D93 - 07/30/24 NO TROUT TODAY!

 

Trout fishing was our main agenda for today. We decided to walk to the bridge to fish as opposed to wading through the high brush around the lakes edge. Seems that there were three bear sightings on the perimeter of the campground earlier today. 

Tim went on ahead of me around a bend in the winding creek to fish. I stayed closer to the bridge. It was nice to be back with a lighter fly rod on a fast moving creek. I decided to start with an egg sucking leech fly, knowing the salmon were depositing eggs now. My fly selection wasn’t happening for me. Since I’m use to a dry fly and had never fly fished with a leech I decided to switch back over to a dry fly. 

Our day fishing ended empty handed. That’s okay. Just to be on the water, wading, studying the water, thinking where the trout might be, concentrating on casting and where that fly will land is very relaxing and meditative. Standing in a creek in Alaska surrounded by salmon in the water. Amazing experience. 

And why might we think trout would be here? For the salmon of course! Trout are here anyway but are also opportunistic feeders. So as the salmon decay the trout are there to feed off them. All a part of the cycle of life. 

When they die and decompose, their carcasses also add nutrients to the stream. 

The weather today was overcast with just a few very light rain sprinkles. So we decided a cozy campfire would be perfect! It wasn’t too windy and our firewood was dry so while we had a chance we took advantage of the evening weather conditions. Dinner was an easy fix as well as the fire died down. 

Tim and I still need to finish a few details of our Driver’s Meeting this evening. Tomorrow will be another travel day. Hoping the weather clears up more making for an easier drive. 

Dinner:

Grilled Parmesan Crusted Salmon with a fresh side salad made of Shredded Cabbage drizzled with a White Balsamic Reduction and topped with Crunchy Chow Mein Noodles. 

Sunset: 10:35 pm

Sunrise: 5:36 am

Wildlife viewings:

Salmon (in the wild)

Ducks

D92 - 07/29/24 SALMON IN THE WILD

Our day turned out to be another rainy day. First up was to move sites. There were two coming available this morning so we grabbed the one best suited for the length of our Airstream and the location to where we will go fishing. 

The move did not take long but the rain began getting heavier. So we changed our day to a R&R day. Research and Recovery day! There is a good portion of our return from Alaska to the lower 48 that has not been researched. Along with the research we needed to plot out our return days on a calendar so that we don’t run out of days to spend somewhere … knowing it will happen anyway. 

Finally the rain stopped enough to walk to the boardwalk and then over to the bridge on Quartz Creek. We enjoyed watching the salmon in the wild swim upstream in the swift water below. Amazing to watch the incredible power of Mother Nature. 

These salmon have returned to where they were born after having spent their lives out in the ocean. Salmon are anadromous fish, which means they spend part of their lives in freshwater and part in the salty ocean. The deep red color designating that they are spawning. A week or so ago the looked silver like the ones Tim and I caught. After spawning their bodies rapidly deteriorate until their death. Both beautiful and despairing. 

Once back to our basecamp we grilled dinner. Made a few tweaks to the big calendar and confirmed our fishing strategy for trout tomorrow. 

Dinner: Grilled Teriyaki Salmon with a fresh side salad made of Shredded Cabbage drizzled with a White Balsamic Reduction and topped with Crunchy Chow Mein Noodles. 

Sunset: 10:38 pm

Sunrise: 5:33 am

Wildlife viewings:

Salmon (in the wild)

D91 - 07/28/24 BACK TO QUARTZ CREEK

Travel day! Before we departed I gathered (more) rocks and some (more) drift wood from the beach … shhh! These are the perfect rocks. And the best driftwood! Tim got a hoodie from Salty Dawg Saloon as soon as they opened. We also got to tell everyone at the campground goodbye again this morning. Until next year!??? Hah

The truck had some issues while towing right before we arrived in Homer Spit. While we were in Homer Spit the truck was fine not towing. Long story but after researching we think it has to do with the air conditioner. So we drove to our location today with the AC off and the truck was fine while towing. Don’t need AC up here anyway. More than likely we will not have it repaired until we either get back to the lower 48 or even until we return home. One Ford garage could not get us in until November. The other not until the end of next month. Ugh. 

Now we are heading back up the Kenai Peninsula. Beautiful to see this amazing scenery from the opposite direction. Landed at Quartz Creek in Cooper Landing. We were here two weeks ago but in a different site. The plan was to stay here 2-3 nights. However there was only one site available for one night. Tomorrow we hope a site will open for two more nights. Otherwise we will move on. There were hopes to try to fish here for some trout. 

The wildflowers and fireweed are still looking spectacular. Even in the rain. Wish we had some of these in Florida. After our weekly Sunday Family Zoom session we made dinner. What was for dinner now that we are away from all the restaurants on the Spit? Salmon!! Delicious salmon. We made a hearty Caesar salad then placed a grilled a piece of salmon on top of it. Yum. 

Should know by noon tomorrow if we move on or not. 

Sunset: 10:40 pm

Sunrise: 5:31 am

Elevation: 460’

Miles from home: 

4,812 miles

Wildlife viewings:

Seagulls 

Eagle