HELLO FOLKS, MY NAME IS SPIKE. I AM THE RESIDENT MOOSE THIS SUMMER AT THE KASILOF RV PARK. I WAS JUST A YOUNG SPROUT LAST YEAR AND SPENT TIME WITH MOM IN THE PARK. I DECIDED I WANTED TO WELCOME YOU TO THE PARK AND TELL YOU WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING HERE SINCE 2009. SO HANG ONTO YOUR HATS FOLKS AND LET ME FILL YOU UP ON THE LATEST.

Grandma and Grandpa (I call them that since I feel that I am related) finally arrived up here on the 5th of May.  Man, I thought they would never arrive, but here they came with the big old van loaded with goodies for the summer.  I decided to wander over and see what was going on.  Turned out they were very happy to be back and to see me.  They took lots of photos of me which really pleased me (I am very handsome after all).

DEBBIE PLANTING FLOWERS

Turns out that they had a lot of company (mostly my cousins and their kids) visiting this summer.  It wasn’t more than a couple of weeks before this really good looking gal named Debbie and

KEVIN (alias, crusty geezer)

this crusty geezer named Kevin arrived. Debbie started planting those really tasty bright colored plants in all the boxes which will provide me lots of munchies this summer.  However, that was short lived when Grandpa really yelled at me when I tasted those bright red ones at the end of the steps. Then we got in a big propane tank with a transfer pump on the front to fill propane tanks and RVs.

KEVIN PUTTIN IN A PLATFORM FOR TANKS

Kevin got busy and built a platform in front for the tanks.

NICOLE with SPIKE ON LAWN

Then shortly after they arrive,  a real cute little girl named Nicole (I call her Colie) came to stay part of the summer with us.  She was doing something called a Physical Therapy rotation, whatever that means.  Turns out that she was gone most of the days, but would show up in the evenings.

SPIKE IN EARLY MAY

BOY, she was really cute so I spent a lot of time in the park in the evenings. I had to show off my better half a little for her and got down on my knees to eat some of those tasty little greens called Horse Tails.

NICOLE & DEBBIE CLAMMING

Debbie and Colie wanted to go clamming, but Grandpa wouldn’t let me go so I stayed home. I took care of the RV park while the others were goofing off.  When they got back, they had to clean all those nasty little shellfish (what a waste of time when they could eat tasty leaves and grass). Then I heard a lot of screaming when cute Colie thought one of the clam parts moved when she was cleaning it (I’d squirm too if someone poked me with a knife).

DEBBIE & NICOLE IN HOMER

If that wasn’t enough, all the women took off to visit Homer. I just don’t understand what is so great about ‘Homer,it’s just a small drinking village with a fishing problem’. It would seem that they would have had more fun staying  home and taking photos of me. I guess that cousin Debbie got mad because I was paying so much attention to cute Colie because she went back to someplace called Nebr-aska.  I don’t know where that is, but it must be close to Al-aska.

TRAVIS ARRIVES

Then all of a sudden this tall dork with long hair and a scattering of hair on his chin (doesn’t he know that it is supposed to be below your chin?) shows up. (Note that I was hanging around in the background to make sure he didn’t get too familiar with my Colie)

TRAV GIVES ME THE EVIL EYE!

(Oh Man, I thought that it was her husband. Then he gives me the evil eye , but I found out that it was her brother, one of my cousins) Turns out he is pretty cool although he managed to do some dorkie things like trying to swim in the river with his chest waders on (oh well, kids!).

FLOATING THE KASILOF

Grandpa rowed the big pontoon boat down the Kasilof river from Tustumena Lake with Colie and Grandma on the front seats. Travis was in the small pontoon boat behind them (I was running down the side of the river watching them). Then I find out that he doesn’t know which is the front and the back of the pontoon boat.  No wonder that he ran into the tree hanging over the river (Boy did I heh-hah when he upset the boat).

TRAVIS RIDING A LOG

My opinion of him didn’t improve when I saw him riding this log down the hillside later in the week, but it turns out he was tying a chain around it so he and Grandpa could pull it up the hill with the truck winch so it could be used for firewood. He managed to clear a lot of beetle killed trees off the hill for firewood. Turned out he was a pretty hard worker and got lots of firewood up for the summer campfires.

TRAV & COLIE BURNING TREE TRASH

Then of all things, I wander down by the well house.  Grandpa throws all the cottonwood saplings that he clears out of the green spaces between the RV pads there and what do I find, two masked bandits stealing the saplings.  Well darned if it isn’t cousin Trav and the cute little Colie burning those saplings up. I wondered if they were playing with fire and didn’t want Grandpa or Grandma to know they were doing it. Did they really think the masks would keep them from being recognized? (Kids!)

THE S'MORES QUEEN

In the evenings around the campfire, Grandma and Colie liked to roast marshmellows and put them on graham crackers with chocolate to make s’mores. (It really doesn’t sound too good to me. I’d rather eat those bright red flowers in the front of the deck steps.) Anyway, they gave cute Colie the name: The S’MORES QUEEN. (They must be okay if she likes them!)

SNOOZING ON THE ATV

They must have been pretty good though because she had to go take a snooze on the ATV behind the workshop (that doesn’t look too comfortable to me, but then I prefer and nice grassy area).

Travis decided to go back home and work at the Marina where he could watch all the young chicks in bikinis that came to swim and ski (I couldn’t figure out how you could put a bikini on a chicken, but then I wasn’t sure what a bikini was either.  Evidently Travis liked it because he didn’t want to stay here with me anymore). So we bid him goodbye until hopefully next year.

MOM SHOWING OFF FOR THE HILL FAMILY

The Hill family from Hoxie came for a visit with us.  They are from Grandma & Grandpa’s winter home in Kansas. They have two good looking young daughters (I drooled a lot while they were here and I think Colie got mad at me). Anyway, Mark, the dad walked out of the restrooms in the back of the lodge the next morning and came face to face with my Mom. She had come over to hunt for me and decided to munch on some goodies around the campfire pit.  Before long Sueanne and Carmen joined Mark to watch Mom show off.  Kelsey in the mean time was parading around in the lodge in a towel, much to Kevin’s delight (darn, I’m never in the right place at the right time!).

PAINTING THE CONEX ROOF

FINISHED CONEX ROOF & WORKSHOP

Grandpa was busy building a roof over the conex and a workshop, smoker on the side of it. Colie and Grandma painted the rafters and front although I don’t know how Colie could paint upside down! (It made me dizzy watching)

CONEX WORKSHOP & SMOKER

The workshop is big enough that he can put the ATV in it in the evenings. The fish smoker is in the box on the left at the far end of the shop area.  It can hold 6 trays of fish.  The smoke barrel is just outside the shop with storage for the alder wood across from it.  They finished it just in time for the red salmon season to start.

MARGRET, JIMMY, NELSON & CODY PYLE

Wow, things had just started to settle down when Grandpa’s oldest son, Cody and his family came to visit. They were at the overlook down at Homer for this photo.

JIM SHOWING CODY HOW TO DRIVE THE ATV

It didn’t take long for the boys to start having fun on the ATV in the park (Now why didn’t they ask me for a ride. I’m as big as a horse. I had to be careful not to walk out of the trees and get run over). Nelson would take Jim around the park, then Jim would take Cody then Margaret around the park.  They manage to put a few miles on the ATV while they were here.

