Month: July 2024

July 15 – 17: Soldotna: A major supply center for the region, thus a good stop for us as we headed to the Kenai Peninsula. Most importantly, Ann was able to get her hair cut. Normally done every 5 weeks, it had been 8 weeks since the last one, and desperation had set in. Also, based on a recommendation for good bread from another LTV’er, we stopped in at Lucy’s, a small boutique market. Well – yes, it was expensive, but SO worth it. We even went back a second time to get an “inventory” loaf before leaving. We stayed at Klondike RV just outside of town.

July 17 – 19: En route to Homer, we had wanted to stay in State parks for a couple of nights. Preferably along the coast.

First, we stopped Deep Creek State Recreational Area (Ninilchik), a no services campground, with a million pot holes getting to the RV area. But once past the day use area, we found an RV site right on the beach, facing the water. Could just see the volcanic mountains across Cook Inlet. These state campgrounds are consistently $20 per night. Hard to beat the value!

We had Homer reservations for the 19th, and intended to stay the previous night, the 18th, at Anchor Point, about 1/2 way from Deep Creek to Homer. We found a spot at Halibut Campground there, but it was hidden in the trees, with not a sight of the water, and we had been spoiled by the night before at Deep Creek. We parked while we thought about it, and did manage to check out the beach nearby, where we saw a number of wonderful eagles.

So we continued towards Homer, and beseeched the people at KOA at Baycrest, very close to Homer, to let us have a spot for one night. They did, and it was excellent. Again, directly facing the water, though this time from a bluff that was several hundred feet up from the beach. Full services, full price. Slightly difficult to get into the site, and very close to each other, but we were glad to have it.

July 19-23: Homer. We arrived early in the Homer area, and drove down onto Homer Spit right away. There are many campgrounds on the Spit, all full at this time of year, and all the parking lots were also full. Fortunately Homer has designated an area for free day-use parking for RVs only, and we were able to park and walk around and check things out. Bought more fish, this time including some halibut. Mostly tourist shopping, with ample opportunities to charter if one wants.

We had reserved at Ocean Shores weeks before, and were looking forward to it. It’s slightly outside of town, on a slope from highway down to just above the beach, with the RV sites stepped down the hill. Supposedly one should then have a view to the water over the RV below you. NOT. Still, a pleasant place to be. We were able to walk the 1.5 miles to the Farmers’ Market on Saturday morning. And on one sunny day, the views from the beach and bluff above it were spectacular.

We also stopped at the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Visitors’ Center. Twice in fact. First time we watched a short film about the Research Vessel Tiĝlax̂, a 120 meter vessel that supplies eight remote camps in the Refuge every summer. There are more than 40 million marine birds and mammals that live in the Refuge. On our second visit, we ended up studying the map of the National Wildlife Refuge System. Begun in 1903 by Teddy Roosevelt, it has grown to more than 150 million acres, including 560 National Wildlife Refuges, plus 38 Wetland Management Districts. As well, the System includes four National Monuments in the Pacific (covering more than 418 million acres of coral reefs, submerged lands, deep waters, islands and atolls), and 677,000 acres of wetlands and grasslands known as Waterfowl Protection Areas. You can check out more details in this map.

Arrived Seward Resurrection Campground – the only one that has water and electric. Most of the rest of the Seward CGs are dry, or occasionally there is electric only. Nevertheless, all the spots are taken, every night. Mainly because of the spectacular location. Every site on each of the 6 or 7 CGs has a view of Resurrection Bay. Some sites are right on the water, with the walking path immediately in front. We were a couple of rows back, where the height allowed us to see over the RVs in front of us, and out to the water. The sites are very close together, with no visual or spatial separation, so it’s a bit like a parking lot. But if you look out the front, it’s pretty gorgeous.

We only intended to stay for 3 days, but in the end we stayed for a whole week. 3 different sites, but moving wasn’t difficult. Our old boat life “demanded” that we do a boat walk – wandering through a marina has always been a favorite activity for both of us. The ramps down to the docks were open (not secured closed), so we were able to meander to our hearts’ content.

The older part of the town of Seward is quite charming, with a 3-block x 3-block section of interesting stores, restaurants and bars. All around the town there are murals, painted locally, depicting various aspects of life the the Seward area.

The newer section of town, near the marina, caters to cruise ship passengers. It has an excellent visitor center, as well as many restaurants and fish shops. Unfortunately, one can’t really buy fish off the local fishboats. The only option, unless you want to go out on a charter, is to buy frozen packages of fish. They are from local fishermen, just not fresh. So we did buy some rockfish, and it was excellent.

A side story – while we were buying our rockfish, which we actually thought was quite expensive, a cruise ship couple was at the next register, finishing up their order for king crab and halibut, to be shipped to their home. The total on the register was $1,037. Not a typo. Not sure if that included shipping or not. And then … the clerk added another $27 for a shipping box. Truly, with a $1,000 plus order, couldn’t they have thrown in the box ?!?!? Anyway, it was our smile for the day.

We did some wandering around the town, discovering a lively set of falls, and the beginning of the original Iditarod “Seward-Nome Route” Trail. Today, the annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, which follows much of the original trail, starts in March in Anchorage, and goes to Nome. You can read more about the trail and the races here.

Finally left Denali area on July 2, headed for Anchorage. En route, stopped at K’esugi Ken Campground. An Alaska State CG, it was a bit unusual, as there was power at the site. Up a winding road from the main Seward highway to the CG itself, and then a big loop with mostly back-in sites off it. All well-separated, and each very attractive. There was an excellent interpretive center, with lots of info boards. The one below we found most interesting – lots of tall tales about the first climbers to reach the top of Mt McKinley, now renamed Denali.

The campgrounds in Anchorage proper were not very well regarded, so we decided to stay in Palmer, about 45 minutes north of the city. Palmer is a bustling small town, and a close neighbor of Wasilla, of Sarah Palin fame. Both towns provide local services, but we had some chores that required a bigger city, so we spent a full day in Anchorage, washing The Benz, (RV washing places are few and far between!), having a new pair of Garry’s jeans hemmed, and of course, visiting Costco.

Our campground in Palmer, The Springer, was small but well managed, easy to get in and out of, and had good services, including laundry. We had wanted to stay 3 days, but could only get a reservation for 1. And the missing days included July 4th! But the manager, Mara, was extremely helpful, and when a cancellation happened, we were in for the extra 2 days. In the end, we decided to stay another 2 days, mainly because the parks on the way to Seward were mostly full, and Springer could accommodate.

Finally left Springer on the 8th, and had a beautiful drive down Seward Highway to the coastal town of Seward. A couple of the scenes from the way down.