Freaking Awesome

Before I get started, I just want to applaud my mom for recently completing an Alaskan cruise. She was a bit apprehensive about committing to such a big trip, but after talking with her, it sounds like she really enjoyed her cruise from Seattle, WA to the Alaskan Panhandle. It was a shame that the cruise didn't bring her to Homer, but Amanda and I are really proud of her for going out on a limb and experiencing something that many people don’t have the chance or desire to do. Great job mom!

The O'Malleys Alaskan Adventures just keep rolling on. The weather is beautiful, the people are friendly, and the opportunities for exciting activities are plentiful. It’s pretty freaking awesome here, hence the title for this entry. You should get used to that phrase, since I plan to keep using it.

What I really want to talk about was our salmon fishing extravaganza, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself. I’ll be a good blogger and pick up where Amanda left off. Plus it’s more fun to save the best for last…

As Amanda briefly mentioned before, we got to spend some time with Brian and Nikki Strohl, two good friends from Amanda’s home town who made the trip up to see Clayt and Laura. Clayt and Laura hosted a little get together which was followed by a great hike the next day. 

This is what it looks like when a bunch of
people from Pennsylvania end up in Alaska

We went to Russian River Falls, which is a staging area for spawning salmon. As the salmon swim up the Russian River (a branch off of the Kenai River), they will rest at the base of the falls before attempting to jump up the series of steep, rushing waterfalls. We all stood in amazement watching these fish leap out of the water, over rocks, and further into whitewater rapids. They are like possessed zombies because they are so focused on one thing, and one thing only: getting up the river to spawn, even though it means they will die. It gave us all an appreciation of how hard they have to work to keep their species alive.

All these guys need to do is swim up stream...

...piece of cake

The Strohls then came down to Homer later in the week to see our end of Alaska before they headed back to PA. They were very interested in tidepooling so they could see some marine wildlife, but we also did some fishing so they could bring some of the marine wildlife to them. They seemed to really enjoy taking in the spectacular mountain and bay views, while exploring the town we currently call home sweet Homer.

A perfect day to explore the beaches of Homer

Just as one group left, another arrived, literally. After we dropped Brian and Nikki off at the airport in Anchorage, we went directly from departures to arrivals to pick up Dave and Emily, our excellent friends from Lancaster, PA. It was so great to see them, and finally have them here since Amanda and I had spent quite some time planning for their arrival.

Even though it was midnight when we picked them up, the sky was sun lit and appeared as though it was barely mid-afternoon. With Dave and Em thoroughly shell-shocked by the series of flights, 4 hour time difference, and midnight sun, Amanda and I made sure they got a good night’s sleep before embarking on a myriad of adventures together.

Our first stop was Flattop Mountain, which is a popular, though strenuous, hike just outside of Anchorage. Climbing the steep terrain and scrambling over the loose rocks is worth it when you get to the top and have unobstructed views of Anchorage, Cook Inlet, the Aleutian Range, the Alaska  Range, and even Denali. We all agreed that it was a perfect way for them to begin their Alaska experience. I might even go as far to say it was freaking awesome.

Great views and we aren't even at the top yet

Watch your step!

After lunch we headed south to our favorite little ghost town, Hope, AK. There is just something about this cozy spot in the middle of nowhere that we love. It’s so easy to show up, pitch a tent, grab a beer, and listen to great live music out on the sun drenched deck. What’s not to like? The band even called up a really young girl at one point to sing Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire”, and she tore the house down. Where else are you going to see that? It is so much fun to share things like this, and Dave and Em are the perfect people to share them with.

On the agenda for the next day was a kayak tour of Humpy Cove in Resurrection Bay near Seward, AK. While it was an enjoyable experience for our group (which even included a sweet waterfall hike), a different group that was heading out on the water before us had an unfortunate incident. A double kayak tipped over because one of the users couldn't control it. It is an emergency anytime someone falls into open water in Alaska because it is so frigid. To make matters worse, the people were in the water for a good 5 minutes, which can cause body temperature to drop significantly. Luckily, with our guide’s help, the other group was able to get the kayak righted and the people out of the water. In the end everyone was alright, but it was a sad end to their kayak trip and a nerve-racking start to ours.