PAINTING THE FORT

While Travis was here, he took the back off of the ATV trailer box and made a fort for Jim and Nelson.  It was really cool as it was set part way down the bluff behind the park and overlooked Crooked Creek below.  It had a door on the back and a window that opened in the front with a steering wheel (I have no clue where they were going to drive it!).  I watched as Jim and Nelson painted the fort green so it would disappear into the trees.  They even painted a helicopter landing area on the top of it (I’m not sure what a helicopter is, but it would have to be pretty small to get through the trees and land on the fort).

SPLITTING FIREWOOD

STACKING THE FIREWOOD

It wasn’t all fun and games while they were here as they had to help around the park. Both boys were splitting the logs that Cody had cut with the chain saw and then they had to stack the split firewood in the firepit area for the evenings.  Jim had taken lessons in fire starting  this year when he was a Cub Scout and was responsible for building and starting the campfires every evening.

NELSON ON ATV

What is it with this ATV? It sure doesn’t look like a bed and yet every one wants to sleep on it.  Surely he didn’t think he could drive it like that.  He must have been tired from all that work!

Now I wasn’t able to go on the next trips with the family as I won’t go out on a boat even if it was an ARK. Since they don’t take ARKs halibut fishing or sight seeing out of Seward, I decided to stay home and watch the park.  I really hated to miss the Seward trip because sweet little Colie was going on that one!

So I’m going to let Grandpa tell you about the Halibut trip and the trip out of Seward to visit the Kenai Fjords National Park and the Holgate Glacier.  Spike signing off until they get back to the park.

HALIBUT TRIP WITH CAPTIAN DON

JIM WITH HIS HALIBUT

NELSON'S HALIBUT

Each of the boys managed to catch their own halibut. Jim caught the biggest one of the day 44#, but we all had good success and came back with a limit each.  The day started out with swells of 2 to 3 feet and Captian Don was worried that it might get worse.  However, as the day wore on, the seas began to calm and we had a beautiful day with lots of fishing.

KENAI FJORDS NATIONAL PARK

CODY'S FAMILY

COLIE & JON

Cody, Margaret and the boys, Nicole and Jan and Jon took the Coastal Explorer on a tour of the Kenai Fjords NP on the 4th of July.  We had a early morning drive to Seward with an 8 am trip scheduled. The boat wasn’t crowed although Seward was over-flowing with people due to the annual Mountain Marathon.  The seas were calm and although cloudy most of the day, the sealife was very active.

SEA OTTER

MOUNTAIN GOATS

We were barely into Resurrection Bay when this feisty little sea otter came to the surface to show off for the observers on the boat.  Otters are plentiful in the bay and tend to be very curious.  On out further along the bay we saw a rare sight of a mountain goat with her kid.  They were probably 150 feet above the water on the shear edge of the mountain.

SEA LION

PUFFIN ROOKERIE

We saw lots of seals and sea lions such as this one watching us as the boat passed by.  The rocks along the shore in this area was covered with both harbor seals and sea lions.  Next was the bird rookeries with large number and variety of sea birds including several groups of puffins in the rocks.

HUMPBACK WHALE

We also saw several groups of humpback whales including this one female with a young calf.  She actually came out of the water (breached) once, unfortunately I didn’t have my camera ready for the photo.

HOLGATE GLACIER

Our ultimate destination on the tour was the Holgate Glacier.  The boat pulled up very close to the front of the glacier and stopped the engines so we could hear the glacier cracking and popping and watch it occasionally shed ice into the ocean (they call it calving).  The boys were fascinated with the huge size of the glacier and it’s blue color.

GLACIER ICE

The boat crew was nice to net samples of the ice that had broken off the glacier and hand them out to the people on board the boat.  Cody is holding the ice while Colie and Jan are posing for the photo (I had to take the photo quick because the ice was cold!).  Margaret was with us on the trip although the motion of the boat made her queasy so she wasn’t running around the boat like the rest of us were.  We had a good trip, saw a lot of sealife and was a nice calm day even though it was cloudy.  The Captain indicated that the overcast was good because the sealife viewing was better then.

THIS IS SPIKE AGAIN – There, I thought Grandpa did a good job describing the trips that I couldn’t do.  I let him talk occasionally although it’s more fun to tell you what has happened this summer.

Here it is early July and this is when things really start popping around here.  The Red Salmon season is about to start and we have more guests coming and lots of campers.

AINSLEY & BABY WITH NICOLE

First to arrive are Ainsley Pyle and her daddy, Ryan.  Ainsley had to show off her baby to Colie and tell her all about their trip to Alaska (she sure is a cutey and really smart for a girl. I didn’t understand the baby bit though since it sure didn’t do much except lay around when Ainsley wasn’t holding it.  It got left out in the rain one night too! I didn’t hear it cry once.).

AINSLEY WATERING FLOWERS

Ainsley helped around the park too.  She liked to water the flowers (which I appreciated because they sure are tasty.  Fortunately it was raining a lot because she had a little problem figuring out where to put the water other than her shoes).  Ryan’s mother, Pam came up for a couple of days to visit and then to take Ainsley back to Kansas with her.  Ryan took them to Anchorage to the airplane and then picked up his girl friend, Cheri to stay for the Red Season.

DOUG & BEASLEY ARRIVE

Doug Hinzman and his friend, Beasley Tarver arrived on the 16th of July.  Beasley is the grandson of the Budweiser distributor in Sebastian, Florida.  Doug brought him up to Alaska to give him the experience of fishing in Alaska.  Their first fishing trip was with Captain Don of Alaska Trophy Charters for Halibut.  They had a great time catching their limit.

COOKING ON THE CAMPFIRE

MASKED MAN COOKING

I wandered over one evening after Doug and Beasley arrived to see what was going on at the park.  There was this masked man with a shovel in his hand moving a bunch of red, white and green things around on the big metal grate above the firepit.  The red and green things looked appetizing, but they sure didn’t smell very good.  There were also some slabs of something that didn’t look appetizing at all.  When the masked man saw me, he called me Spike. I’ll be darned if it wasn’t Grandpa!  I asked about the mask and he said he didn’t like the smoke either.

DINNER IN THE CAMP KITCHEN

Then they all went into the kitchen and ate all the stuff that was on the metal grate.  Sure didn’t look good to me, but they seemed to enjoy it.  Sitting right up front was Cheri with Ryan on her right, then Grandma and Grandpa with Beasley on the end.  The Crusty Geezer next beside my cute little Colie and her dad, Todd next to her.  Doug was taking the photo.

Todd, Jan’s son had arrived on the 19th to spend a few days with Colie and be here for the Red run which had already started.

Back to Grandpa’s commentary -

RED SEASON

We started fishing for red salmon on the Kenai/Russian River ferry landing in late June although we didn’t have any success.  There were very few salmon being caught there this year partially due to the Fish and Game netting over four thousand before they could come up the river (according to the Peninsula newspaper).  We tried several times on the Kasilof River close to the park in early July when the red salmon run was starting; however, we had very little success there also.  The Kasilof is shallow and very swift, therefore it is difficult to determine where and when the fish are running.  We were beginning to wonder if this year’s red season was going to be a bust.

CHERI, COLIE & TODD FISHING

COLIE'S 1st RED SALMON

When the second run of the red started up the Kenai river, we went to Ryan’s fireman friend’s home to try our luck.  Fortunately, the reds were plentiful in the Kenai.  Colie caught her first red the first night we were there and although she was a little queasy about holding it, she was definitely hooked on red fishing.  Cheri too quickly started catching the reds and the two of them limited out each time we went.

