Day 350. July 22, 2014. Kenai Fjords

LOCATION:  Seward, Alaska, in south central part of state

WEATHER:  Very nice. Sun. Highs in 60s

Today was a special treat.  We had reserved seats on a 6-hour boat ride into the Kenai Fjords.  We drove about 50 miles to Seward, a port town, to pick up the boat.  It is a lovely town and busy port.

We chose this particular tour as there was a National Park Ranger on board who described things as we sailed.  

At first, it was a bit choppy, and some people got sick.  Then it calmed down. We saw a lot of wildlife.....humpback whales, sea otters, sea lions, puffins, and then lots of orcas (killer whales) that put on a show by the boat, flapping their tales and jumping up in the air (breaching).  It was magnificent!  

Here are the sea lions.  We were so close that we could hear them grunting.....

 

Then, we stopped in front of a tremendous glacier that dropped down to the water.  We could see and hear it cracking.  Once in awhile, a large piece of ice would crack off, with a noise sounding like a rifle shot.  This is called calving.

There were thousands of small pieces of icebergs floating around.

One of the crew pulled out a piece.  Then, they made us margaritas with the glacier ice

They were a beautiful color.....

There was an optional all-you-can-eat salmon buffet on board.  We passed on that, for obvious salmon   overdose reasons.

We got back to the port about 6:00 PM.  We were lucky with the weather.  It was cool, standing on the deck, but we had our winter coats on.  

We had a beer at the Seward Brewery.  Someone said their food wasn't so great, so we ordered pizza to go from another place.  We brought it back to the camper and had a relaxing dinner.  Our friends Minnie and Daniel went on the evening cruise, so we won't see them until morning.  

Day 349. July 21, 2014. Meeting up with friends on the road

LOCATION:  Cooper Landing, Alaska, in south central part of state

WEATHER:  Anither really nice day. Highs in 60s

We got cleaned up at our Homer campground, knowing that we will be in primitive campgrounds for the next few days.  We drove 125 miles north to Cooper Landing.  We are on beautiful Lake Kenai.  Lots of rivers feed into it, and this area is known for trout fishing.  

We met up with Daniel and Minnie, friends from San Francisco whom we had met in Texas last winter.  We are staying in Quartz Creek campground, part of the National Forest Service.  It is beautiful and woodsy.  We were able to get a double campsite which we are sharing with them.  It is a great set-up. We rode bikes some, then chatted around the campfire.  The Mosquitos love Daniel, so he wears a netted cover-up.  They ride their tandem bike a lot, including the pilgrimage road to Santiago de Compestela in Spain.

DINNER:  We finished up the remaining salmon, although we do have one more fillet in the freezer.  I cooked some zucchini and onions, and added the salmon and some cream cheese for a sauce.  We had rice on the side.  

Day 348. July 20, 2014. Exploring more of Homer

LOCATION:  Homer, Alaska on southwest tip of state

WEATHER:  Very nice.  Highs in 60s

We took a hike on one of the bluffs overlooking the bay.  Our trail led us through very tall fireweed, wild flowers that are everywhere.

Then, we went on a short walking tour of old Homer.  The flowers there are beautiful, too.

The flowers must really like summer's 20-hour days.

This flowering kale is on steroids!

We rode our bikes about 3 miles to Homer Spit, a long, narrow piece of land that juts into the bay.  Surprisingly, it reminds me of Key West.  Lots of charter boat tour offices, seafood shops, seafood restaurants, T-shirt shops and bars.  We went to a famous (infamous) one called Salty Dawg Saloon.  It is like the Salty Dog one in Key  West. 

We drank a salty dog on their patio.  Nice and sunny.

DINNER:  I needed to use up a leftover grilled chicken thigh, and ribs, so I made a stir-fry with the meat and lots of veggies.  Instead of rice, I stirred the mix into the leftover rice  vermicelli.  George had bought two huge containers of blueberries (as they were a "good deal"), so we had blueberries and Greek yogurt for dessert.

Day 347. July 19, 2014. Enjoying Homer

LOCATION:  Homer, Alaska, in southwest tip of Alaska

WEATHER:  Very nice. Highs in 60s

We took advantage of the campground's amenities....I did laundry and George used their internet to pay bills, etc.   They also loaned us a cable hookup so we watched some  PBS on TV.

For lunch, I made large salads with croutons and prices of cold salmon fillets.

We walked to the nearby farmers' market.  There seem to be a lot of "free spirits" living here.  I bought a basil plant.  I hope I can keep it alive while traveling.  Then we went to a street fair.  Who would expect a marimba band in Alaska?

We walked to the Homer Brewpub, handily located next door to our campground.  We ordered a dozen Alaskan oysters.  Quite tasty!

