We concluded our Seward stay with a visit to the Alaska Sea Life Center. The State provides a facility and staff for ongoing research and rescue of Alaskan sea life. The Center conducts a hospital facility for sick or wounded sea life and a home to abandoned young sea life as well as provides research, collects data and educates the public. Alaska is highly cognizant of the critical balance of nature between maintaining their ecological responsibilities and the part that this natural resource plays in their economy. They spend time and money maintaining a constant vigilance of the sea life and its habitat in hopes that they can both protect their eco system and sustain their economic growth in commercial and sports fishing as well as tourism In Valdez, we watched as researchers counted the "catch of the day", reviewed them for markings that gave valuable historical data and questioned fishermen (and women) as to where the fish had been caught, how many people were fishing and asked related questions for their data assimilation.
We gained further insight into the State’s commitment to maintaining a watchful eye of its sea life when we attended a brief presentation on the habits of the Sea Otters and Sea Lions at the Sea Life Center. The ranger explained that the population of the Sea Otters and Sea Lions are decreasing annually which, of course, is cause for concern. She cited possible contributing factors as a compromise in the food chain as a result of outside influences such as the Valdez oil spill; disturbance of the animal mating periods by noisy tour boats and their loud speaker and one that was particularly surprising, kayaks. Those who are studying the sea life believe it is possible that the kayak and its one man super ecologically aware passenger is strange looking and threatening to the sea lions, sea otters and seals. They believe that the sea animal may view the silent moving funny looking kayak with man aboard as an orca and thus, something to be feared.
After our brief nature study, we reluctantly bade goodbye to Seward and headed for the Kenai Peninsula and our ultimate destination of Homer. We stopped at a RV Resort on the Kenai River where Ken launched his boat and did a two hour float trip down the river. I dutifully snapped a picture and drove the approximate 20 mile distance to where he exited the river, stiff and groaning from his two hour childlike vigil but satisfied with his accomplishment. Traveling with a 73 year old kid can be "tiring" as well as amusing.
Boating adventure concluded, we stopped at Ninilchik in a State camp ground on the beach. Fishing boats from an adjacent fishing village kept me entertained until well into the night. I watched the 11 PM sunset and the last red streaks of the setting sun as darkness fell at midnight.
We awakened Tuesday morning to the gaiety of clammers scurrying along the beach seeking their limit of razor neck clams at low tide. Ken quickly looked for his shovel but alas, he had misplaced it. He found it the next day but in the meantime, he talked to someone about clamming and was told that you spend one hour digging 60 razor neck clams (the limit per person) and 9 hours cleaning them. That information was enough to make me want to "lose" the shovel forever.
After breakfast, we continued on the short distance to Homer and found a spot on the spit, overlooking Kachemak Bay. Across the bay snow peaked mountains with four (three active) volcanos and glaciers from the Harding Icefield seem convincing evidence that just beyond the quiet waters of the bay rugged country awaited. Seward is just over the mountains but one must drive the 100+ miles around the peninsula to get there. No roads connect this side of the mountain with the other side. Homer and the Kenai Peninsula are well known for their commercial and sports fishing, primarily halibut and salmon though there is clamming as well as there is natural gas exploration in Cook Inlet. People from all over the World come here to fish and Ken has looked forward to it. His first priority was to check out the fishing charters.
We looked into a photo trip of bear country by float plane but that was quickly nixed. five hundred dollars each was too "rich" for our blood, in spite of a full eight hour trip with lunch included and bear sightings assured. We had also considered taking the Alaska State Ferry on a one week trip through the Aleutian Islands but we learned that the ferry makes the trip twice each month and it would depart Tuesday night at 7PM. A decision had to be made quickly and $1,600 seemed a lot of money for something that we were really not sure about. We decided against it but in doing so, we also missed out on a planned visit to Kodiak Island. The next ferry would not leave until July 25. We concluded that The Alaskan Maritime Highway is limited in it’s overall convenience. .
