Gull Island & Otter Cove

Well it had been some time since we've done some serious birding, and we discovered another interesting coupon in the "Tour Savers" book (which is a great value!)....the day boat trip to Gull Is. From the moment we step aboard Capt Roark Brown's ship, we realize he's pretty serious about not only the birding, but everything he does. It wasn't until later in the trip we found out that he owns & operates the Otter Cove Lodge & Rookery Resturant where we are to have lunch. Our journey would take us westward across Kachemak Bay, past a series of small islands, then northward into the Cove and back. http://www.homerocean.com/otter_cove.htm

As we pull up to Gull Island, it becomes immediately obvious why it got it's name. Literally thousands of birds, mostly terns inhabit these tiny blips of rock in the middle of Kachemak Bay. Approaching closer to one of the "islets" one notices that, just like with us humans, top floor condos are the most desirable, every square inch of that most prized real estate occupied.
A surprise though is that all species seem to be satisfied at this top level living within inches of one another, something we humans have not been able to master....


We see our old friends the Tufted Puffin both high up near the grassy tops (where they like to nest) and out at sea. Along with them are countless examples of Mew Gulls & Black-Footed Terns, and even a few Palegic Cormorants.










As we headed into Otter Cove, we see examples of those playfull creatures for which it's named. Although they look like they are sunbathing (on their backs) they actually use this technique to help them stay warm.... you can learn more about these guys at: at: http://www.defenders.org/wildlife_and_habitat/wildlife/sea_otter.php



We pull up to the dock and a short walk up to the Lodge where we are greeted by an eager to serve staff, beautiful window seat and an outstanding lunch! We highly recommend this package to any of you if you find yourself in Homer.


After that fine meal, we look across the Cove to see a sailboat moving briskly along across the blue-green waters.


With the warm sun on our backs, looking to our right, down the shoreline, one could swear we're in a tropical paradise!

"NEW" The Samovar Cafe

We first heard of the Samovar Cafe while on a tour boat to Otter Cove. Our guide told us one of the most fun things to do in the area was to go have an authentic Russian meal at the cafe - complete with an authentic atmosphere.

I made a call that afternoon for reservations. I could barely understand the lady who answered the phone in a thick Russian accent. That's when I knew we were in for a good time.

The cafe sits on the edge of an old Russian believers village north of Homer, AK. The Russian village Nikolaevsk was founded in 1968. The old believers left Russia in the days of Stalin to escape communism. You can get a more complete story on this group of people at this website: http://www.apostle1.com/07-22-2004-wandering_old_believers_find_a_home1.htm

Arriving at the cafe's doorstep, we were greeted by the owner Nina Fefelov in full Russian costume. We were ushered inside where immediately Mrs. Fefelov began offering her complete selections of meal types in her broken english. Basically, we were given the choice of the full blown version with costume, pictures, music and the ability to ask questions or just the food. I figured since I will probably never get to Russia, I wanted to experience the full blown version.

Before we could be seated at the counter surrounding the kitchen, we had to dress for dinner! I was given a skirt, shirt, scarf and shawl while Sam was given a Russian tunic and hat! Now that we looked the part - pictures had to be taken.


The next part involved choosing a lacquered spoon from which we were to eat our Borsch. The soup is thick with cabbage, beets, potatoes, tomatoes and celery. A spiral of sour cream and a sprinkling of dill floating on its surface. Mmmm - delicious!

Nina lovingly described ingredients in each dish. In spite of the resulting wide range of flavors, all the selections share one common ingredient - "Love", she says.

Next came the main course. Piroshoks are dumplings that can be filled with meat or made to fit a vegetarian diet by stuffing them with rice, mushroom and vegetable mixture. Pelimeny are Siberian dumplings filled with beef and boiled in chicken broth ''until they float.'' As with the borsch, sour cream and dill make a perfect topping.

As satisfying as all that may be, Nina then brings out dessert - cream puffs topped with cherries, chocolate, and whipped cream. My mouth waters thinking about it many months later!

After dinner, cups of Russian tea, a mild mixture of raspberry, strawberry, mint and fireweed blossoms, prove a perfect finale.

