"NEW" Resurrection Bay Paddle

We finally got the opportunity to do some sea kayaking while along the southern coast of the Kenai Peninsula. We met our Louisiana friends Leo and Sean Bourgeois while we were visiting Seward. Earlier, they had planned a day trip with a kayak outfitter along the shores of the fjords. The outfitter only accepted people in their own tandem kayaks so we left our boats behind.

The day started off dead calm - though it was cool and foggy. We were told to expect the winds to blow out of the north later in the day. We were told to keep an eye on the skies.

After suiting up in kayak gear, our guide gave us a quick paddling lesson. We left Lowell Point south of Seward in high anticipation of the day.

The scenery was spectacular as we paddled down the shore past land rising sharply from water. Tall conifers with an occasional bald eagle perched on their branches hung onto the sides of rocky cliffs. The emerald green water held sea otters swimming on their backs and strange looking sea birds like the puffins or murrelets.

Our destination at Caines Point was a park reachable only by boat or at low tide by hiking along a beach trail. As we neared the destination beach, a beautiful waterfall emptying into the water came into view.

Caines Head State Recreation Area is the site of an abandoned World War II fort. Early in World War II the territory of Alaska was attacked and occupied by Imperial Japanese ground forces. Caines Head and other Resurrection Bay vantages became strategic spots for defending the Port of Seward. The port was the southern terminus of the Alaska Railroad, a critical supply line for the war effort and for Alaskans.

The beach where we landed is marked by the remains of an Army dock built in 1941. The pier survived the 1964 Good Friday earthquake and tsunami, but the land in this area dropped five feet. The deck of the old pier was eventually destroyed by waves.

We stopped to admire the beauty surrounding us before grabbing our lunch to hike up to our picnic spot.

We hiked up a trail that seemed more like a creek than a trail. The walk through the temperate rainforest was beautiful. Moss hung off branches and clung to the north sides of trees. Emerald ferns covered the ground.

We stopped to eat lunch at a small inland lake.

Lunch, which was provided by the outfitter consisted of a lighter far of snack foods. All served pleasantly on a checkered tablecloth.

There was no perceptible wind change while we were gone but by the time we returned to our launch site, the waves had kicked up quite a bit.

Our trip leader made a call to the office via radio and the decision was made to pack up and get out while we could. With some instruction on getting out in the surf and what to do once we got out there, we made our way out into the waves.

We paddled hard for about 20 minutes. It seemed longer. I was really glad that we were in a tandem kayak. I was concentrating hard on paddling. It seemed to me that we were making slow progress back to Seward. Just as I was starting to get really tired our guide signaled us to head towards the shore.

We beached with no problems. I was taken completely surprised when I saw that we landed on the same beach we pushed off from! We had made absolutely no progress the whole time we were out there paddling. I was concentrating so hard on paddling that I had no idea we weren’t going anywhere. Our guide again radioed into the home base. A decision was made to call a water taxi to come rescue us.

While waiting for our rescue we watched other groups around us getting their own rescues.

We watched as our rescue boat ran as close as he could to shore and let down a ramp on the front of the boat. We loaded up all the kayaks and tied them down and headed into the small cabin for a protected ride back.

As you can see we're all smiling. There wasn't a happier group to be in that boat!

And for a look at what our ride back was like - just how bad the waves were - take a look at this short video clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2n4AUAQogM&feature=channel_page

Seward - Alaska Sealife Center

Our good friend Leo Bougerois and his son, Sean have been planning a trip to Alaka for a couple of years. We arranged to meet up with them in Seward and join a couple of great advenures they had planned. I remembered Seward from the Honeywell sales award trip in 2000, especially that breathtaking view of the harbor, with irridescent blue waters topped by snow-capped peaks behind. Well, remember that rainey weather I talked about in the last post? As luck would have it, it followed us to Seward for our entire stay!
We found a great spot at the large Municipal RV Park, right on Ressurection Bay. In spite of being sandwiched between some larger RV's, we enjoyed beautiful views of the mountains behind us and the Bay out front.

The neighbors were friendly & changed from day-to-day, making for interesting conversation and learning more about things to do in the area.

A couple of miles down the Bay from the Campground is Lowell Point. With easy road access, and nice tidal flow along it's beaches, Sean, Leo & I decided to try wetting a line at high tide. Leo snagged the first one, which looked ugly & unusual to us, certainly something one would not want to clean and eat! (We learned later that it was a small Ling Cod). But enventually the casting paid off with two nice Pink Salmons and a small silver!

Just down the road from the Campground is the worldclass Alaska Sealife Center. Since the weather wasn't conducive to enjoying the fish & animals outdoors, we spent the better part of a day exploring the Center. http://www.alaskasealife.org/New/about-ASLC/index.php?page=firstpage.php
The aquarium section had an excellent representation of local species, including a few of the stranger varieties!

and we thought we ate some strange sea creatures in Louisiana!!!

The largest tanks in the Center house the mammals, where the active and funny Harbor Seals stole the show.

I think I had as much fun watching the kids watch the animals as seeing the creatures themselves.

I particularly enjoyed watch the many aerobatic manuvers, including the emmelman, rolls & loops just like we flew them in aerobatic competition!

SSSS

Adjacent to the mammal tanks was an aviary section filled with typical Alaskan sea birds. Our favorite were the Tufted Puffin and the Common Murre, both were rather comical and not camera shy at all....

Speaking of birds, Kim made a rather interesting discovery back at the Campground. After much looking & studying, we confirmed that a Western Kingbird was here, which is quite rare for Alaska. After posting her find on several local birding sites, and receiving reports from birders that came to Seward just to see this bird, Kim was delighted to get confirmation of the sighting from several other birders.

Homer!