DINNER:  We wanted to make sushi with our remaining salmon roe (ikura in Japanese), but I don't have the equipment.  So, for an appetizer, I made some rice, added a bit of rice vinegar, and served it with the roe.  Added a little wasabi for a kick.  We made salmon burgers with one of the cooked salmon fillets.  The side dish was an unusual 3-bean salad I had made the other day.  Instead of the usual beans, I used garbanzos, edamame and fava beans.  Pretty good.

Day 346. July 18, 2014. Not hungry in Homer!

LOCATION:  Homer, Alaska in SW tip of state

WEATHER:  Perfect. High around 70

Our mission today is to eat up our salmon.  Yesterday, we had sashimi and grilled fillets.  We started the day today with a salmon bagel, with cream cheese, capers, salmon, and salmon roe.  What a way to start the day!

Then we drove about an hour south to Homer.  It claims to be the halibut capital of the world.  It is on the tip of the mainland.  For you Minnesotans, the drive into town reminded us of entering Duluth.....beautiful views of the water as we descended from the bluff.

We are in a tiny campground called A Fisherman's Resort.  It is, indeed, for fishermen.  It is also a fish processing shop.  People bring in their fish to be gutted, cleaned, filleted, and packaged.  It is also a commercial fish shop selling halibut, salmon, and razor clams which are found here.  

I fixed lunch with (what else?) salmon.  I made a chilled Asian salad with rice vermicelli (sometimes called nylon noodles).  I coated the noodles in an Asian sauce, and served it with diced celery, diced salmon, and salmon roe.  

In the afternoon, we drove around town, visited the visitor center, and hiked a bit.  We drove to the Homer Spit, which is a little piece of land that juts out to the bay.  We had a drink outside at Land's End Bar.

This boat says Bering Sea on it, on its way out for weeks of fishing.

Back at the campground, George made a fire.  He talked with our neighbors, who had just caught several 100-pound halibuts.  Oh no, they gave us more fish!  We had surf n turf.  We had bought some ribs before we got the salmon.  So, we grilled them, along with the halibut filet.

We are going to stay here for a few days.  It is a nice fishing town.

DINNER:  The surf n turf, with a baked potato and steamed broccoli.  

Day 345. July 17, 2014. Salmon feast!

LOCATION:  Near Clam Gulch in south central Alaska

WEATHER:  Beautiful. Highs in 60s

We headed south on the Kenai Peninsula.  We stopped in two campgrounds with no vacancies, so continued.  We found a nice state park.  It is located on Cook's Inlet, which people call the ocean here.  A camper told us about a place on the beach where we could buy fish.  So, we hiked along the beach.  There was a "no camping" sign but that didn't prevent about 100 people living there temporarily.  They were there with gill nets scooping up salmon.  We talked to one fisherman who agreed to sell us one.  We asked for a female one (called a hen, we learned), 

so we could eat the roe.  

When we hiked back to the campground, the host was there.  He told us about an even nicer state park where he is a host, too.  It is about 15 miles south.  We found it, and it has a beautiful view of the ocean.  Nice, spacious sites with good campfire grills.

George gutted and cleaned the fish.  He did a great job.

He removed the eggs.  I put in an emergency call to our chef daughter to learn how to cure the roe.

We could not find our cedar plank, so used a pine board instead.  The filets turned out beautifully.  We have a LOT of fish to eat.  The salmon roe turned out really well, too.  

DINNER:  Grilled salmon with a salad, and sautéed vegetables (onions, zucchini, summer squash)....washed down with a sauvignon Blanc.  

Day 344. July 16 continued

More on the seaplane tour....

Watching the bears was mesmerizing.  We saw a grizzly with 2 cubs that were  a year and a half old.  Then, another mom with triplets.  Then a black bear family... a dad, mom, and 2 cubs.

They were next to an uphill stream with sock-eye salmon trying to swim up it.  Later, other bears came.  They love to swim and play.  They look like they are boxing.  

There were some fishing boats, too, and the people were catching a lot of salmon.  

Our guide was excellent.  He took us to different places on the lake to see the bears.  He also took us to this waterfall.  We took a picnic and had cheese, crackers, reindeer sausage, and Alaskan beers!

Then, to a bathroom spot.  These boards are on top if a deep bog.  It is like walking on a waterbed.

At the end of the trip, our plane returned to pick us up.  The water looks almost like milk, as it comes from the glacier melt.  

The day was just perfect.  

The only bad thing is that when we returned to our campground, they told us we had to move to a different site.  There had been a mix-up.  What a pain.  We had planned to go out for dinner, but since we had to hook up and move, we decided to leave us hooked up for the night.  

DINNER:  I cut up one of the leftover grilled thighs and cooked it with onions, mushrooms, garbanzo beans and pesto.  Served it over spaghetti.  For a salad, I tossed radishes, bell peppers and a few more garbanzo beans.