Hiking in kayak skirts is always a good look

Dave an Em: A well oiled machine

We departed Seward and finally headed for Homer. Along the drive, Dave an Em were wide eyed looking for moose. Emily has waited her whole life for the chance to see a moose, and we didn't want her to leave Alaska disappointed. Sure enough, nature cooperated and we spotted a nice bull moose having some dinner by the side of the road. Mission accomplished!

Emily's first moose encounter

It was late when we arrived in Homer, so we saved the Homer tour for the next day. We walked along the Spit, perused a few art galleries, and had delicious sushi at Wasabi. It was a great way to relax after our busy weekend. While Amanda and I had to work during the week, that didn't stop Dave and Em from exploring all that is Homer. They hiked just about anywhere they could find a trail, including a 7-8 mile beach hike where they saw a ton of seals. They gathered as much information as possible about wildlife, geology, and history at the Pratt Museum, Wynn Nature Center, Alaska Islands & Ocean Visitor Center, and the Homer Visitor Center. I think they now know more about Homer than we do. They also know more about Homer’s milkshakes as they stopped for them three out of the five days they spent in Homer!

The highlight of the week though was Sockeye Salmon (red salmon) fishing with Clayt. When I say that this was freaking awesome, it was FREAKING AWESOME! Clayt and I had been watching the fish counter all week waiting for the salmon numbers to spike so we knew when the salmon run was on. In order for it to be worth fishing sockeye in the Kenai, you’d like to see at least 25,000-30,000 fish in the river. There were a few days hovering around the 15,000-20,000 mark, before the counts jumped up to about 100,000. As if this wasn't good enough, it shot up to almost 250,000 the next day! It was time to fish!!

After I finished work on Wednesday evening, we drove an hour and a half up to Soldotna to meet our "fishing guide" Clayt. He took us to the banks of the Kenai River and set us up with the gear we needed to fish. After reviewing the proper technique for catching these feisty fish, it was time to fish. Dave wasted no time catching a good size salmon on what seemed like his first cast. In fact he had caught two before anyone else caught anything. I was getting pretty frustrated because I was hooking fish, but they were getting free before I could bring them in to be netted. After modifying my technique for setting the hook, I finally had the upper hand on the fish. I reeled in my first salmon as Clayt excitedly yelled, “That’s as big as you’ll find here!” and “It’s a monster!” It was easily the biggest fish I had ever caught, close to 10 pounds we think. I may have screamed out a more colorful version of “This is freaking awesome!”, but only those on the river know for sure.

Yeah, I caught that.

Each person is only able to catch up to 3 salmon per day. Dave was a machine and caught his limit in a little less than an hour. He then turned his attention to helping Emily catch her fish. We were a little worried Em might freak out or drop the rod when she got a fish on the line, but she held it together and caught a couple of really nice fish. Amanda had a difficult time getting started as she kept losing fish before she could reel them in. It turns out part of the problem was an issue with the reel. Once Clayt was able to fix it, Amanda started to bring in fish as fast as anyone else on the river. 

I love how excited Amanda and Clayt are...FISH ON!

Once a fish is caught, it needs to be hit on the head with a blunt object so it doesn't suffer. Clayt's mini baseball bat, named the “Kenai Slugger” accomplished this task. Everyone got a turn practicing this skill, though Emily was clearly the most timid, Amanda didn't flinch.

Amanda swinging the Kenai Slugger

There's dinner!

Once we had all of our fish, Clayt started to fillet them, revealing the scarlet red meat these fish are known for. We ended up bringing over 42 lbs. of salmon fillets with us back to Homer. Dave and Em were later able to ship 17 lbs. back to PA as a scrumptious souvenir from their time in AK. Keep in mind, that’s just the fillet weight, the rest of the fish was thrown back in the river (“fillet and release” as Clayt would say). Not bad for 3 hours of work on the river.