Wednesday, Ken had his deep sea fishing trip, returning to proudly show off his catch of two halibut, one 63 pounds and a second one approximately 35 pounds. Each fisherman on the boat is allowed a catch of two halibut each day but you can go as many days as you have "green to permit". One days catch was sufficient to fill our freezer. We estimate that the cost of the license, the fishing trip and preparation of the fish for the trip home just about matched what we would pay per pound at Costco in LA. But, Ken had the fun of the experience and who can put a price on that?
Thursday we had a side trip to Seldovia, an outlying village down the Peninsula reachable only by air or boat. Along the way, the guide passed by islands well populated with birds of many varieties as well as sea otters, seals and rocks that have been named for animal resemblance among the rocks. It was a ful day with a view of sea life, a visit to an interesting village and chance to reflect upon a lifestyle not unlike that of summer residents on the small Islands off the coast of Maine.
We stopped and talked briefly with a friendly and hospitable local resident. She gave us an overview of the lifestyle and history of Seldovia. She is a teacher and her husband manufactures guitar parts that he ships all over the world. They have managed to find a good life in an area that they believe provides their children with a good safe place in which to grow up. She said that the Island needs people but that the only jobs are the ones that people are able to develop on their own. Thus, it suffers from the economics of survival like so many other places that are otherwise amiable to raising a family and maximizing simple family values. She expressed the hope that as people are able to develop "work at home" careers, such as that of her husband, it will impact the islands like Seldovia and help them develop into independent self sustainable communities. The island has 70 children in grades 1-12. Next year there will not be a kindergarten class, but the year after there will be two kindergartners. Last year there was no graduating class.
Our news source was born on an island off of the State of Washington and moved to Seldovia with her parents 30 years ago. After college and extended travel, she returned to Seldovia with her husband because they felt it was a good place to raise their children. She spoke of her neighbors, the lifestyle and the village with a combination of love, pride and good loyalty embraced with good citizenship.
According to the Seldovia Chamber of Commerce "Seldovia was first settled by the Russians about 1800 and is one of the oldest settlements in the Cook Inlet region. It is located in the sheltered harbor and sunny slopes of Seldovia Bay. What is thought to be the first coal mine in Alaska was operated here by the Russians for their settlements and the Russian fleet. Most of the Russians left the area following the purchase of Alaska by the United States in 1867, but traces of their heritage still remain. A Russian Orthodox Church built in 1891, was for many years, the towns social hub. It was restored in 1981 and remains an impressive landmark on a hill overlooking the harbor."
The original town was built on a boardwalk. According to our tour guide, in the early days, visitors with business in Seldovia would sail up the channel at high tide and tie up to the house of the business man with whom they were planning to conduct business. When their business was concluded, they would leave on the next high tide. The land mass in Seldovia dropped approximately four feet during the 1964 earthquake which caused houses along the waterfront and the old Seldovia boardwalk to flood at high tide. Federal funds were used to remove these structures and backfill the land in preparation for new homes and business. A section of the old Seldovia boardwalk remains at the south end of the town along the slough, which was formerly called Bolshevik Slough (now called Seldovia Slough). It was a fascinating visit back in time to a colorful lifestyle that seemed mystical, inviting and enchanting. Seldovia has the same latitude as Oslo, Norway. It is home to 300 full time residents, a large tourist population in the summers. It’s hardy lifestyle requires a strong constitution, an independent spirit and strong mental discipline. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to this unique island that depends on the ability of its citizens to sustain its survival in the same mode as that which sustained the establishment of settlements in the lower 48. For me, this visit provided a further reminder of how far we have come and how strong our spirit can be.
We concluded our week in Homer with a day of rest and relaxation and on Saturday moved up the Kenai Peninsula to Soldotna, another Russian named area in the Kenai Borough where Ken entertained himself with salmon fishing, without success. 
