A Frustrating Day

For the last couple of days we haven’t been able to get the propane side of our hot water to ignite.  Ken took an air hose to it and also tried igniting it with a lighter to no avail.  I was also making some calls to get a prescription called in to a local pharmacy.  After making the calls, we drove to Anchorage to a couple of RV parts businesses and purchased a new gas control valve for the hot water heater.  While in town we got a call back from our doctor’s office telling Ken they would not call in his prescription.  This is after we had made it a point to visit with the doctor prior to leaving on this trip and the doctor assuring us that the prescriptions would be okay.  We also made a stop at Costco to pick up another special order of gel-cam (a dental treatment) and they’re unable to get it earlier than 2 weeks from now.  We also checked at Walmart without any luck.

We did drive up Eagle River Road and took one of the side roads up the hill and found this small waterfall.

It looks like tomorrow will be a day of making phone calls trying to get the prescription problem resolved and Ken will be trying to get the hot water heater repaired.  The new part is not exactly the same as the old one even though the part number is the same.  It sounds like a fun day is in store for us.

Kenai to Eagle River, Alaska

I didn’t get any decent photos today as the windshield became splattered with bugs rapidly.  Before leaving Kenai, we stopped at the Holiday station to dump the tanks, and to purchase propane and enough fuel to get by on until we got closer to Anchorage.  After that, we were on the road.  Shortly before getting to the Rusiian/Kenai River Ferry area, I saw a moose standing in a small creek at the side of the road. 

We were also keeping our eyes peeled for CoolRvers who are also members of Escapees RV Club as we knew they would be leaving Seward this morning and driving toward Soldotna.  We saw them and waved, but unfortunately my camera had just turned off and didn’t start back up in time to catch their photo.

We stopped for lunch at a turnoff along Turnagain Arm.  We continued on to Anchorage where we had an appointment with Cummins as we’ve had problems a couple of times now with the check engine light coming on and going into alarm.  It was also reflecting a drop in voltage, and after a short time each time it happened, it would recover and we’d be on our way.  Ken thought there might be either a problem with a loose wire (the battery cables were okay) or the alternator.  We had to wait for a while before a mechanic could check things out.  It was determined that we would have to replace the alternator and there is nothing available in Alaska so one will be shipped here and we’ll get that installed on Friday.  It’s an expense we’d rather not incur, but it will give us peace of mind when we travel back to the lower 48 as we would prefer not to break down in an isolated area.

We continued on to our nephew Ian’s house where we will be able to continue exploring the Anchorage area and a few other close by towns.

 

Our Last Day in Kenai

Sunday is our last day in Kenai visiting our niece Kimber and her family.  It was also opening day for dip netting on the Kenai River for Alaska residents.  This year Gale got his boat ready to take out on the river.  In past years (or at least on our last visit in 2009), they did their dip netting off the shore of the river.  In this photo they’re getting ready to launch the boat.  Madeleine, Kimber and Gale are making final preparations.

And Grant is just doing whatever his thing is to get ready.

After they launched the boat and headed up the river, we drove over to the bridge crossing the river and walked down to watch them.

Madeleine is proudly showing off the fish she caught.  Grant and Kimber are to her right.

The fishing is not getting off to a real good start and they returned with only 2 fish, both of which were caught by Madeleine.  When they got back to the house, we joined them for another great meal of chili that Kimber had started earlier in the day along with cornbread.  Just before leaving, we got the family to sit down long enough for us to get this family photo.  In the back row left to right:  Nikki, Tyler, and Madeliene.  In the front:  Kimber, Grant holding Edgar (Ed-grrr), and Gale.

As opposed to our trip here 2 years ago, we’ve had so much more time with Kimber this time, and yet it seems so short.  Thanks again for all the time you spent with us and we hope to see you Arizona in February or March of next year.  We promise to work really hard to get the house ready for your stay!  We love you all!

Frog and Toad Come to Kenai, Alaska

Our niece Kimber is on the commission for the Kenai Library and today was their grand opening following their expansion project.  In this photo they’re getting ready to cut the ribbon.  Grant is standing to the right of the mayor.

The library has a very spacious open look to it with inviting seating.

This area was set up for the teen library users with seating at tables as well as the low colorful seats that Grant is trying out.

Hamburgers, hotdogs, chips, cake, lemonade and water were available also so we didn’t need to go home for lunch.

Popular children’s book characters, Frog (Kimber on the left) and Toad, were also in attendance.  Ken and Grant stood between them for this family photo.