Best fishing guide ever.
We couldn't have done it without you.

Unfortunately, we then had to drive an hour and a half back to Homer, where Amanda had to work the following morning. Despite not getting to bed until after 2:00 am, she toughed it out and was ready for work. She was a little less chipper than normal, but ready nonetheless.

Before we had to say goodbye to Dave and Em, we camped at Cooper Creek Campground, about an hour north of Soldotna. We smoked some of our freshly caught salmon over the campfire and just enjoyed spending our last bit of time together in Alaska. It was sad to say goodbye to them, as it is always sad saying goodbyes, but we had made some great memories over the 10+ days we were together. Plus we know they will think of us, and us of them, every time we dig into our massive pile of salmon fillets for dinner!

A huge thank you goes out to Dave and Em for making the long journey up to see us. We know it’s not easy (or cheap) to get to Alaska, but they made the choice to do so and we sincerely appreciate getting to share our Alaska experience with them. Having those two here with us made something that is already pretty amazing, freaking awesome!

Settling In

The uncertainties that accompany our current lifestyle of temporary living wax and wane.  The excitement of getting prepared for new adventures is remarkable, however the unknowns and effort required to ultimately uproot from one place and set up a new life in another can be quite nerve racking and exhausting (no matter how many times we do it).  I now find great pleasure in the period of time following a big move when we have established a new routine without the events of each day being somewhat of a mystery.  We have been in Homer for one month now.  This means we are unpacked, know our way around town, feel more comfortable at work, and have a place to regularly exercise.  Having a routine enables us to plan excursions out of the comfort of our new home.

In short, we are settling into our life in Homer.  Ahhhh!!

As we’ve slid into the settled stage of our Alaska experience we have continued to explore this gigantic state…with a little help from our friends.  If you haven’t already noticed, fishing plays a huge role in the life of Alaskans that live on the Kenai Peninsula.  I am NO angler with my fishing experience limited to a handful of days of fishing at a stocked, man-made lake in PA.  Being here among true fisherman I’m beginning to develop a new appreciation for the dedication, patience, science, and art behind the numerous kinds of fishing.  Here in Homer the main attraction is halibut with cod, rockfish, salmon, rays, and dogfish also being caught in the bay.  If you go slightly north to one of the many lakes or rivers that traverse the peninsula you run into opportunities for major salmon runs, dolly varden, rainbow trout, and graylings, to name just a few.  Being in a fisherman’s paradise we have the chance to try our hand at all kinds of fishing, which is a unique first experience for both Charlie and I!

Our friends Melissa and Brady have a sweet, large boat docked in Homer and they were nice enough to invite us out for a day of halibut fishing.  Everyone was determined to catch giant bottom feeders, but unfortunately the conditions didn’t cooperate with fog and large waves leading to nauseated discomfort for some. We were able to move to calmer water, but the fish weren’t biting and so we called it a day.  Oh well…you can’t win ‘em all! 

 

Can't say we weren't trying!

 

The following weekend we had the pleasure of spending the whole day with Clayt and Laura since Laura’s mom was visiting and offered to babysit for the day.  We decided to spend the morning and afternoon floating down the Kenai River on a cataraft.  What is a cataraft you ask?  It is a beautiful thing really.  It consists of two heavy duty inflatable tubes and a frame that allows people to comfortably sit, row, fish, and carry gear while floating in water (rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, etc).  And of course, Clayt and Laura just happen to own a cataraft!  This allowed for relaxation, trolling, and a stop at the Russian River intersection where an early season sockeye salmon run was in action. 

 

Blue skies + Beautiful water + Good friends = A great day

 

As we approached the intersection with the Russian River we were shocked with the number of people wading in the river attempting to catch salmon.  This gave me and Charlie an introduction to what people here call combat fishing.  Combat fishing is a phenomenon that occurs on the easily accessible stretches of river when thousands to millions of salmon are swimming upstream to spawn.  When the salmon are swimming, the people will come.  This leads to overly crowded stretches of river. 