We arrived this afternoon in Homer Alaska, yep, way, way down the Kenai Peninsula.

Over the past couple of weeks, we have visited Talkeetna, the Nancy Lakes area, spent a few days in Anchorage and fished the Russian & Kasilof Rivers (without much success). The "second run" of Sockeye salmon is not yet started so we are waiting things out down here.

The drive down was nice, stopping along the Inlet for many beautiful samples of this wild country. One stunning sight was Mount Iliamna standing proudly out there across the Inlet. At near 11,000ft above sea level, it dwarfs nearby peaks & mountains. The volcano is still active, but has not erupted since 1996. http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF13/1300.html
Reaching Anchor Point (about 5 miles north of Homer), the pullover there greets us with our first view of Kachemak Bay & Homer (not quite visible here in the distance to the left) and the "Spit" (a long narrow peninsula off the west end of Homer in the left center below), well known for it's fishing charters in the area. http://www.akms.com/spit.html
Reaching the edge of town, we stop at a municial sewer station, and unbelievably as we are draining, a couple of Sandhill Cranes walk across the dump area within fifty feet of us!

Moments later we realize that we are justa football field away from the local Homer Nature Center & Refuge, and get anothe fabulous view of the inner bay, just north of Beluga Lake, where we will base.

Down the road a bit, and a turn to the right and we find crystal Beluga Lake lay before us.
Our good friend Steve J back in Louisiana was kind enough to allow us to park our trailer at a location on the Lake. Looking a bit closer, we spot the neighbors green & white Beaver (the Lake is the local seaplane landing strip), which would put Steve's place just to the left.

As promised, we find the quaint fishing camp that Steve & friends base tours & trips from and settle in.

Even though darkness was approaching (yes, in contrast to Fairbanks, it does get dark at night this far south!), we were anxious to "cruise" the Spit, so off we went! Just past midway, we discover "the Fishin' Hole", a man-made football sized excavation that is "seeded" every year with fingerling King & Silver Salmon. Roughly three years later, the adults return to spawn, only to find themselves at the mercy of the hundreds of fishermen that line it's banks. (not quite, turns out the fish don't bite very well when they are ready to spawn...)

Looking down from the Hole, we get a scenic view of the Homer Harbor, home of the many commercial & private boats that serve the area......



A few minutes more and we are at the end of the road (and the Spit) where there is a large fish processing plant and we find numerous gulls and seabirds. We quickly confirm the Glaucous Wing Gull, another lifer!


Kim is intrigued by how close the large boats run to the shoreline here, stirring up the gulls, while I'm entertained by the unique carvings on the Land's End just across and to our right.


The following day I'm surprised by a "traffic jam" at the corner of Beluga Lake. Pulling over I find the source of the excitement...a bald eagle about fifteen feet in front of us apparently gather nesting materials in the form of grass.

After shooting a few stills, the cooperative subject allowed me to get some nice video at very close range. You might enjoy this short clip posted on YouTube... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBjsIpDAr-4



Those of you who are perceptive have probably noticed that not all the pix above were taken in glowing sunshine. Quite the contrary, we have struggled here on the Peninsula to find a few bright days. The coastal suroundings are prone to overcast, foggy and raining conditions much of the time. So, I guess the downside of this part of Alaska is the unpredictable weather. As you see above, when it's nice it's gorgeous! The scenery is spectacular, and one finds this to be one of the most enjoyable spots on earth. But, to be fair, here's a few shots that document the conditions that we've been in here for more than half the time....



The locals are not deterred, as shown in this early morning photo of horseback riders at low tide along the north shore of the Spit in light rain & fog!

Anchorage

Well after a couple of months, we finally are back in a city again, complete with Sam's, Wal-Mart, movie theaters and shopping malls. But, you already know about those common things, so I'll just focus on the unique things we saw in Anchorage.

First off is their original log cabin Visitor's Center. According to the poster inside, this is THE most photographed log cabin in the world...
I guess a stunning difference walking around downtown is the huge array of beautiful flowers...everywhere you look. Interestingly, Alaska state colors are pretty darn close to LSU's, so we almost felt we were wadering though the streets of Louisiana.


A real highlight of the visit was the Saturday Market. If this isn't the largest in the world, it has to rank right up there with the biggest. Covering what amounts to several city blocks, there are so many rows of booths that street signs are posted to help one find their way.

Speaking of unique, we met a charming artist (Arlene) who spends half the year in Hawaii, and half here in Alaska making pottery fired Ocarinas. This strange litle instrument sounds wonderful, and captivated both Kim & I. Of course, we bought a couple! Unfortunately she doesn't have a website or any way to order them, so I guess you need to visit Anchorage to get yours.

Be sure to check out the video of Arlene playing her own instruments at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CvZTLQuOq0

Just behind the Market, is Ship Creek, and the King Salmon were running right here in downtown. Pretty interesting to be fishing in the heart of their warehouse district, right under an elevated highway!

Among other unique things, Anchorage boasts many, many miles of bike/hike trails throughout all areas of the city. Now imagine you bike ride being interrupted for ten or fifteen minutes by moma moose and her calf in the heart of the city! With the airport fence a few yards to her left, and the high bluff over the ocean on the right, we had no choice but to wait here out...

One can't possibly miss seeing Alaska's own singer/songwriter Hobo Jim. Jim's been around for many years, writing & singing originals about the heart & spirit of this land. His big hit came when he wrote a song about the "Iditarod Trail". You can learn more about Jim and his music at http://www.hobojim.com/.


We were treated to a very personal concert when Kim & I and one other couple were the only attendees for this night's performance. Rather than sing as usual in the large theater, Jim moved us into a intimate coffee bar setting for his singing. Need I say, it was an enjoyable evening!