TODD & COLIE'S REDS

A GOOD DAY'S CATCH

The limit continued at three each until the minimum number went up the river to assure futures stocks. The photo on the right was a catch on the 23rd with the six of us limiting out (Cheri wasn’t available for the photo). On the 25th the limit increased to six each, but by that time we had enough fish for our winter stock.  The last day we fished, five of us caught 30 reds, one pink and one dolly varden, a fitting end to a wonderful red season.

CLEANING FISH

Catching fish didn’t end the fun! We still had to clean and fillet the salmon, then package and freeze it for the winter.  Of course the strips were put in our marinating mixture for a couple of days before they were cured in the smoker.  And then the pieces with bones were frozen until later in the summer when they can be thawed and then canned.

ALSO CLEANING FISH

Several families of Japanese were staying the park for a few days and some were dip netting salmon.  We were rather curious how they manage to clean the fish with the entire family at the cleaning table. (vailey inter-es-ting!)

BUILDING PROJECTS

STARTING WALKWAY

LAYING THE DECK

Since red season was over, we decided to complete a couple of projects that we wanted to accomplish this summer.  And since Todd and Ryan were still here, we started to build the walkway between the park model and the camp kitchen.  We set the posts in cement, then put cross beams to hold the decking boards.  It has one set of stairs just outside the park model so we have access to the rear area and then a step down to the grass and gravel path beside the camp kitchen.

FINISHED WALKWAY

You can’t believe how many steps it saves Jan and I each day by having the walkway .  I still have to put the lattis under the front to match the deck on the park model plus I want to build some planters to put on along the top railings for flowers.

OUTSIDE STORAGE OPENING

INSIDE OPENING

Todd had the brilliant idea to increase the amount of storage in the camp kitchen by adding storage shelves in place of the screened window.  Jan sure needed more storage space so we took out the 8 foot section of the window and enclosed it with a framed box. Then put plywood on the inside to enclose it and siding on the outside match the exterior of the building.

NEW STORAGE AREA

The wooden cabinet that was on the floor just fit inside the storage area.  We finished putting shelves in to hold the microwave and other items on the turn-table. We then moved the two stoves up along the wall to the front. The result is much more open space without a lot of stuff setting around.  Some new carpet and thus a much handier kitchen.  Thanks, Todd

Stay tuned to the end of the summer blog and further commentary by Spike.

The weather cleared as we left Maine and drove down to Boston for a couple of days to see it’s historical area.  We were unable to find a campground close into town, but we did find an Elks Club that had camping privileges at Concord, MA.  We drove down to the metro and took it into town rather than trying to drive.  We managed to figure out how to get off very near the famous Faneuil Hall.  The second floor of the hall (which wasn’t open to the public) was the meeting site for the Sons of Liberty and was considered the ‘Cradle of Liberty’ protesting the Stamp Act and the Sugar Act which led to the ‘Boston Tea Party’.  The part open to the public was originally a farmers market.  Now is a glorified gift shop for tourists.

Boston's North Church

We started from Faneuil Hall on a trolley tour of the Freedom Trail which was supposed to cover all of the major historical sites in Boston.  However we found that the Silver Trolley line tours on the outside of all those sites and you have to walk to them by yourself (one of those things you don’t find out about until you have purchased a ticket!)  After a several block walk and getting lost a couple of times in side streets we finally found the Old North Church where Paul Revere hung the lantern to tell the Bostonians whether the English were coming by land or by sea (the church charged to get inside).  We then walked to Paul Revere’s home which charged to get into the grounds and then again to see the inside of the house!  We walked back to wait on the trolley.

CHEERS!

The trolley took us around the waterfront and over to the dock where the Old Ironsides is moored where you have to pay to see it. Then it did take us down the street where the Old State House is located and around Boston Commons.  We departed the trolley at this point and walked to what we thought was the highlight of Boston, the ‘Bull and Finch Bar’ or as we saw it  ‘Cheers’.  Actually only the entrance to the basement bar was used in the sitcom that we enjoyed so much.  Surprising to us was the very small size of the bar and the multitude of people that were jammed into it.  Obviously the sitcom gave the bar a thriving business.  Norm was there (in a life-sized cardboard cutout) and I had a beer with him.  I also remembered his theory of intelligence.  “A heard of buffalo only travels as fast as the slowest and weakest buffalo.  When the herd is hunted, the slowest and weakest were killed first.  Natural selection was good for the herd allowing it to move much faster.  The same way with the human brain, it can only operate as fast as the slowest and weakest brain cells.  Now as you know,  excessive intake of alcohol kills brain cells.  But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first.  Therefore, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells making the brain a faster more efficient machine.  That’s why you feel smarter after a few beers.”  It seems reasonable to me!

So much for Boston!  Like so much of the east coast cities; too many people, too busy, too crowded, too much in a hurry!   Too much for an old Kansas boy.

WASHINGTON, DC

On to Washington, DC, my old stomping ground.  Again there are no camping facilities within the DC limits; therefore, we had to stay in the Cherry Hill campground in College Park, MD.  I used to store our motor home at the campground so was familiar with it.  It is also close to the end of the Metro Green Line which we used to get into the city.  It was definitely quicker and easier to get around on the city metro than driving.
Sunday morning we took the metro into the Smithsonian Mall.  I had to show Jan a couple of the airplanes that I used for flight research while working for NASA.  We spent a couple of hours at the Air and Space Museum then went to the new American Indian Museum.

X-15 Airplane at Air & Space Museum

M2-F3 Lifting Body at Air & Space Museum

It was built after I had retired from NASA and left Washington.  It is unusual in that all the outside walls and most of the inside walls do not have straight lines.  Indian ideology states that there are no straight lines in nature.  The outside walls are native limestone in constant curves.  The inside has sweeping curved walks, stairs and ramps leading up four floors of exhibits.  I was a little disappointed as I had seen all the wonderful displays and exhibits of American Indian artifacts in the Natural History Museum previously and am aware of all the artifacts that the Smithsonian has available. Some of these were stuffed into drawers and some in very limited display cases. Very few of the original collection were in the museum.  Most of the museum was the American Indian now and in the future.  We did have a good lunch in the museum.  They have foods from various American Indian cultures that were interesting.

National Art Museum Central Gallery

We both had fun in the National Art Museum.  Since we are both amateur painters (very amateur!), we really enjoyed looking at all the past masters and commenting on them to each other.  We spent most of the afternoon wandering through the maze of galleries in second floor of the museum studying all of the French, Spanish, Dutch, English, etc. masters and what we amateurs considered not so masters.  Oh well, it’s a matter of opinion.  We had fun pointing out what we liked and disliked and how we might of done it different if we could have!

It turned out to be a long day with a lot of walking so we left early for the ride back to the campground, our camper and a wonderful lobster dinner with our bounty from Maine.

Jan at WWII Monument with Washington Monument in background

The next morning we waited for the early morning rush (Monday) to pass before we taking the metro to town.  We spent most of the morning in the Holocaust Museum.  It was very well done, but very depressing.  I can’t imagine people treating other people like that!  We weren’t allowed to take photos inside.  We left the museum and walked to the Washington Monument then on to the World War II Memorial. It was nice that they finally built the Memorial, but I was very disappointed in the  design of it.  There were really no indications of the significant battles that occurred in Europe and the Pacific.

Vietnam Memorial

Soldiers at Vietnam Memorial

Not so for the Vietnam Memorial.  It is memorable  because of it’s simplicity and significance with the names of our soldiers lost inscribed on the stones.  I realize that they couldn’t have listed the names of those lost in WWII do to the numbers.   It was well past lunch so we caught a taxi to Union Station so Jan could see how beautiful it had been restored.  We had lunch there before walking through Capitol Hill to C Street where Lindy and I used to live.  The house still looked good although the neighborhood was changing with new condos and town houses replacing some of the beautiful old homes in the area.  We walked on down to Eastern Market to find that it had closed and many of the older businesses had been replaced with Starbucks, McDonalds, etc. (bah)!  Going back home just isn’t the same!

