Pat & Kathy's Travels

Other Peoples Fish

patdelfino — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 07:58:00 +0000

When fishing it is almost impossible to avoid discussions about “other peoples fish”. Especially when you are not catching fish at a respectable and adequate rate (although the actual number of fish which are the gauge of such stuff remains a mystery ). Standing in a line of fishermen along the banks of the Kenai, you can see fish being caught and if you are not sharing in the action, “o woa iz mee”

But when your friends are catching fish, it is always a celebration, a mutual admiration society, a common bonding process unknown to those uninitiated non fisher people. So here are some friends moments of glory.

Cory’s Big King Salmon!!

Kathy Wilson’s Sockeye

And We Fish Some More!

patdelfino — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 17:04:00 +0000

Sorry we have not kept up with current events at the Fish Camp but needless to say it has involved, you guessed it, lots of fishing (and gutting, cleaning, filleting and other chores). We have been out on the Kenai River in the Lady Lund with Capt. Ted and crew almost every day for Kings and sometimes twice per day with an excursion to a gravel bar in the river for the huge red run that started with a bang early this week. On the 16th a measly 27,000 fish came into the river from the ocean. The next day over 230,000 flooded the river!! (and overloaded the cleaning stations). Since the 18th over400,00 more fish crowded in leaving fishermen and Alaska Fish and Game breathless. The limit has gone from 3 per day to 6 and the fish processing facility we use has shut down accepting more fish for the time being. Here are a few shots of the action.

We also went Halibut fishing with Zeke Steeles friend Jamie Queen, an Alaska resident who grew up on the Kenai fishing with family. He now owns a large 32 ft custom built aluminum boat that hauls a.. out to the fishing grounds!(42 knots flat out!!) We drove down to Homer yesterday and motored out anout 40 miles, on the lee side of Elizabeth Island. We could see the Barren Islands! ((but not Russia!)Caught and release numerous smaller Halibut and kept several larger ones. No success with Ling Cod but helped Jamie with his crab pots and had a a GREAT time!

Now we fish some more!

We FISH!!

patdelfino — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 07:49:00 +0000

We are staying at Poachers Cove in Soldotna at Ted and Kathy’s Kenai River King Resort…Great Place. Ted is a master of the river and a very good fisherman too. He has offered to treat all to a non stop boat fishing extravaganza on his luxurious and fit vessel, the Lady Lund, with King Salmon averaging 40 lbs on the ticket. We alternate seats on the boat so everyone gets a shot at the Kenai monster King salmon.

Kathy and I have gone on 3 king charters in this area, 2 on the Kenai and 1 on theKasilof. We have also chartered on the Klutina river for Kings . But this time we had personalized service from a friend. Kathy and Ted have been generous!

So far only Pat has boated a fish. And what a fish! What a fight! Official scale weight 43 lbs (plus a few pounds for weight lost while sitting in the boat…no really! Look it up.) Here are a few pictures to prove it.

PAT LOOKS AT OFFICIAL ,(ON THE LOW END ),WEIGHT WITNESSED BY THRONGS OF SPECTATORS AND THE PRESS OF 43 Lbs.

The Reds (Sockeye Salmon, not Commies) are starting to trickle in but the flood of fish will be a few days away. In the mean time we fish for king salmon. And when the reds are in, we fish for both! O Joy!!!!

For anyone interested in a video of our prior fishing adventures in Alaska go to THIS PAGE

Heading To Soldotna

patdelfino — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 16:24:00 +0000

We had a rainy but productive day yesterday. Pat cleaned the trailer exterior before the rain hit and Kathy mailed a package and shopped. Then we went up to Exit Glacier, which is close to Seward. We have been there before, in 1999 and again in 2003 with Teah, Chris, and Micah. KIt has continued to recede. Here we are .

We talked to a Parks volunteer and her husband and she told us where we could find some Chocolate Lilies!! We have wanted to see that Alaska Wildflower for years in the wild! And we did.

And Pat caught a fish after falling in the water a few times!

He looks COLD! He was.

On to the reds and the Kenai River!!

Anchored down in Seward

patdelfino — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 22:12:00 +0000

We really like this place. Who knew? We have never spent much time here and with time comes understanding of the beauty in a place or its people. Here is another picture of our great spot. Went 50 feet down the beach to a small creek with a salmon run last night after seeing 2 guys suddenly catch 4 Reds! Nice little run. Snagging is permitted and I tried but no luck.

We are now at the only laundromat in Seward called “Suds and Swirl”…they serve lunch and espresso. We may extend our stay here until Tuesday after which we drive to Soldotna. We shall see. We are slowing down. Intentionally. Willingly. I am not wearing a watch and the sun is shining. Fish are jumpin’ and da cotton is high.

Stunning Day on the Water

patdelfino — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 07:16:00 +0000

I planned to sleep in but at 5 AM I woke to this and stayed up!!

The day got better! We took the Kenai Fjords tour boat for a 6 hour whale watching(humpback and Orca), sea lion spying, puffin puffing, otter viewing, Dall Porpoise playing, glacier calving sight explosion!

