Back in Soldotna

I spent 2 days getting back here from St Petersburg.  No pictures, no fish, no rain and no refrigerator.  Some good news...There will be pictures soon, the fish are coming, and so is the rain (it always rains), and my refrig will be fixed this week.  So as usual...stay tuned.

Ft Myers Beach Week

Well, It’s been a week of this as pictured and I will be flying back to Alaska on Monday.  A full week in Ft Myers on Estero Island and I’m ready to get back.  I took a perfect week off as there was no run of Sockeye salmon as yet.  My friend Don Causseaux once told me several years ago, “You’re the only person I know who takes a vacation from his vacation”.  Hey Don…I’m still doing it.  It was fun to see my girls and their girls as well as many friends I have met over the 31 years I’ve been going to this timeshare.  Sally, Scott and Ally had a good time…Kelly and her two dingdongs caught up on missed sleep…Frank Bryant didn’t bring his golf clubs for the third year in a row.  Julie Gingras brought her three kids while Jason is in India(Hurry back Jayson, and come to see me in Alaska)…Laura Gagne was here while Gerry stayed home to work (see ya next year Gerry).  Laura’s brother Perry was here for one day with his 4 boys, and Grandpa Ferrell watched the Casey trial all week.  Joe Pruitt bought a 2002 Corvette.  Matt Bryant, we miss you (hope to see you soon).

Gotta get some more beach time, so…stay tuned.

Daytime Beach Shot

Sunset Beach Shot

Rainy day in Alaska

Still waiting for the first run of Sockeye salmon up the Kenai River.  No one is currently catching any fish, so we sit around the fire in the evening telling fish stories.  If they get any better, we’ll all be thinking we are really catching, 

Today is a stay inside day…light rain and 48 degrees at 10:00 am.  It usually warms up to around 60 in the afternoon.  We’re getting about 20 – 24 hours of daylight each day.  You can’t wait till dark to do anything, otherwise, it won’t get done.

Here's a picture I took yesterday...

Camp Howard

And here's one that Sally got from someone.  I wish I could find it here in Soldotna.

The Blue Goose got a well deserved  bath yesterday.  It had collected over 5k miles of dirt and dust.  The Goose'll also be getting a new refrigerator soon.  The current one is not working but is serving as an ice box until the new one arrives.

I'm going to give fishing one shot today even if it is in the rain, so ... stay tuned.

Soldotna, AK - 0n the Kenai River

I arrived here a few days ago and after a couple of rainy days, began setting up my campsite.  Bad luck…my refrigerator in the RV went out and I have to replace it.  It will take about 10 days to get one in from Washington, so in the meantime, I’m using the lower part of the refrig as a cooler by freezing gallons of water in my large fish freezer and placing the ice in the vegetable bins to keep the compartment cold.

Saw a couple of Moose a two nights ago walking thru the campground as if they were looking for a campsite.  Yesterday, this young eagle was out in front of my campsite.  That’s the view I have out of the RV.  Those eagles sure are ugly when they are young.

The temperature starts out in the mid-40s and gets up to the low 60s. The Kenai River is low and continues to rise as the days warm up and the ice melts.  It should crest at about3- 4 feet higher.

No red Salmon as yet, but it won’t be too long maybe today… If I’m not fishing, I’m not catching so I’m headed back to the river to try again…stay tuned.

Seward Alaska

Good fishing yesterday and great weather.  I caught my limit of 2 Halibut as did everyone on the boat.  Weighed in at 45 lbs and dressed out to 30 nice-sized servings.  The fog set in today, and the mountains I could see across Resurrection Bay yesterday (about 4 miles) aren’t visible today.  The temperature is about 50 degrees and looks to stay that way most of the day. 

Before

I’m headed to Soldotna today where I will set up camp in Centennial Park on the Kenai River for most of the summer.  Looking forward to seeing people who were there my last two trips, so as usual…Stay tuned.

After

Hope Alaska

This is one of the masterpieces of Alaska,  I have never failed to make a top in Hope, and if you are ever this way, I recommend it. Hope is unique to any other place I have ever been.  The main street has two buildings…a café and a bar named ”Café” and “Bar”, and a 15-site campground which was about half-full last night.  At the end of the street, just past the campground is Resurrection Creek where there will be a pretty good pink Salmon run in about a month.   With a population of 150, you’d think business would be poor in Hope.  Not so.  The bar was busy, and I noticed the deck between the bar and café was new construction, so I asked Annie the bartender what’s with that.  She said the deck had some rotten places and needed replacing, so last fall, they burned it down.  Now consider that it was attached to both buildings, sounds a little risky to me.  Annie also said that this past weekend, Memorial Day, she ran out of beer at the bar…guess they had a crowd.

This was my view from the RV this morning. Cook’s inlet and the Chugach Mountains across the way.

Headed to Seward today, about 50 miles south of here, and possibly some Halibut fishing, so…Stay Tuned