Jan and I were getting tired of walking, but we still had a couple of hours before we would meet Nancy and Bud MacLennon at Ebbets Grill for dinner (Nancy used to work with me at NASA). So we decided to rest for awhile in the Botanical Gardens below the Capitol.  It’s always nice to sit among the flowers and trees and rest the tired feet.  We caught a taxi to Ebbets Grill, had a great dinner and conversation with Nancy and Bud, then they took us back to the truck in College Park.

WILLIAMSBURG, VA

Next day we drove on down to Williamsburg and spent the afternoon walking around the Colonial portion of the town.  It was interesting touring through the old Burton Church with it’s old cemetery,  There were a lot of locals dressed up as part of the daily tour that made it more realistic.

Lady at Colonial Williamsburg

Mother & Daughter at Colonial Williamsburg

Colonial Williamsburg Cane Weaver

There was the Cane Weaver hurrying to give a demonstration of the craft and an old carriage giving rides to the tourists

Horse Carriage in Colonial Williamsburg

Colonial Williamsburg House of Burgess

At the end of the street is the House of Burgess which was used as the seat of the Virginia government prior to the revolution.  We didn’t have time that afternoon to take the tour through all of the buildings so we put it off until the next morning.  We did notice that like most cities (like Washington, DC) where politicians gathered to make decisions there are lots of taverns.  We counted 6 taverns in the several blocks that is considered Colonial Williamsburg.

Brickhouse Tavern

Brickhouse Sign

Although I have to admit that the taverns provided lodging and food as well as a bar.

YORKTOWN, VA

Surrender Cave in Yorktown, VA

We were going to Penny and Bill Cazier’s home for dinner that evening so we left early to drive the Colonial Parkway through Yorktown and down the peninsula toward Hampton.    We toured the Yorktown battlefield which was the deciding victory of the Revolutionary War with England.

Colonial Yorktown Home

We went by the cave where the English General Cornwallis surrendered to General Washington after the battle.  Then we toured the old town with it’s sixteenth century homes.

Lindy and I lived near a small village called Seaford below Yorktown and I wanted to show Jan the area.  I managed to show her more of the area than I anticipated after getting lost several times trying to find our old house.   The area has really been built up since the late 1980’s and I didn’t recognize most of the roads and businesses anymore.  We did finally find Rebecca Drive and the house still looked the same. Then it was another experience to find Penny and Bill’s house. Finally Penny’s phone directions got us there.  We had a wonderful evening with them.

ATLANTA

Stone Mountain Park

On to Atlanta.  We were running late to meet Cary and Darcy on the weekend in Atlanta when they were both off work so we decided to forgo the tour through Williamsburg and head for Atlanta.  I used to stay on the street outside Cary and Darcy’s home with the camper; however, with the 5th Wheel, it’s too big for the street especially since the street is on a steep hill!  We opted to stay in a campground and visit them in town.

Carving on Stone Mountain

Atlanta is like all large cities, most campgrounds are on the outskirts of downtown,  We decided to stay in Stone Mountain Campground which proved to be a very good choice.  Stone Mountain is a huge granite dome with a carving of Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis in the face of it.  They have turned it into a recreational area with an amusement park, walking trails, golf courses and an old antebellum home which had an Indian Pow-Wow going on the grounds.  We toured the grounds with the car and found a covered bridge and a grist mill too!

Stone Mountain Covered Bridge

Stone Mountain Grist Mill

We celebrated Darcy’s birthday on Saturday evening then stayed all night at their house rather than drive back to the campground (not that we had drank too much, Ha!)  Sunday was a trip to the Farmer’s Market, breakfast and watching Atlanta Falcons slaughter my old team, the Washington Redskins.

LYNCHBURG, TN

Tennessee Hillside

Lynchburg Church

Monday found us on the road again heading home.  The fall colors were still beautiful in Georgia and Tennessee.  We made it to Lynchburg in the late afternoon just in time to visit Uncle Jack and go on the final tour of the day.  It was interesting to see how he made his famous brew, but no samples.

Jack Daniels Distillery

Jan & Jon with Uncle Jack

Uncle Jack was a little cold, but he did allow us to get some Old #7 and his Single Barrel.  We had a nice tour and then went to downtown Lynchburg which was quite exciting with a Hardware store and a filling station.

Lynchburg Hardware Store

Delivery Truck at Gas Station

Lynchburg Covered Bridge

But it was getting late and there was only one campground in town.  Low and behold there was another covered bridge at the entrance to the campground.  They just seemed to follow us around on this trip.  That made the tally 124, a whole lot of covered bridges!

We left Lynchburg early the next morning and started for Branson, MO.  We were meeting Jan’s granddaughter and her husband for dinner the next night.  We decided to drive all the way to Branson the first night and it was mistake.  I don’t like to drive after dark that much and the roads leading to Branson were the worst curvy roads that I had ever driven.  The campground host called them worse than a snake, but that wasn’t bad enough.  They were up and down hills with sharp 45 degree curves at the bottom.  No fun at all pulling a 5th Wheel!

We did a quick tour of Branson the next day then had dinner with Nicole and Tyler,  Then on to Kansas with a quick stop at Lindy’s grave and visited her aunt in Madison, KS.  We had lunch at the Chicken House in Olpe with Vivian and Lloyd Luthi.  We were home in Hoxie the next day just in time for a snow storm to hit the area.  It was November after all.

As I said to start, it was a busy year for Jan and I.  We are settled in for the winter now and don’t expect to start traveling until May of next year.  See you on the blog then.

‘New England’s Covered Bridges’, by Benjamin and June Evans, copyright 2004, University Press of New England

‘Covered Bridges of Vermont’, by Ed Barna, copyright 1996, The Country Man Press

‘The Field Guide to Lighthouses of the New England Coast’, by Elinor De Wire, copyright 2008, Voyageur Press

MAINE COAST

On top of Mt. Cadillac, Acadia National Park

We arrived in Maine on the 23rd of October driving to Acadia National Park.  One of the major campground resorts at the park was offering a last two night special rate for a campsite on the beach so we decided to stay there.  One of the men in the park suggested that we drive to the top of Cadillac Mountain to watch the sunset.  It was beautiful.  You could see along the coast of Maine both east and southwest.  The sunset was beautiful also, but the photos were rather poor (I guess I need lessons in photographing sunsets).

We woke up the next morning to a raging northeaster with a pounding rain on the camper (so much for our campsite on the beach).  We braved the rain to visit the Visitors Center at the Acadia Park, but it was the last day that the park was open so we didn’t get a chance to really enjoy it.  I guess we left something for the future.  On the way back to the camper we saw a sign for;
Live Lobster  $4.49 each
We bought ten and took them back to the camper to boil and clean.  It was difficult stuffing a live lobster in a small pot of boiling water on top of the stove, but we persisted!  Of course we had to have lobster that night for dinner and IT WAS GOOD!

Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse, 1902

We moved down the  coast the next day looking for lighthouses.  There were very few campgrounds open and we couldn’t find any that were convenient to the coast line.  However, we did find a Elks Club that had camping facilities so we parked there for three days while we explored the coast and looked for lighthouses.  Out in the bay at Rockland was the Breakwater Lighthouse.  When the granite breakwater was constructed in 1889 a wooden light was built at the end.  It was replaced by a 25 foot brick lighthouse in 1902.

