Sat July 23 - Day 18



Indian Valley Meats...The Funny meat store





Yum...dinner is a coming




Another spectacular drive through the mountains




Quick set up, grill dinner then to bed

 We are up and out of Seward by 8:00 am this morning.  Heading to Valdez, but will probably only make it maybe 3/4 of the way...long drive.  But we did stop at the Funny Meat Market (Linette knowns) along the way and shipped home some Elk, Caribou, Bison and Venison Steaks to enjoy when we get back.  Then a pit stop in Anchorage again for gas, groceries and Internet at McDonald's.  We made it about 313 miles today, but took us 9 hrs.  The Glennallen Hwy was very slow and curvy.  We stayed at the Dry Creek State Campground for $15, again in the rain.  Cooked up some sausage with red beans and rice.  Nite all :-)

Friday July 22 - Day 17

Hiking up to the Harding Ice Fields



Crossing the creek



Exit Glacier from the road







Buddy after a full day of hiking




Time for dinner...Grilled Pork Chops





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Standing at the bottom edge of Exit Glacier

We had a great day of Hiking to Exit Glacier and then half way up to the Harding Ice Fields.  The hike was extremely steep and we weren't quit prepared.  We did see a mama bear with 2 cubs, thank goodness they were about 1/4 mile away, cuz Buddy forgot the Bear Spray.  Went to town on the way back for a well deserved Ice Cream (Buddy's idea) and then back to camp to grilled up some yummy Pork Chops. Then to bed we have a long drive tomorrow...will try to get most of the way to Valdez, about 450 miles. :-)

Thurs. July 21 - Day 16



Beautiful Lily Pond outside of Seward



Take a look at the little fish (us- look hard ) camping with Mega Ones.

Had rain again last night and we were up and out of of Homer by 8:30 this morning.  We just had an easy drive over to Seward today.  We stopped along the Anchor River so Buddy could wet a line, no bites.  Then we stopped in Soldonta at one of the river/fishing walks along the Kenai River.  We didn't have the right fishing gear(ours was way to light) to fish for the Silver Salmon there.  It was crazy there, like renegade fishing.  They must have been at least 50 guys at that one spot and they were all getting the limit (6 salmon) and they were about 10 pounders.  We made it to Seward around 2:30, checked out the town and then set up came at the Stoney Creek RV Campground.  We hope to go hiking tomorrow around the Exit Glcier and the Harding Ice Fields. We are sure going to have a heat stroke when we finally get back home.  The temps we've been in are averaging around 63 degrees.  When there is some sunshine, it feels so good.  I'm usally wearing 3 layers on top and 2 on the bottom.  No need to shave!! ;-)

Wed. July 20th - Day 15



Fish on.....I see color!!



Bringing it up....my arms are so sore!



Finally, I got a good picture of the Bald Eagle and her nest




This was the 6th Eagle of our trip



Our catch of the day....this equaled about 20 1bs. of fillets

We had a fantastic day on our 4 1/2 hour Halibut fishing trip out of Homer, AK.  We went out 26 miles and both caught our limit of 2 Halibut each within an hour.  Our fishing lines had 2 lb weights on them and went down about 150 feet.  I couldn't believe how much work it was to bring in these fish and mine was only about 20 lbs.  The deck hands, Matt and Josh were really on their toes and very hard workers.  There was 12 of us on the boat (The Whistler) and they kept us busy.  When we docked they had our fish sent to be processed and it will be fillet into 1 lb packages, frozen and shipped home next Monday and arrive on Tuesday. Then on the way back to camp we saw our 6th Bald Eagle and got a great picture.  Time for Buddy to grill up a piece of our fresh Halibut for dinner and go take a HOT SHOWER!!  Enjoy the pics.  Nite all :-)

Tues. July 19 - Day 14

These glaciers are just awesome to see

So many beautiful flowers everywhere you look

Very chilly last night about 46 degrees, but we woke up to beautiful sunshine, relaxed with coffee, did some laundry and planned out our day for Homer.

We spent the afternoon down on the Spit, walking the Boardwalk in and out of shops. The famous Salty Dog Bar first and then Captain Patties for lunch.  We had a plate of grilled Salmon, Halibut, Scallops (all local caught) and Prawns.  Absolutely delicious!!!!  Enjoyed the local Homer Beer and went to the Brewery to buy some to bring home, unfortunately for our friends, the Brewery doesn’t bottletheir beers .  Sorry guys, you just have to take our word for it…….sooooooo good. Then we went up to the Bear Creek Winery and of course did some wine tastings.  Yes, we were able to buy some to bring home.  We saw two more Bald Eagles today. Buddy BBQ'd  Elk burgers for dinner and now kickin’ back and and enjoying this awesome view.  Going out on our Halibut Fishing Trip tomorrow with Inlet Charters for half day and hoping to be grillin' up our own Halibut for dinner tomorrow.

Mon. July 18 Day 13



Coming into Homer, AK



Just got our home set up

Enjoying the view and cocktails!



Great spot!




Awesome views!!



We had to break down our campsite this morning in rain, it was 46 degrees, but we worked fast and got it down and we were on the road by 7:40 am.  We stopped in Denali to grab a quick cup of coffee and an 8"in cinnamon roll for the road.  Our destination today is Homer, AK.  Along the way, we went through some more beautiful country, Trapper Creek, Wasilla, Anchorage (it was OK...another city), Soldotna, Anchor and then Homer around 6:30 pm.  We drove down onto the Spit (a small strip of land that runs out between to bays about 4 miles on), a very touristy area, but was way to windy and cold to camp out there.  So, we found this great little campground right in Homer (Oceanview RV Park) over looking Kachemak Bay & Cook Inlet.  Got all set up, had wonderful Hamburger Helper only we made it with fresh ground Elk Burger.  It was delicious! Then took our drinks and went for a walk along the Bay.  It's 10:30 right now, I'm sitting in the trailer looking out onto the Bay, while Blogging and having another cocktail.  It is still bright and sunny outside.  Oh...we say our 3rd Bald Eagle today.  It was huge, but didn't get a good close up shot.  We drove about 450 miles today in about 10 hours...ready to stay here for a couple of days.  Nite all.   :-)

July 17th Day 12



This is were we have been camping the last 2 nights, 1 more night



This is the Nenana River we will be rafting today





This is the group before us getting there safety instructions.




This is our route

We had a casual morning, slightly cloudy and breezy.  Today was our WHITE WATER RAFTING TRIP down the Nenana River.  It was a 4 1/2 hour trip with class 2,3,4 and 1 class 5 rapids. It was a hang on while you get totally soaked wild ride through rapids like "Cable Car", "Coffee Grinder" and "Ice Worm."  For me it was a total thrill seeker, as I tried not to clench my teeth to much and prayed not to fall in.  Buddy was having a great time, just watching me.  As we make  it almost to the end and I'm thinking wow I didn't fall in (so proud of myself), then our guide stops and says "Time to take a dip"....Oh shit!  We all had to jump in (and I wasn't going to be the only whimp on board) and swim for a few mintues.  Remember the water is 36 degrees today.  But we all did it and thank God for wonderful Gortex wet suits.  Tomorrow we are head down to Anchorage and then into Homer, AK.  Nite all...;-)