The children really seemed to have a good time with the characters and were given blowup frogs to take home.

Even the big kids had fun.

We spent the afternoon at Kimber and Gale’s house.  Grant’s favorite color is orange and he decided to use his special tableware for dinner.

After dinner, we returned to the RV for a relaxing evening.

Here a Moose, There a Moose

Once we got going this morning, we headed into town to get caught up on some laundry.  That went pretty fast and before going back to the motorhome, we stopped for lunch at the Burger Bus.  We took the clean clothes back to the RV and put them away then started our trip for the day.  We started out going north on Marathon Road which according to one of our area guides promised to be a place to see caribou herds.  That was not the case, but we had a few moose sightings.  The first one was at the beginning of our drive.

And close to the end of the Marathon Road, we saw this yearling bull moose hanging out with it’s mom.  In this photo you can see it’s antlers beginning to sprout.

The cow moose got a little nervous with her yearling on the other side of the road and now she has him under her watchful eye.

We continued our drive to the end of the road and turned around.  In that time, mother and son decided to take a rest.

After finishing that drive, it was still early so we continued on to take the Funny River Road in Soldotna.  We stopped at the Kenai River Fish Center.  This stained glass window was really beautiful.

Several people were down at the river fishing, bought nobody seemed to be catching any fish.

It is amazing to see the walkways and stair steps they have built in this area to allow fisherman to get down to the river to fish.

A fishing boat goes by on the river.

We continued on up the river and actually crossed the Funny River and drove close to the end of the road before returning.  We stopped at Fred Meyer’s on the return trip to pick up some food for dinner and went on to enjoy a meal at Kimber and Gale’s house.

A Day Trip to Homer, AK

We decided last night that we needed to give Kimber and family a break and do our own thing for the day.  Our day turned out to be a trip down to Homer to pick up a some memories of our previous stay there in the form of a sweatshirt for Ken and t-shirt for me.  We stopped at a pull through stop on the way south to take a few photos of Mount Redoubt on this day that started out with clear blue skies.

Before we got to Ninilchik which is about the halfway point, we stopped to get pictures of this moose at the side of the road.

About 7 miles north of Homer, traffic came to a stop and we sat in traffic for well over an hour before we were able to progress into town.  We were told an asphalt truck had overturned in the road and we could see some signs of a problem in the road.  On our way back north, it looked like the homeowner where the accident occurred earlier had a newly paved driveway.

We made it to Homer much later than planned, picked up our memorabilia, had a wonderful seafood lunch/dinner and drove back north to Kenai.

The moose we saw earlier on our drive south was still in the same vicinity attracting motorists to pull over and take photos.

Dip netting will be starting on the Kenai River on Sunday, 7/10 so we expect it will be getting busier here in Kenai over the next few days.  We’ll be here to report on what’s happening. 

We did find out Jennifer’s results in the Mount Marathon race.  She was 75th overall out of 293 racers and came in at 19th in her age group at 1 hour, 16 minutes, and 35 seconds.  We know we couldn’t even attempt to accomplish that feat and we’re both very proud of you, Jennifer.  WTG!!!!

 

Swanson River Road

We packed our lunch and drove about 10 miles northeast of Soldotna to explore the Swanson River Road.  This road accesses the Kenai Canoe Trails which goes through several lakes with portages in between them.  We thought this road would give us an excellent opportunity to see moose and bear along the road during the day.  The most wildlife we saw were squirrels and a couple of grouse.  There are several parking areas along the roads, where cars can be left while canoeists portage to a nearby lake to start their travels.  There are many fishing and camping opportunities along the routes.  Driving along the road there are only a few spots where a motorized vehicle can get closer to a lake.  This is the first lake we were able to stop near to get a photo.

We drove into the Rainbow Lake Campground which was set up with three campsites.  The third site had a picnic table by the lake and it made a great lunch stop.

After lunch, we continued to the end of the road to Swanson River Landing.

Going back a half mile, there is a junction where Swan Lake Road goes 12 miles to it’s end at Paddle Lake.

We continued to the end of this road also, stopping at this walkway to a distant view of one of the lakes.

We returned to Kenai via the K-Beach Road and this moose and her twins were grazing right next to the road and didn’t seem at all bothered by the traffic.

We continued out toward the Cannery Road, where this moose watched us closely.  It wasn’t long before she took of at a run with her young calf following closely behind her (too fast to get a photo).

After a delicious salmon dinner at Kimber and Gale’s house, we returned to the RV for the night.