Here is the setting for our camp spot.

Its late again. I am tired and will post more tomorrow

Great Views at our New Home

patdelfino — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 08:16:00 +0000

We arrived yesterday and stayed last night at the Seward Resort Military RV Park…not our cup of tea. Cheek to Jowl. Not to say that those RV parks are OK with us when there is no alternative or when we need power and water but…. Seward has a Municipal Campground which mostly is a large parking lot but with a fabulous location on Resurrection Bay just south of the port and small boat harbor. We scored an out of the way dead end site right on the water with views of the Bay and the snow capped peaks and fish jumping at our doorstep!! We love it!

Here is one photo from the other side of the bay on Nash Road but we will post more tomorrow..its late!

We went into town and had a latte and learned that our favorite children’s book illustrator and general Alaska artist Barbara Lavallee was at the bookstore for a signing so we hustled over and had her sign a new book for a certain little lady and dedicate a bears fishing print for Pat and Kathy.

The town of Seward has a Civic Project to place artists murals on buildings and it so happened that Ms Lavallee did one on the Senior Center and it was dedicated with speeches etc and we went! Here is part of the mural.

Tomorrow we take a boat ride on the Kenai Fjords ship to see whales and Holgate Glacier and seals and a nice cruise through the emerald islands of the Kenai Fjord National Park.
Sunday we snag a few Chum Salmon off the beach at Spring Creek…Pat can’t wait! Chum are also called Dog Salmon and at the bottom of the culinary delights category of Salmon but they hit like a freight train and break reels, rods and line with fighting fury. O Joy!!

Arrived in Seward Today

patdelfino — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 08:27:00 +0000

S–T Happens! An RV is a hole going down the road where you throw your money! Anything made by human hands is imperfect! Blah Blah Blah!! I am so tired of hearing that. We have spent two days at Karens RV Repair and philosophy shop getting the slide working yesterday(broken slide shaft) and then fixing the fix this morning because the slide would not close tight inside the bedroom.

And then I asked the tech to inspect my shackles and springs for damage from the rough roads and…. yes there was damage. The springs are supported in the middle of the two axles by a Mor Ryde specialized suspension “system”. Sounds complicated. It has bolts holding brackets and hangers up and the holes were egg shaped from abnormal wear. O No! Could break going down the road. “I wouldn’t drive it far” But all is well..the parts are being shipped and the wear is not that bad. So we made it to Seward about 5 PM and settled into the Seward RV Resort ( a military and DOD only park again with Marvs help)

Yesterday while the slide was being “fixed” we went to the Alaska Native Medical Center, a fascinating place. The halls are filled with glass cases of native Alaskan art and craft, some old some new but all just too good to be true! Alex Ketzler, an artist and Native Alaskan from Nenana told us about this display, In ANMCs words:

“The Alaska Native Medical Center Auxiliary Heritage Collection is a collection of Native art that is displayed throughout the Alaska Native Medical Center (ANMC). This collection grew from the heart. It grew from the hearts of the artists who contributed and those of the people who recognized the importance of preserving it. It is a collection all about people. “

Here are some examples starting with mukluks made by Alex, which included the smoked Moose hide tanning he is trying to preserve:

We Stay 2 Days at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage

patdelfino — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 07:33:00 +0000

We left Veterans Memorial Tuesday AM and had excellent sunny weather for the 2d day in a row! Stopping at Denali South Viewpoint (boy the signs going south are non existent!) we shot some portraits.

We arrived at Elmendorf Fam Camp for RVs and got good sites and settled in for a couple of days. We need work on our slide out and have an appointment Wednesday. Diesel, Propane, Costco and Fred Meyer for provisions and a couple of bottles of fine Zin for the evening with a fresh slab of Sockeye Salmon!

A Night at The Veterans Memorial

patdelfino — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 07:24:00 +0000

On Monday the 4th we headed out in time to make the 4th of July Parade in Nenana. The town was a bit subdued as the weather was downright nasty although it stopped raining for the parade. We enjoyed a free Pancake breakfast, talked to our new friend Ashley from the Native Cultural Center, got coffee at Moochers Bar ( an eyesore and it has a sloping wood floor but the closest coffee to the pancake feed…no coffee at the feed as it was put on by the Mormons) and watched the shortest parade ever! It lasted 2 minutes and had 3 floats.

Judy of Nenana RV Park and Campground throwing candy

We stopped to see if we could see Denali again at the Denali North viewpoint…the top was
showing.

We tried to get a site at Byers Lake but made the excellent choice to go up on the hill above the campground and boondock at the Veterans Memorial parking area. Marvins friend from the Spokesman and a neighbor in Arizona, Ed and his wife, were Hosts at the site and we had a great view.

On to Las Anchorage. We have been having trouble with the Full Wall Slide coming out evenly. There is something that needs fixing and we are still under warranty Wednesday we have an Appointment at Karen’s RV Repair.