We concluded our Seward stay with a visit to the Alaska Sea Life Center. The State provides a facility and staff for ongoing research and rescue of Alaskan sea life. The Center conducts a hospital facility for sick or wounded sea life and a home to abandoned young sea life as well as provides research, collects data and educates the public. Alaska is highly cognizant of the critical balance of nature between maintaining their ecological responsibilities and the part that this natural resource plays in their economy. They spend time and money maintaining a constant vigilance of the sea life and its habitat in hopes that they can both protect their eco system and sustain their economic growth in commercial and sports fishing as well as tourism In Valdez, we watched as researchers counted the "catch of the day", reviewed them for markings that gave valuable historical data and questioned fishermen (and women) as to where the fish had been caught, how many people were fishing and asked related questions for their data assimilation.
We gained further insight into the State’s commitment to maintaining a watchful eye of its sea life when we attended a brief presentation on the habits of the Sea Otters and Sea Lions at the Sea Life Center. The ranger explained that the population of the Sea Otters and Sea Lions are decreasing annually which, of course, is cause for concern. She cited possible contributing factors as a compromise in the food chain as a result of outside influences such as the Valdez oil spill; disturbance of the animal mating periods by noisy tour boats and their loud speaker and one that was particularly surprising, kayaks. Those who are studying the sea life believe it is possible that the kayak and its one man super ecologically aware passenger is strange looking and threatening to the sea lions, sea otters and seals. They believe that the sea animal may view the silent moving funny looking kayak with man aboard as an orca and thus, something to be feared.
After our brief nature study, we reluctantly bade goodbye to Seward and headed for the Kenai Peninsula and our ultimate destination of Homer. We stopped at a RV Resort on the Kenai River where Ken launched his boat and did a two hour float trip down the river. I dutifully snapped a picture and drove the approximate 20 mile distance to where he exited the river, stiff and groaning from his two hour childlike vigil but satisfied with his accomplishment. Traveling with a 73 year old kid can be "tiring" as well as amusing.
Boating adventure concluded, we stopped at Ninilchik in a State camp ground on the beach. Fishing boats from an adjacent fishing village kept me entertained until well into the night. I watched the 11 PM sunset and the last red streaks of the setting sun as darkness fell at midnight.
We awakened Tuesday morning to the gaiety of clammers scurrying along the beach seeking their limit of razor neck clams at low tide. Ken quickly looked for his shovel but alas, he had misplaced it. He found it the next day but in the meantime, he talked to someone about clamming and was told that you spend one hour digging 60 razor neck clams (the limit per person) and 9 hours cleaning them. That information was enough to make me want to "lose" the shovel forever.
After breakfast, we continued on the short distance to Homer and found a spot on the spit, overlooking Kachemak Bay. Across the bay snow peaked mountains with four (three active) volcanos and glaciers from the Harding Icefield seem convincing evidence that just beyond the quiet waters of the bay rugged country awaited. Seward is just over the mountains but one must drive the 100+ miles around the peninsula to get there. No roads connect this side of the mountain with the other side. Homer and the Kenai Peninsula are well known for their commercial and sports fishing, primarily halibut and salmon though there is clamming as well as there is natural gas exploration in Cook Inlet. People from all over the World come here to fish and Ken has looked forward to it. His first priority was to check out the fishing charters.
We looked into a photo trip of bear country by float plane but that was quickly nixed. five hundred dollars each was too "rich" for our blood, in spite of a full eight hour trip with lunch included and bear sightings assured. We had also considered taking the Alaska State Ferry on a one week trip through the Aleutian Islands but we learned that the ferry makes the trip twice each month and it would depart Tuesday night at 7PM. A decision had to be made quickly and $1,600 seemed a lot of money for something that we were really not sure about. We decided against it but in doing so, we also missed out on a planned visit to Kodiak Island. The next ferry would not leave until July 25. We concluded that The Alaskan Maritime Highway is limited in it’s overall convenience. .