By the end of the evening, my mouth hurt from smiling. I have to admit that even though I felt silly part of the evening, I had a very enjoyable time. The food was absolutely delicious. If I were to pay a visit to this fine establishement again, it would be just for the food. I highly recommend the full blown version for those visiting for the first time.

One thing I've failed to mention is that when you choose the full blown version of your meal - you are the solitary devotion of her attention. No one else was even in the cafe while we were there.

Afterwards we were told to go visit the church in town. I was told I would need a skirt. Nina graciously lent me one to wear while I was there. She told me just the place to leave it when we were finished. Don't miss it when you're in town.

Back to Homer - Better Weather!

So, we're back in Homer, once again camped out at Steve J's nice place on Beluga Lake. Interestingly, the Saturday Market is located right across the Spit Road from the turnoff to Steve's camp, so we took advantage of the local crafts & music on hand.

Among the many treats were an abundance of homemade jellies and jams, we sampled those as well as the other "local jams"...great people, good food, music...lots of fun...reminds us of Louisiana!



A bit farther down the Spit Road is the one institution that was left standing after the 1993 earthquake, which destryed most of Home and all of Seward! Yes, that's it the rickety old Salty Dawg Saloon took the quake in stride & never looked back. Perhaps it was all the "treasure" hanging everywhere inside that saved the day, maybe just one of those places that can never die. Whatever the reason it's great to have this relic still there for that cold one after a hard day's fishing...




Speaking of fishing, I had heard that the Silvers (salmon) were starting to run just north at the Anchor River. A ride up that way, and from atop the bridge, I saw a fellow landing what appeared to be a big one. Down at the River, turns out it sure was.....here's lucky "KC" with a ten pound five ounce beauty!

We head down the road towards the River's mouth and learn that we are on a special road indeed!


While in the area, we did a bit of exploring including a twenty mile drive one morning south of Homer through the countryside. It was nice to get away from the "city". The road ends at the back end of Kachemak Bay at the mouth of the Bradley River.
Here we explore the contrasts of mountains and glaciers across the Bay and small Russian fishing villages here on our side........

Flightseeing Kenai & the Harding Icefield

We met our friend Chip Versaw at the Kenai Airport, just south of Capt Cook State Park, early one morning to do a little flightseeing over the area. Chip runs the only flight school on the Peninsula, and currently has three airplanes and a dozen students.

Ceilings were low and there was limited visibility with some fog, so Chip suggested flying southeast towards the Harding IceField where conditions were better...sounded great to us, so off we went.

Our route took us south to the town of Slodotna where we picked up the Kenai River, eastward to it's origin, Skilak Lake up the magnificant Skilak Glacier, southward across the top of the Icefield intercepting Tustumena Glacier westward to Tustumena Lake which flows into the Kasilof River which we followed all the way out to Cook Inlet. We then flew along the beach back up to Kenai and the airport.
It was interesting to see all the commercial fishing rigs anchored in the lower part of the Kenai. The season on Sockeye was closed early to commercial fishing due to low escapement numbers entering the River (the number of fish needed for an adequate spawn).


But that didn't stop the sport fishing, as shown here at the site near the Soldotna Airport that I had fished just a day or two before.

Flying eastward we pass along the side of beautiful Skilak Lake, the source of water for the Kenai River, and the final spawning destination of most of the salmon coming up the River.

Our first view of the moraine area of the Skilak Glacier was breathtaking....the ice just seemed to stretch out before us forever!

Where the Glacier first melted, and met the small deep blue above, a stunning contrast between ice & water was right below us. It was particularly interesting to see the differences in the surface of the ice as we flew up the glaciers. The emense pressures created by huge masses of ice above crack & grind the surface, forming many large fissues & pockets.

A little farther and we find ourselves gazing ahead at the entire length of the Skilak Glacier. To put things in perspective, the Gulf of Alaska is now ahead of us, with Seward far off to our left.

As we cruise along, we approach the center of the enormous Harding Icefield and begin to notice tops of tall peaks popping up through the snow & ice, here & there, with cupped shaped depressions along there sides formed by the severe winds that can howl across the ice plane.



We're amazed at the simple beauty found below in the form of massive cracks in the ice surface, surrounded by snowdrifts that seem to soften the steepness of each crevice.



