Seeing Seward

As we headed across the Kenai Peninsula, there was one patch of sunlight that made it through the cloud cover.  It was the only sun we would see all day long!  Not only was it rainy, there were strong winds that morning, buffeting the RV camper and rocking us back and forth.  

It took us over 2 hours to drive the 95 miles to Seward from Soldotna.  Why?  Slow traffic, winding roads, rain, wind and extra cars on the road on Labor Day contributed to our slow trek from one town to the other.  At last we could see Resurrection Bay in the distance.

 

We parked our set of 3 campers, bundled up and headed for the SeaLife Center that was highly recommended by several people and the travel books.

I planted my feet on solid ground and took a picture of the bay while the wind continued to blow.  This was not a day to just wander around and enjoy the view.  

The warmth of the SeaLife Center beckoned us and we wasted no time in walking across the parking lot.

Gary smiled as he took his turn at the helm.  All of us were having fun with this photo op!

Norm seems to be questioning Sherry about the way she was steering the boat.  Watch out Norm!  You may be run over!

One of the exhibits here had birds indigenous to Alaska, including this cute little Puffin.

  

I just had to take a picture of this sign inside the center since my son-in-law is Norwegian.  Looks like Norway was blamed in error for the rats brought to Alaska.  Now we know!

The eel entertained me as he wiggled around on the bottom of the tank.

Afterwards, we headed towards the main street of shops, located right across from the center.

Norm and Landi strolled along, Norm holding his hot cup of coffee.  At least it wasn't rainy!

Afterwards, as we headed towards Portage, the rain kicked in again.  Liquid sunshine, as I call it.  It rained that afternoon, all night long and the next morning.  At this point, all of us are ready for some Arizona sunshine!

Away from Home at Homer

Another day, more rain.  Still we trudge on!  We heard from so many people that we had to go to Homer, so that is exactly what we did.  By the time we reached Homer, all of us were ready for lunch.  The first two restaurants in the town of Homer were already closed for the season.  We started down the road to Homer Spit and then decided to turn around to more places to eat.

We were starving by that point....so where did we end up?  Starvin Marvin's Pizza!  The eight of us shared two large pizzas which was more than enough.

Sandy tried the Alaskan White (naturally) beer, but the guy poured it into the Alaska Amber glass.  

Done with lunch, now it's time to go back and head towards the Spit.

We were amazed at the amount of people and traffic on the spit.  While Homer seemed to be in the process of going into low gear for the winter, Homer Spit was alive and popping!  There were people and vehicles all over the place.  

Sandy, Gary and Sherry stopped for a moment so I could get their picture before they headed over to more shops, looking for bargains and Alaskan t-shirts.

Don and Jerry waited patiently outside by the Husband's Waiting Bench.  The bench was wet, so they couldn't sit down and take a load off their feet.

All of us had gone in different directions, but somehow we all wound up at a local doughnut shop.  Actually, we were hunting for coffee.  Knowing that coffee and doughnuts are made for each other, we all had the same thought process.  I loved the sign in the shop:

Homer Spit was different that I had imagined.  I thought it was mostly a long road with little land on each side, and not much else. Shops on stilts accommodated the high tides.

Fisherman on the boat leaving the harbor were all bundled up.

On our way back, we stopped off at the Visitor Center in the main town.  It was a beautiful structure with lots of information about the area.

Another stop was made at one highway pullout so we could take a picture of Cook Inlet and the mountains behind it.

Time for a photo op here and then walk back to the RV.  We were done for the day!

Rushin' to the Russian Orthodox Church

In the small village of Ninilchik resides the Transfiguration of our Lord Church.  This beautiful old Russian Orthodox church was founded in 1847 after a Russian missionary and his wife (a Sugpiak Eskimo) moved their large family here from Kodiak. There are now over 3000 descendants from this one couple living in Ninilchik, Kodiak and other towns in the Kenai Peninsula and the church is still active.  

I had wanted to come here to take pictures of this picturesque church and cemetery after reading about it in several books about Alaska.  It was a bit harder to find since it isn't located right on the highway, but off on a short gravel road.  Even with the Milepost on my lap and keeping a lookout, we still missed the turn and had to go back.

The church sits on a peaceful bluff overlooking Cook Inlet.  The wind was brisk and I can imagine how cold it would be standing here in the winter!  The adjacent cemetery is a unique mixture of wild grasses, native flowers and artificial flowers decorating each grave site.  There are very old graves mixed in with newer ones marked with ending dates up to 2012.

Next to the church cemetery is the Legion Cemetery for veterans of all foreign wars. Jerry was standing by the board with the names of people now in their final resting place.

Sandy and Sherry were bundled up against the cold and wind as they walked around.

Gary stopped and took a moment to fix the flag by the headstone of Bill Brody, who was awarded both a Bronze Medal and Purple Heart Medal in World War II.