Wednesday, Ken had his deep sea fishing trip, returning to proudly show off his catch of two halibut, one 63 pounds and a second one approximately 35 pounds. Each fisherman on the boat is allowed a catch of two halibut each day but you can go as many days as you have "green to permit". One days catch was sufficient to fill our freezer. We estimate that the cost of the license, the fishing trip and preparation of the fish for the trip home just about matched what we would pay per pound at Costco in LA. But, Ken had the fun of the experience and who can put a price on that?
Thursday we had a side trip to Seldovia, an outlying village down the Peninsula reachable only by air or boat. Along the way, the guide passed by islands well populated with birds of many varieties as well as sea otters, seals and rocks that have been named for animal resemblance among the rocks. It was a ful day with a view of sea life, a visit to an interesting village and chance to reflect upon a lifestyle not unlike that of summer residents on the small Islands off the coast of Maine.
We stopped and talked briefly with a friendly and hospitable local resident. She gave us an overview of the lifestyle and history of Seldovia. She is a teacher and her husband manufactures guitar parts that he ships all over the world. They have managed to find a good life in an area that they believe provides their children with a good safe place in which to grow up. She said that the Island needs people but that the only jobs are the ones that people are able to develop on their own. Thus, it suffers from the economics of survival like so many other places that are otherwise amiable to raising a family and maximizing simple family values. She expressed the hope that as people are able to develop "work at home" careers, such as that of her husband, it will impact the islands like Seldovia and help them develop into independent self sustainable communities. The island has 70 children in grades 1-12. Next year there will not be a kindergarten class, but the year after there will be two kindergartners. Last year there was no graduating class.
Our news source was born on an island off of the State of Washington and moved to Seldovia with her parents 30 years ago. After college and extended travel, she returned to Seldovia with her husband because they felt it was a good place to raise their children. She spoke of her neighbors, the lifestyle and the village with a combination of love, pride and good loyalty embraced with good citizenship.
According to the Seldovia Chamber of Commerce "Seldovia was first settled by the Russians about 1800 and is one of the oldest settlements in the Cook Inlet region. It is located in the sheltered harbor and sunny slopes of Seldovia Bay. What is thought to be the first coal mine in Alaska was operated here by the Russians for their settlements and the Russian fleet. Most of the Russians left the area following the purchase of Alaska by the United States in 1867, but traces of their heritage still remain. A Russian Orthodox Church built in 1891, was for many years, the towns social hub. It was restored in 1981 and remains an impressive landmark on a hill overlooking the harbor."
The original town was built on a boardwalk. According to our tour guide, in the early days, visitors with business in Seldovia would sail up the channel at high tide and tie up to the house of the business man with whom they were planning to conduct business. When their business was concluded, they would leave on the next high tide. The land mass in Seldovia dropped approximately four feet during the 1964 earthquake which caused houses along the waterfront and the old Seldovia boardwalk to flood at high tide. Federal funds were used to remove these structures and backfill the land in preparation for new homes and business. A section of the old Seldovia boardwalk remains at the south end of the town along the slough, which was formerly called Bolshevik Slough (now called Seldovia Slough). It was a fascinating visit back in time to a colorful lifestyle that seemed mystical, inviting and enchanting. Seldovia has the same latitude as Oslo, Norway. It is home to 300 full time residents, a large tourist population in the summers. It’s hardy lifestyle requires a strong constitution, an independent spirit and strong mental discipline. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to this unique island that depends on the ability of its citizens to sustain its survival in the same mode as that which sustained the establishment of settlements in the lower 48. For me, this visit provided a further reminder of how far we have come and how strong our spirit can be.
We concluded our week in Homer with a day of rest and relaxation and on Saturday moved up the Kenai Peninsula to Soldotna, another Russian named area in the Kenai Borough where Ken entertained himself with salmon fishing, without success.