Sailboats in Camden Harbor

We drove north the next morning to start our search for more lighthouses.   Our first stop was at Camden Harbor.  It was interesting to see the big sailboats that had been stored for winter with a covering of shrink-wrap plastic over the deck and cabin area.  We were looking for the  Curtis Lighthouse which is on an Island just outside the Camden harbor.  However, we were unable to see the lighthouse from land.

Camden Library above the Harbor

At the end of the harbor was a cascade from the Megunticook River.  It was somehow piped under the streets and businesses of downtown Camden then released to cascade down the rocks into the bay.  I don’t know what they do when the river floods???

Fort Point Lighthouse, 1836, Stockton Springs

As we drove north, we drove out to Cape Jellison and the Fort Point State Park where the Fort Point lighthouse is located.  The lighthouse was originally built in 1836 to guide vessels into the Penobscot River for trade.  The station was rebuilt in 1857 and a pyramidal tower was added in 1890 to house the fogbell.

Fort Knox Bridge over the Penobscot River

North along the coast we stopped to view the Penobscot Narrows bridge which was unusual in that the bridge roadways went on each side of the two main pillars and were held up by central cables.  This bridge design was also seen later in the city of Boston.

View of Fort Knox from Fort Know Website

Just beyond the bridge is Fort Knox which was an interesting visit of a imposing stone fort.  It was built in 1844 after the British had invaded Bangor during the War of 1812.  It was to protect the interior of  Maine from future British invasion.  It was garrisoned with soldiers during 1863 to 1866 and again during the Spanish American War, but the fort never saw military action.

Church in Buckport, ME

Across the Penobscot river from the Fort is the town of Buckport.  Nestled in among the fall trees is a beautiful white church.  Bucksport was a major port trading products from the interior of Maine for foreign imports.

We quickly found that looking for lighthouses took a lot more driving than looking for covered bridges.  Often the results were disappointing because they were too far away to be seen or were hidden behind inaccessible hills.  Many of the lighthouses can only been seen by boat.  The other problem is that lighthouses are usually at the end of a peninsula of land which is separated from the next peninsula by water (duh! It took a rocket scientist to figure that one out).  In Maine, the peninsulas extend a long way out of the mainland thus creating a lot of coastline and long drives to reach the end where the lighthouses are generally located.  However, often the drives were rewarded with other interesting or beautiful sights.  It took us awhile to figure out what these bushes were that covered several hills on our drive to the Dice Lighthouse.  Finally at the edge of one of the fields there was a large building that had BLUEBERRY PACKING PLANT painted on the side of it (duh x 2).

Blueberry Hill

Field of Blueberries

The fields were really pretty though and I still don’t know how they picked them.  Noticing how bare the hills of blueberries were, we both wondered where you could find a spot to have a thrill (on Blueberry Hill)!

Grist Mill near Belfast, ME

Also we managed to find this mill along the drive to Dice Lighthouse.  I even braved the harrowing traffic zooming by on this narrow bridge as I took the photo just so you could see it.

Dice Lighthouse, 1838, Castine, ME

Fortunately the Dice Head Lighthouse was worth the trip to find it.  It was originally built of rough rubble stone in 1838 to guide the way into the Penobscot river.  In 1858, it was encased in wood and a passage way was added from the house to the lighthouse.  In the 1870’s the wooden sheath was removed and the lighthouse remains that way today.  There were several more lighthouses further down on the main peninsula, but all were on islands too far away to be photographed.

Marshall Point Lighthouse, 1832, St. George, ME

At the very end of South Thomaston peninsula is a small fishing village called Port Clyde.  On the tip is the Marshall Point Lighthouse.  The original stone light was built in 1832.  In 1857 the lighthouse was upgraded to a 31 foot brick tower light.  In 1897 a bell was added to give fog warnings.

Pemiquid Point Lighthouse,1827, Bristol, ME

One of the more beautiful lighthouses we saw was the Pemiquid Point Lighthouse near the town of Bristol.  It was built in 1827 to mark the entrance to Muscongus Bay and John Bay.  It was thought that salt water was used to bind the stone in the original lighthouse and the mortar quickly decayed.  A new 35 foot stone lighthouse replaced the original in 1835.  A park has been established at the point and the house has been opened as a Fishermen’s Museum.

In the Boothbay Harbor area there are four more lighthouses located at various points around the peninsula.

Lighthouses of Boothbay Harbor

Ram Island Lighthouse is located on Ram Island just a short way off Ocean Point.  It guided fishermen through the Fishermen Island Passage into Linekin Bay and Boothbay harbors.  The ocean drive around Ocean Point to view the lighthouse was quite a drive. Ocean Drive has the largest number of  beautiful summer resident homes that we had seen.  Burnt Island Lighthouse was on an Island off the east side of Southport peninsula Boothbay and was only visible from the Ocean Point Drive.  Thus it was too far to be seen clearly.  Hendricks Head Lighthouse was privately owned and had no public access.  It originally provided guidance into the Sheepscot river.  Cuckholds Lighthouse was on an Island named after an English gentleman that had his wife run away (!).  It was a ways off Cape Newagen and was on a very low Island.  In 1933, it was almost destroyed by a bad storm.
There were several more lighthouses between Boothbay Harbor and the southern border of Maine particularly around Portland, but we were running out of time and needed to head south.  We left Rockland and drove down near Portsmouth to stay overnight at a nephew of Paul and Debbie’s.  Their nephew was on duty with the Coast Guard, but we had a nice evening with his housemate and fellow Coast Guardsmen, Gordon.

Lodge at Cape Neddick, York, ME

It was pouring rain most of the afternoon.  We managed to get the 5th Wheel set up and then decided to drive up to the Cape Neddick and the Lighthouse which was supposed to be one of the Nation’s most photographs sentinels. We didn’t hold out much hope that it could even be seen through all the rain, let alone photograph it.

Cape Neddick Lighthouse, 1879, York, ME

As it turned out, photographing the Cape Neddick Lighthouse in a storm was actually a benefit as the waves were pounding off the rocks creating fountains of spray. Built in 1879 to mark the entrance to the York river, the lighthouse was electrified in 1938 and automated in 1987.  In 1977, a digitized image of the lighthouse was chosen for inclusion in a time capsule aboard the Voyager II space probe.  Along with other earth artifacts, it is intended to convey the nature of our world to other civilizations that may exist in the universe.

So ends out trip to Maine and fun searching for the lighthouses along the coast.  We wished we had more time to explore the entire coastline.

See you again as we travel to Boston, Washington DC, Williamsburg and Atlanta;  not forgetting a stop on the way home at our favorite distillery, Jack Daniels.

Ashland Mill pond

Ashland Mill

We moved to New Hampshire when the Limehurst Campground closed for the winter and we had finished with the northern Vermont covered bridges. Our first stop in New Hampshire was at the Ames Brook Campground in Ashland. It’s just south of Plymouth and convenient to the northern part of the state.

Mill below the falls

The town of Ashland has a beautiful mill obtaining it’s power from the pond above although it is no longer functioning as a mill. It has been renovated and turned into business offices.

Smith Mill Covered Bridge over the Baker river, Plymouth

We stopped by the Smith Mill Bridge on our way through Plymouth (our first in NH). It was reconstructed in 2001 after a fire destroyed the first bridge at this location. The first was built in 1850.

