looked outside) and the forecast for the next several days (checked the Internet) called for rain. We were planning to spend three nights in Seward, take a day sightseeing cruise, and head back to Anchorage to do laundry, cleaning, and shopping. Instead, we can move up cleanup day to today and stay in Seward an extra day and maybe the weather will clear up enough to allow us to take our day cruise. …Okay, we will do laundry, clean, and shop today.
Day 46 (Thursday, July 23)
Still drizzly and rainy. Boy, the truck is getting dirty from the black dirt road (about a mile) in and out of the RV Park.
We donned our rain gear--pants, jacks, gloves, and hats--and took a great hike out to the Exit Glacier (named because it was the land exit from the first Harding Ice Field expedition, remember that slow moving chunk of ice that gets in the way between Homer and Seward).
 Our hike to Exit Glacier |
 Becky at Exit Glacier - Tom, hurry up and take the picture! |
Then, in the afternoon since it is rainy and drizzly, we decided we should see the wildlife in captivity at the Alaska SeaLife Center, a sea life research center and local attraction.
We stopped by the Kenai Fjords Tours to see about the cruises for tomorrow and they aren't sure yet. They do have cruises that are going out in the bay but the question is are the seas too rough to head outside of the bay into the Gulf of Alaska and over to the sheltered fjords and the glaciers? They are hoping to on Friday for the first time during the week but the decision will have to be made in the morning. We went ahead and made reservations for the 8.5 hour cruise Friday, our last chance, and we will see what the weather brings.
Day 47 (Friday, July 24)
It is still drizzly and rainy with a cloud cover but visibility is pretty good. The question is, are the seas calm enough out in the Gulf of Alaska for the tour company to take people out past the bay? We head out to the dock and they have a warning that they may not be able to go out past the bay but at least they are planning on trying it for the first time this week. We decide to go and give it a shot.
Tour of the Kenai Fjords National Park
The seas in the Gulf of Alaska are about 7-9 foot swells and we do head out. These are not really "rough seas" but are a bit rough for tour companies to take passengers out. Our boat normally holds 120 passengers but today we had only about 35 so we had good run of the boat for moving around to take pictures. The pass through the Gulf of Alaska (about 45 minutes) was a little rough but nothing came back up that previously went down so I did okay. At least one of the passengers didn't do so well.
We had a good sightseeing day with many otters, puffins, some dolphins (too fast for me to get a picture), a humpback whale, Steller Sea Lions, and up close and personal with the Aialik glacier. It remained drizzly and overcast but it did not spoil our sightseeing and on the way back, the tour stopped at Fox Island, their private lodge, for dinner of Prime Rib and Salmon. All and all, a good day.
Aialik Glacier
So, how big is that glacier? Well, look at the people at the bottom of the next picture at the edge of the glacier.
People Kayaking to Aialik Glacier
 Tom and Becky at Aialak Glacier |
 A very shy humpback whale |
 Singing in the rain, I'm singing in the rain |
 Gull Island |
 Okay, who's turn is it to lead today? Not mine, I led yesterday! |
 I'm a Steller Sea Lion |
 Arriving at Fox Island for dinner |
 The Kenai Explore - Our tour boat |
Day 48 (Saturday, July 25)
On the move again. We packed and hitched up and left Seward and headed towards Valdez. We made it half way to Glacier View where we took a short walk out for a view of the Matanuska Glacier and then on to the near by RV park for the night.
Matanuska Glacier