June in Alaska

          Well the Chalets are hopping and so are we. We're not as quick to turn around a chalet as we were three years ago, but we are beginning to get the routine down. We've met many of the same folks that we dealt with the last time, the folks at the Hatchery where we get our water (Tom, the manager there is a KU grad who found his way to Alaska and never left), the postmistress of Moose Pass where we get our mail via General Delivery, the folks at the Trail Lake Lodge down the road where we eat when we don't feel like cooking. We've made the trip into Seward several time to do our grocery shopping and get gas for the car. Three years ago there was a spot along the road where we always saw moose. This year they are much more secretive. We haven't seen any moose and only a few bald eagles. We have, however, seen many more bears than last time. The guy in the picture above was just walking along the side of the road heading to his favorite fishing spot. We drove by slowly but were close enough to touch him (but we didn't!).

     We took a day trip to the little town of Soldotna on the Sterling highway for their annual Kenai River Festival. There were several vendors' booths set up to buy locally made items, lots to eat from hot dogs to funnel cakes, and lots of activities especially for the kids. The picture above shows the boardwalk along the river at the back of the park. This is a beautiful view and a great spot for a picnic lunch.

     Before we knew it it was time for our next family guests to arrive. Our son, Chris, and granddaughter, Aubrey, came up from Kansas to spend time with us. We had to work around chalet turnovers, but on days when we were busy, Chris took the car and explored the myriad of hiking trails in and around the area. Every morning he would get up early and hike the nearby trails to see what he could see. We went to Seward (above) and visited the Alaska Sealife Center and took the Kenai Fjord cruise. They also took a float trip out of Cooper Landing and got some great photos of bear and eagles. 

Just one fishing charters catch of the day!

Mom and young Moose

Young eagle. Not yet Black and White.

Fishing for Salmon

Sea Lions sunning on the rocks

Orca

     Towards the end of their stay, we hiked back to the Russian River Falls. This easy 2.5 mile hike was very pretty and had great views of the mountains and surrounding meadows. The Lupin flowers are all along the highway and populate the meadows with their bright blue flowers. On the trail Chris came across the big brown bear on his way to go fishing I suppose. After checking each other out, the bear went on his way and we continued down the trail.

     The ultimate goal of the hike was to see the salmon jumping up the falls on their annual spawning migration. I have seen this only on TV and didn't get the chance to see it the last time we were up here. We were not disappointed! It is amazing to watch in person. The amount of drive and energy that the salmon have to get upstream. You can see them bunched togethers in small pools of slower water and then, suddenly, one or two will take off up the faster water. They weave and bob trying to find the best route upstream. Sometimes the best route is to go airborne and they launch into the foam. Sometimes they make it, often you can see them tumbling back to where they began. But, they turn around and will try again.