New Hampshire map with tours

I decided to do the New Hampshire blog a little different. Instead of showing all of the bridges, falls, churches, etc. separately, I thought I would show the photos as we took our tours around the state. We did three tours in the northern and middle part (outlined in blue) from the campground in Ashland. Then we moved south to Henniker to the Mile Away Campground and toured the southwest portion of the state. These tours (plus the lower blue tour) also included covered bridges in Vermont that we hadn’t covered previously. However, I did include those Vermont photos in the Vermont blog.

The covered bridges that we photographed are shown by green X’s although not all are included in the photos (just too many!) You may ask why we didn’t cover the north and southeast portions of the state. There were three bridges further north, but we ran out of daylight and they were too far north for a return trip. The southeast portion of the state only had two and we again ran out of time to get to them. I’m sorry we missed the Dover bridge as the photo in the book looked good, but the Stowell bridge was a non-traditional bridge built in the 1990’s.

TOUR 1

Squam Covered Bridge,1990, over edge of Little Squam Lake, Ashland

Tour 1 was a long trip leaving Ashland and heading north east on the eastern side of the White Mountains. Our first stop was at a small covered bridge just outside Ashland on the lake. It was a beautiful small bridge which replaced an old, condemned steel and concrete bridge. The town of Ashland raised the money to convert the old bridge to a covered bridge.

Durgin Covered Bridge, 1869, over Cold river near Sandwich

Durgin Covered Bridge was off the main road several miles and we were again touring through the colorful woods on good gravel roads. The original bridge was built on this site in 1828, but was washed away in 1844. It was rebuilt three more time before this final bridge was built. Durgin bridge played a part in the underground railroad between 1830 and 1865.

Swift River Covered Bridge, 1869, over Swift river

Swift River Covered Bridge first built in 1850, destroyed by a flood in 1869, then rebuilt. The current bridge was completely restored by the town of Conway in 1991 after the road was replaced with a highway a short distance away and a new steel and concrete bridge built.

Swift River upstream from the Covered Bridge, Conway

The beautiful restored covered bridge is used for foot traffic only. The view upstream from the bridge is the Swift River, a rocky stream lined with pines and hardwoods which are just beginning to show their color.

Albany Covered Bridge, 1858, over the Swift River near Albany

The Albany Covered Bridge is located along the scenic Kancamagus Highway which cuts through the White Mountains. A windstorm destroyed it a year after it was built, but it was rebuilt in the same spot and has been continually rebuilt to allow traffic through it to the Covered Bridge State Campground.

Rocky Gorge Falls along the Kancamagus Highway

A short ways downstream from the Albany Covered Bridge is a concentration of granite rock in the Swift River stream bed. Over the years the water has carved out a gorge in the rock creating a falls and pool through the granite. The state has built a picnic area and a bridge over the gorge so that the gorge can be viewed from above.

Wentworth Golf Course Covered Bridge over Ellis river

Built in 1990 on the Wentworth Golf Course to provide access across the Ellis River for golf carts, this beautiful little bridge is privately owned and not accessable to the public. It is a replica of a larger bridge that was built back in the 1800’s over the river in a different location, but was destroyed by a flood and never replaced.

Upper Glen Ellis Falls

Lower Glen Ellis Falls

We were heading north up 16 highway through the White Mountians and were climbing up toward Pinkham Notch when we spotted a sign stating Glen Falls State Picnic area. Of course we had to see what it was and it turned out to be a spectacular set of falls cascading down the upper Ellis river. The upper falls was a short walk under the highway and along a well developed pathway with railings along the cascading river. As we passed the first smaller falls we approached a stairway cut into the shear wall of rock that led down to the lower falls. It was a long, wet trip down as the stream was bouncing along from rock to rock creating a fine mist. Then the cascade suddenly stopped and as we went lower, much lower, we began to see the arch of water at it poured over the edge of rock, bounced several times before dropping into a deep pool. It was a beautiful falls, but it sure was a long, tiring climb back up to the top. We were both tired, but happy that we did it.

Snow on Mt. Washinton in the distance

As we drove over the Pinkham Notch, we got our first look at the back side of Mt. Washington. It is the tallest mountain in New Hampshire at 6288 feet and had very little snow on it for the time of year. As we drove down the other side of the mountain area, we came upon a turnout above a grove of oaks and maples that had turned bright red. The colors were fantastic and we couldn’t pass up taking a bunch of photos here (thanks for digital cameras!).

Red Oaks and Maples near Great Glen Trails

Mechanics Covered Bridge, 1862, over the Israel river

We turned west at Gorman and followed Highway 2 across to Lancaster where the Mechanics Covered Bridge was located. It was getting late by the time we were there and we still had three more covered bridges to see before dark.

Groveton Covered Bridge, 1852, over the Ammonoosuc river

By the time we made it up to Groveton Covered Bridge the sun was beginning to get low in the sky, thus the warm colors on the trees and support structure. The bridge is actually located within the town limits of Northumberland in the township of Groveton. It is no longer used for traffic as route 3 was rerouted in the late 30’s. It is one of the few bridges in New Hampshire painted both inside and outside.

Sunset on the Connecticut River

We tried to make it down to the Mount Orne Covered Bridge which connects the town of Lancaster, New Hampshire with Lunenberg, Vermont crossing the Connecticut river. The original bridge was built in 1860’s, but was destroyed by a log jam. The new bridge was built in 1911 and is 267 feet long. Unfortunately, it was late and we were unable to get a good photo of it. It was impressive crossing the wide Connecticut.We drove back to Lancaster and got on I-93 for the drive back down to Ashland and the campground. I was a long day and a long drive of 227 miles with a lot of wonderful stops.

TOUR 2

Day 1

Livermore falls on the Pemigewasset river

This tour turned out to be two days long as we got a very late start. We slept in and then had a great breakfast at a little hole-in-the-wall cafe in Ashland. Since it was almost noon we decided to just drive to a few covered bridges north of Plymouth. Our first stop was at the Livermore falls near Campton. It is the site of an old mill that used the water power of a rock cascade above it. The mill was built next to the railroad with loading platform to move the goods onto the railroad cars. The mill is now in ruins with nothing but a brick and rock base remaining. Although just barely visible in the photo, the mill and falls are beyond the railroad trestle. The old railroad crossing of the Pemigewasset river has also been abandon with one section entirely missing.

Bump Covered Bridge, unknown builder, over the Beebe river

On a gravel road well back from the busy traffic of I-93 in what one would call a sleepy little hollow is located Bump Covered Bridge.

Blair Covered Bridge,1869, over the Pemigewasset river

It is actually in the small village of Campton Hollow although well on the outskirts and provides access to the town for several farmers in the hollow. It was reconstructed in 1972 when Blair Covered Bridge in Campton was destroyed by a fire. The new builder made a deal with the city of Campton to restore Bump at the same time that he rebuilt Blair.

Jack-O-Lantern Covered Bridge, 1986

The Keating family of Woodstock built a golf course just south of the town in the early 80’s. On a pond in the golf course, they had built a replica of a beautiful covered bridge that once spanned the Pemigewasset River in the town of Woodstock. The original covered bridge was built in 1878 and was destroyed by fire in 1971. The town was unable to rebuild the original bridge again so the Keating family decided to build the replica of it on their golf course. Of course now the only traffic are golf carts and an occasional goose.

Day 2

Swiftwater Covered Bridge, 1849, over Ammonoosuc river

The Swiftwater bridge was first erected in 1810 although it was destroyed by floods four times before this final bridge was built in 1849. It is unique because of the series of cascades that start above the bridge and end in two falls on the downstream side making it one of the most scenic bridges that we visited. We sat down below the pool on the rocks for awhile enjoying the view.