Salmon Anyone?

 

We threw some elbows (just kidding) and found a spot to wade, learned how to fish for salmon, and put our waders to the test as we stood in the cold Alaskan river.  Luckily Charlie loves fishing because his waders sprung a leak leading to numb knees and feet!  

Despite the number of people in the river it didn’t look like many were catching anything.  So when we came up empty handed we weren't too surprised.  It was a nice opportunity to practice the technique.  If locals aren’t catching, we certainly aren’t!  Also, this early run is small compared to the Kenai River run in mid to late July.  To put it in perspective, the 2013 early Russian River run cumulative fish count was 32,813.  The average mid to late July Kenai River fish count is 959,214 sockeye salmon.  That’s a lot of fish!

Timing is definitely important with fishing, as are the conditions.  Unfortunately the stars have not yet aligned for us, but do not fear…we are putting in the time and hoping to score big one of these times!

Our outings have not been limited to fishing.  We’ve also done some hiking and made our way across Kachemak Bay for an evening picnic on Sunshine Point.  Sunshine Point is across the bay from Homer, a small area of land and shoreline that is privately owned and surrounded by state park.  Turns out that land belongs to our boss’s husband’s family!  And they were nice enough to take us and our housemate/co-worker Darcy there for a picnic on the beach.  We continue to be awed by how inviting and giving people can be.

Sallie and Captain Dan

 

Perfect evening.
The bay was like a sheet of glass.

 

Don't stop reading yet!  I’ve saved the best for last...

The weekend before the 4^th of July we decided it was time for another big hike.  Clayt was free to join us and so we all decided on the Harding Icefield Trail, which is within Kenai Fjords National Park.  The beauty of this trail is that it parallels a glacier and provides views of the enormous Harding Icefield with snow, ice, and glaciers as far as the eye can see.  Fun fact: the first people to cross the glacier were men from Homer, AK who are also responsible for naming it Exit Glacier.

8.2 miles round trip
(add about 1 extra mile if your name starts with a C)

 

Good advice.

 

We've decided that this was one of the best hikes we’ve done (second only to Mount St. Helen’s).  The variety of terrain (packed dirt, large rocks, loose rock, to snow), vegetation, wildlife, and of course the glacial viewing take your mind off the amount of work you are putting forth.  We had the company of song birds throughout the hike and encountered large rustling movements in nearby trees that turned out to be a black bear.  Eek! Luckily the bear was quite focused on eating the thick, leafy vegetation and didn't bother with the sweaty hikers. 

Exit Glacier...see it while it is still around!

 

Shelter near the end of the trail.
Safety from weather and wildlife.

 

Like I said...snow, ice and glaciers
as far as the eye can see!

 

The vista was impressive, but the boys weren’t quite satisfied.  Seeing the glacier wasn’t enough.  They wanted to experience it up close and personal.  I wasn't so sure about that AND I have already had the opportunity to hike on a glacier (guided, of course!) in New Zealand, so I didn’t feel the need to follow the daring duo.  Thus, I stayed back and photographed their crazy hike onto Exit Glacier… 

There they go...

 

Little men on a huge glacier!

 

They just kept going
and people started talking...
"Those guys are crazy!"

They returned safely and both felt pretty cool.  The End.

The end of one adventure means it's time to plan for the next.  However, a lot has already happened since the above hike due to my delay in blogging!  I just can't keep up!  Due to this, I must say a belated happy 4th to all and a special happy 4th/birthday to my Pop and Ellie :-)

The 4th is now behind us, but we enjoyed a patriotic day at the Elks and Homer parade with our housemate Darcy.  This was followed by another Ephrata reunion with Nikki and Bryan Strohl who are visiting the Spilters.

Now it is time to bid farewell until our next blog as we anxiously await the arrival of our first guests, Emily and Dave Brown.