Farther south we reach the start of the Tustumena Glacier, which we will fly westward to return to the Inlet....

The lower portion of the Tustumena appears very different from it's cousin, the Skilak. Hundreds of ridgelines cover it's surface, as huge pressures force ice & debris to collide and heave upwards!

We drop down low to this craggy surface, zooming across the ice at a hundred miles an hour and soon reach the terminal melting area, with Tustumena Lake stretching far in the distance...




As we fly along the southern edge of the Lake, we notice a few isolated fishing camps that can only be reached by water or floatplane...wow, what a destination!



Soon we are over the Kasilof, home to many sport fisherman, and thousands of Sockeye & Slivers each year. We fly it's winding path back to Cook Inlet, where we are met by low ceilings and fog, but return safely to the Kenai Airport after another wonderful adventure in ALASKA!

Captain Cook SRA, Bear Cubs & Spirit Stones....

Captain Cook State Recreation Area has been one of our favorite area (at least mine) since we've been in Alaska. It seemed to have everything - a view or a beautiful beach, beautiful sunsets, better weather than we'd had anywhere for awhile, wildlife, an interesting place to walk (the beach), unusual things to look for and for Sam - good fishing nearby.

Immediately upon arrival to the campground, I knew I was going to like it. We found a campsite looking over the beach. Every evening we were treated to a beautiful sunset that was even more spectacular at low tide.

The beach changed drastically from low to high tide. At high tide the water came up to the bottom of the bluff. There was no beach to walk on and there wasn't much to see but water. At low tide as if by magic, huge boulders would appear. Some of these boulders were 100 yards from the base of the bluff.

Walking the beach at low tide produces quite a variety of rocks. Some like I had never seen before. We discovered that there were a few fishing camps up the beach. The only way to get to these camps was to drive on the beach. We saw a variety of vehicles using the beach as a road at low tide.

One of the most interesting things we did while staying at this park was to go "spirit rock" hunting. We found out about these rocks from Bob and Joy. They had stayed at this park a month earlier and told us about them. We were told that these stones were about 8 miles up the beach and could only be reached at low tide. All hope was gone about finding any of these stones until we met Philip and his family. Philip graciously invited us to ride up the beach in his jeep the next day to look for these unusual rocks.

Since we had a narrow window in which we could look for these stones because of the tides, we made arrangements to meed at a certain time. We hopped into his doorless jeep and headed north on the beach from the campground.

The ride was bumpy and offered unusual scenery...

The 8 mile ride took about a half hour. We pulled on our hip boots and waders and tromp off in the muck, dragging plastic sleds and clam shovels to start our search.

It took awhile to develop an "eye" for which stones were just regular rocks and which ones were spirit stones. Soon we had both sleds full of stones.

Spirit stones is another name for concreations. These unusual stones are made by glacial mud. No one really knows how they are formed but are found in a few places around the world. The natives thought of them as having spirits in them and so were given the name spirit stones.

The tide was starting to come up. Since the tides rise quickly here we knew we had to leave or get caught on the beach. Sam and Philip had to pose for a radical jeep shot.

We met others trying to beat the tide back to the park.

Back at camp we get them cleaned up and look at the catch!

Look at this site if you'd like to find out a bit more about these stones and see some pictures of some of the nicer finds from the area: http://cookinletconcretions.com/

Back at the park....

Like I said, wildlife abounds. We saw moose, bear, ermine among others while staying here. The big news was the orphaned bear of brown bear cubs that were roaming around the campground apparently looking for food. We saw them many times. Most of the time there were lots of people around them snapping pictures. We don't know what will become of them. We do know that they won't make it through the winter without their mother.

Take a look at this video of these two cubs! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQv3DsiucHo

We did have another friend visit us anytime we sat outside. This young spruce grouse seemed to have no fear of humans. She would come searching around our campsite several times a day. As you can see in the photo, she really made herself at home!

Last but not least was this poor dog we saw on the road into town one day. We were in a hurry to catch a flight seeing tour so we couldn't really do anything about it. The poor dog was lying in the middle of the road with a buddy of his apparently waiting for it's master to come rescue it. It was gone on our drive back so I'm hoping the owner found the dog and somehow got the quills out of the dogs face.