Haverfill/Bath Covered Bridge, 1829, over Ammonoosuc River

The Haverfill/Bath bridge located in Woodsville is the oldest still standing bridge in all of New Hampshire and New England. It is no longer used for traffic as the highway was moved in 1999. However; it is the first and only bridge on this site.

Haverfill pond on the Ammonoosuc River

The pond formed above the covered bridge site was back water for the original mill and now provides power for the electric generating plant beside the bridge.

Bath Covered Bridge, 1832, over the Ammonoosuc River

At 375 feet, the Bath Covered Bridge is the longest bridge in the interior of New Hampshire. It is a four span bridge crossing the railroad tracks as well as the river.

Jan & friends at the Brick Store

It is in the old village of Bath which boasts ‘America’s Oldest General Store’. It was still operating as a General Store and was filled with goods as well as antiques, photos, posters, plus merchandise that was sold in the 1800’s. Of course it was also decorated for Halloween which was obviously an important holiday in the northeast as extensive decorations were everywhere we went. Jan is sitting here between two of her pumpkin head friends. As one fellow said when we asked why the big deal about Halloween; “It’s the last holiday we have before we get snowed in for the winter!”

Mt. Washington Hotel located at Bretton Woods

In 1772, the Royal Governor of New Hampshire set aside a grant of land at the base of Mt. Washington for Bretton Woods named for his home in England. In 1900, John Stickney, a wealthy entrepreneur built a luxury hotel at the base of the mountain. It took two years to complete and has 200 luxury rooms. The hotel had every advanced amenity available at the time, two golf courses, tennis courts and indoor swimming pools. After it was built, the wealthy from Boston, New York and Philadelphia traveled by train to vacation at the hotel. In the 1990’s, several New Hampshire businessmen purchased the hotel and surrounding area to built a winter resort at Bretton Woods. The area is now a year around resort with summer and winter activites.

Flume Gorge Covered Bridge,1871, over Pemigewasset River

Flume Gorge is a wonder and worth an afternoon of sightseeing. It is in the Franconia Notch State Park and there is an admission fee which includes a short bus ride to this beautiful covered bridge. It was built by the Lincoln Turnpike Company for the purpose of bringing people to the Flume Gorge. Currently the tour bus takes most of the visitors through the bridge to an information and restroom building at the start of the mile and a half hike up to the top of the Flume Gorge.

The climb starts with a half mile climb along side a granite outcropping with the Pemigewasset river cascading down over the rounded granite rocks. The Flume Gorge was created when a split occurred in a granite wall of rock. Over time the split was widened by water freezing and cracking away the granite walls. Now the gorge itself is over 800 feet long with up to 90 foot shear walls on each side. The state has built walkways and stairs along the base of the gorge where visitors can enjoy the beauty of the gorge and the falls within it.

Flume Gorge

Sentinel Pine Covered Bridge in Flume Gorge

After reaching the top of the flume, the trail continues along through the woods and begins to go back down to the base visitor center. It was a beautiful hike with several small brooks cascading down through the granite rocks. Crossing another branch of the Pemmigewasset high above the river is the Sentinel Pine Covered Bridge. This is not considered a historic bridge, but does have an interesting history. A white pine over 175 feet tall, called the Sentinel Pine, stood along side the canyon of the Pemmigewasset river. The trail down from the Flume went around the pine and around the canyon. In 1938, a hurricane hit the White Mountains and the Sentinel Pine was blown down. In 1939, 90 feet of the pine was used to span the canyon as the main beam of the new covered bridge across the river above the falls and large pool.

Clark's Trading Post Covered Bridge, 1904, over the Pemmigewasset River

The railroad covered bridge was originally built across the Winooski river in Vermont on a short line between Montpelier and Barre. When the line was shut down in 1960, the Clark brothers purchased the bridge, dismantled it and moved it to their trading post in New Hampshire. There they added some old steam engines and passenger cars to carry tourists on a short trip up the Pemmigewasset river basin. The old steam engine was fired by wood and in beautiful condition. The passenger cars were gaily done which made you want to take a ride in them. Unfortunately, they were putting the cars and engines away by the time we arrived there to see the bridge or we probably would have enjoyed a ride on it.

It was a beautiful sunny day with a lot of spectacular sights, beautiful fall trees, interesting covered bridges and a natural wonder. What better way to end the day than to enjoy a delicious dinner in the Woodstock Brewery. Our good friend, Jennifer Judge (who is the Exaulted Ruler in our Elks Lodge), moved from North Woodstock, New Hampshire to Soldotna, Alaska. She recommended the Brewery (where she used to work) to us for dinner. It was a great way to end the day.

TOUR 3

We again started west from Ashland on this tour with the intent of visiting the Quechee Gorge and a few of the covered bridges that we had missed in Vermont. This would be continued on tours 4 and 5 also. However, the highlights of those covered bridges were shown in the Vermont blog and will not be shown again here.

Packard Hill Covered Bridge, 1878-1991, over the Mascoma River

Originally an open wooden bridge was built on this site in the 1780’s to reach Ichabod Packard’s combination grist mill and sawmill southwest of the town of Lebanon. The span was replaced by a covered bridge in 1878, then a Bailey bridge replaced the ruined covered bridge in 1952. That bridge was replaced in 1991 with a reproduction of the original covered bridge.

Croydon Branch of Sugar River

Along the back roads on the way to Newport, we came across a beautiful park-like setting with a pool with ducks in it surrounded by trees in bright fall colors.

Home and Farm near Newport

Next to the river was a large home which was the main building in a extensive farm.

Blow-me-down Covered Bridge, 1877, over the Blow-me-down Brook

Blow-me-down bridge covers a very deep gorge of the brook of the same name near the town of Planfield. It is the same bridge that was built in 1877 and has only been restored once in 1980.

Cascading falls below Blow-me-down Covered Bridge

The cascading brook below the bridge is very beautiful although the trees and shrubs are dense and the sides of the gorge too steep to get a photo of the brook except from the bridge.

Falls downstream from Blow-me-down Covered Bridge

Further downstream the brook is dammed and a picturesque falls occurs. Although the bridge itself is not outstanding, the combination of the bridge, gorge, cascades and falls make it unique.

Dingleton Hill Covered Bridge, 1882, over Mill Brook

Near the town of Cornish Mills is the Dingleton Hill bridge. This area is on the western side of New Hampshire within a few miles of the Connecticut River. The bridge was built by James Tasker for $812 in 1882 and restored in 1983 by Milton Graton.

Kenyon Hill Covered Bridge, 1881, over Mill Brook

Kenyon Hill otherwise known as Blacksmith Shop bridge is located at Cornish City just upstream of the Dingleton Hill bridge. It was also built by James Tasker part of the eleven covered bridges he built in the area. It was also restored by Milton Graton.

Mill Brook connecting Dingleton Hill & Kenyon Hill bridges

Mill Brook wanders out of the Cryodon Mountain area through the Cornish township area and eventually enters the Connecticut River very near the Cornish Winsor Covered Bridge which spans the Connecticut.

TOUR 4

Fall trees reflecting in French Pond

With the intent of touring the southwestern portion of New Hampshire and southeastern side of Vermont, we moved south to the town of Henniker and the pretty Mile Away Campground. It was a large campground on the edge of French Pond which was vivid with the colorful trees along it edge.

Rowell Covered Bridge, 1853, over the Contoocook River

Since we were planning to visit several bridges in Vermont on this tour and there were only a few in New Hampshire, we decided to visit several in the Henniker area. The first was a pretty bridge below the Hopkinton reservior and electric power plant.