I have no idea of what it says on the cross the bear is holding,since it was obviously written in Russian, but I loved this marker at the grave. It was fitting for Alaska.

Sold on Soldotna!

We made it to the Klondike RV Park in Soldotna on Friday afternoon.  There were nice patches of grass between our large sites, so different from the all gravel ones in other places.  All the guys were busy trying to get their rigs set up.

Jerry, Sandy and I decided to find access to the Kenai River and also the Visitor center.  We found both.  To reach the Visitor Center, we went down steps, under the bridge and then up stairs to the other side of the road.  It seems like a convoluted process, but the road was extremely busy and we didn't want to become road kill.  I still had things to see and do here!

Jerry just had to go from one large rock to another along the shallow part of the Kenai.  Sandy and I watched, hoping he wouldn't fall into the fast moving, frigid water.

This is a picture of me following Sandy up the flights of stairs to the Soldotna Visitor Center.  No workout needed on a Stairmaster when you have these steps available!

Two lovebirds on a fish seat.  How sweet is that?!

Right near the fish seat was Les, the fisherman.  The fish was so large he needed help holding up his catch. By the way, I know my rain pants are baggy, but they have worked out well on this trip. Practical won out over fashionable.

Highway Sights

I realized I had left out an interesting portion of our travels, so I'm back tracking a bit.  Did you notice? 

Shortly after we left Valdez (and it was raining again), we had a very short stop so I could get a picture of Bridal Veil Falls.  I stood under the camper overhang so my camera lens wouldn't get wet.  There were numerous waterfalls all around us but this was by far the largest of them.  Plus, there was a road marker to let us know of the upcoming pullout.

Later, we had a chance to see the Manatuska Glacier which wound it's way through the valley between the Chugach Mountains.  The glacier's average width is 2 miles and at the end it is 4 miles wide.  Information in the Milepost book says it has been fairly stable for the past 400 years, so we weren't worried about it overtaking us on the highway.

We made an unplanned stop at this small historic park in the very tiny town of Sutton.  Actually, we passed it and had to turn around and go back half a mile.  After all, we were here, so why not take the time to learn something about the local area and have a chance to stretch our legs at the same time?  This park is located right off the Glenn Highway, which was completed in 1944, linking the Alaska Canada Highway to Anchorage.

At this site was an abandoned plant that washed and dried coal.  The coal washing process took out the impurities and after it was washed and dried,the coal was put into a separate storage facility.

The park include several small historical buildings.  The tiny house on the right was the former post office for the town of Sutton.

At last!  A Hall of Fame we can relate to!  No wonder we felt at home when we stepped into the yellow wood building pictured above.

Norm held up the Alaska state flag in front of the post office as Don walked down the path.

In another part of the park was a whole section relegated to Athabascan culture.  Below is spirit house.  It sits on top of the grave of  John Goodlataw who lived from  1870 to 1935.  The Spirit houses are a combination of Athabascan culture and Russian Orthodox beliefs.  First of all, the Indian must be buried with their head upriver.  Then a blanket is put on top of the grave to keep the person warm.  The relatives must wait at least 40 days before erecting the spirit house so the spirit doesn't become trapped. Sometimes the clan members use specific colors for their houses.

Here is an example of a Nay'dina'aa Na Xa Hnax house (Chickaloon River Winter Log House).  Winter lodges were built in the forest and abandoned temporarily when the people went to their summer fish camps.

On the walls were branches and leaves, each labeled and their uses defined.

Wish we had known about the Wormwood before this. All of us seem to have aches and pains at this point in our life.  However, it didn't say how to prepare it for medicinal use.  Should I boil it and then strain out the leaves or make it into some kind of paste?  

I wondered what happened to Jerry, and there he was, taking a short nap on the fur covered bed.  I interrupted his short siesta and told him it was time to move on.!

How to Make a Bed

Normally, making the bed is "easy peasy, lemon squeezy".  At least for me it is.  This does NOT hold true for making a bed in the overhead cab in a RV camper.  Both Sandy have had the wonderful (?) chance to experience this and wanted to share our process with you.

Sandy demonstrates:  Step one, roll over on one side while trying to smooth out and then tuck in the bottom  in the one side, top and bottom of the foam pad.

Lie down and check to see if sheet is correct height from the ceiling. Take into consideration the slope of the front part of the roof.

Sit up and work on the top sheet, blanket and opened sleeping bag one layer at a time.  Remember when you crawl from one side to the other not to mess up the bottom layers.  This is the tricky part.

When you are finished  exasperated, call it good and exit the bunk via the ladder.  Remember not to grab any portion of the covers on your way down.  Both Sandy and I hope this short demonstration will help any of you who may need this knowledge for a future date.