Henniker Stone Bridge on Contoocook river

The town of Henniker is a beautiful small college town located close to the State Capitol of Concord. Therefore, the major malls and retail stores are located in the Capital and the businesses in Henniker are the local small town Mom and Pop businesses. This gives the town a homey quality and a beauty often seen in the small New England towns.

New England College Covered Bridge, 1972, over the Contoocook River

New England College is located in the town of Henniker. As part of the college, there is a covered bridge built in 1972 to provide access from the college dormitories to the college campus across the Contooook river. The bridge was built for foot traffic only.

Waterloo Covered Bridge, 1857, over the Warner River

Just east of the town of Warner, the Waterloo bridge was set in an area of colorful trees. Although the banks of the river below and above the bridge were too dense to take photos, the Warner river was bubbling over rocks into a large pool at the base of the bridge.

Fall tree colors on New Market road

The New Market paved road was a beautiful drive through trees that were just beginning to get their fall color. Here the along the lower altitudes of southwestern New Hampshire, the trees had not reached the peak of their color except in a few places higher on the hill sides and mountain sides.

Bement Covered Bridge, 1854, over the Warren River

The New Market road took us to our next covered bridge near the village of Bradford. Mr. Long of Hopkinton, who was an engineer and designer for the US Army used his bridge truss to build the Bement Bridge. The bridge was made only with Hemlock.This was the last bridge on our Loop 4 so we drove back to Mile Away Campground.

TOUR 5

Fall trees near a County Farm

It was a foggy morning on the 22nd of October when we started out on our last loop looking for covered bridges. We were again touring both southwestern New Hampshire and southeastern Vermont.

Jan and I had both agreed that we were getting a little tired of covered bridges after seeing over a hundred, but we decided to do this last loop to finish the last concentration of ones in both states. It was also getting late in the season, the campgrounds were beginning to close or already closed and most of the trees had passed their peak in color. However, as we began to see this loop, the southern parts of the state still had a lot of beautiful trees.

Powder Mill Pond near Greenfield

We got lost several times trying to find our first covered bridge of the morning. The covered bridges book we were using to direct us to the bridges was either wrong about the name of the road or the name of the road had changed. At first we were disappointed when we saw the bridge. It was just another small bridge spanning a pond. Wow, were we going to be surprised! We drove across the bridge and found a small state park with a boat ramp and picnic tables. We pulled into the park and notice some bright orange and yellow trees reflected into the lake at the boat ramp. It was definitely worth a photo, so we drove into the park. As it turned out, it was one those photo opportunities that you are rarely privileged to experience. As we took the photo, we turned back to look at the bridge and were astounded.

County Farm Covered Bridge, 1937, over Powder Mill Pond

There wasn’t a breath of breeze, thus the pond surface was so smooth that it became a perfect mirror with the exception of a few leaves floating on the surface. In the background, the trees were slightly muted by the remnants of the early morning fog. The fall colors on the trees were visible, but not vibrant except on the pond surface. The Bridge was perfectly mirrored in the surface of the pond and in fact, in the photo it is difficult to tell which was the top of the photo except that the bridge in the pond was slightly darker color. This bridge definitely became the highlight ‘Covered Bridge of New Hampshire’.

Carlton Covered Bridge, 1869, over the Ashuelot River

We continued on the loop to find a grouping of four bridges near the village of Swanzey. Among them was the Carlton bridge. The earliest crossing here was a wooden bridge built in 1789 although it wasn’t covered. In 1869, local farmers built the covered bridge. In 1996, the bridge was completely rebuilt.

Thompson Covered Bridge, 1832, over the Ashuelot River

The Thompson bridge is in the middle of the village of West Swanzey. Just downstream from the bridge is a large dam to hold back the water of the Ashuelot river which is used for power by the mills along the river. There still several mills to left of the photo that are still in use.

Slate Covered Bridge, 1862, over the Ashuelot River

Continuing along the Ashuelot river southward, we found the third in the series of bridges in the Swanzey area. This bridge had a difficult past. The first covered bridge replaced an uncovered span across the river in 1837. The covered bridge was destroyed when a local farmer was crossing with four oxen causing the bridge to collapse dropping the oxen and farmer in the river. In 1862, the bridge was completely destroyed by a fire. Then in 1987, a snow plow caused extensive damage to it. Finally in 2001, the bridge was restored to it’s original condition.

Coombs Covered Bridge, 1837, over the Ashuelot River

And finally, the Coombs bridge was the last in the Swanzey area. This pretty little bridge was nestled among the trees just off the main road. Although the bridge is now limited to car traffic only, it is still in use by those who inhabit the other side of the river.

Road side trees in Fall colors

This drive along the Ashuelot river was beautiful with the hardwoods in full color. Although they had an early winter storm south of the area in Massachusetts and Connecticut earlier in the month that damaged the fall color, the color of the leaves in southern New Hampshire were just reaching their peak.

Ashuelot Covered Bridge, 1853, over the Ashuelot River

Ashuelot bridge was a beautiful bridge in a colorful setting. Along the right side of the bridge road were a series of red berry bushes.

Red Berry Bush

Unfortunately we were unable to see the bridge when we were taking photos of the bushes. Ashuelot bridge was originally built to transport the Ashuelot Railroad trains across the river. In 1999, the bridge was completely restored as a vehicle traffic bridge by the town of Winchester.

Maple Syrup Cook House

As we were traveling through Vermont and New Hampshire, we continually saw small out-buildings with smoke coming out the tin chimneys. Spending our summers in Alaska, we naturally thought of a smoke house for curing meat or fish. Finally after seeing all the Maple syrup available for sale almost everywhere , the light finally dawned that these were sugar cooking buildings. This was one of the best ones we saw on the trip.

So ends our covered bridge tour through Vermont and New Hampshire. We came to enjoy the fall tree colors. With the help of searching for covered bridges, we got to see more of the beautiful areas of these two states that the average tourist never sees. We also were able to take photographs, some which are shown in these two blogs that we will enjoy for years to come. Many of these pictures will reappear again on notecards and hopefully someday on paintings by both of us.
It was time to head to Maine. We found by calling ahead that the Acadia National Park was closing the 25th of October for the winter and with it, most of the campgrounds. We managed to make it there for the last weekend. But that’s another blog story which you can read next month with our travels to see the Maine lighthouses.

UPDATE:

Sorry this took so long to put together.  I know that many of you were anxious to see some of the photos we were bragging about from our East Coast Trip.  1, we didn’t have time nor often adequate internet access to put this together during our trip.  2.  It turns out that I would have been unable to put this on our blog earlier (even if it had been done) because there was a software glitch in the blog program which didn’t allow the insert of a photograph.   And as you will see, there is no way that I would update the blog without the photographs!  So, here is Vermont!

We started on our fall vacation on the first day of October.  We had been told by one of our summer guests that the peak time for the trees in Vermont was Columbus Day so we traveled fast along I-80 to Pennsylvania stopping for a quick visit with my cousin Betsy Sterns just outside Cleveland.
We got off the freeway as we arrived in Pennsylvania and took the two lane 6N highway (our normal preference) across the state enjoying the scenery, the new crop apples and the really good sweet corn roasting ears. Through southwestern New York, we skirted the eastern side of the Adirondack Mountains up to the Canadian border.  As we were traveling through Pennsylvania and lower New York the leaves were beginning to turn, but just hadn’t reached the peak that we would see in northern Vermont.

Farm north of Colchester

We crossed into Vermont at the upper end of Lake Champlain and drove down the length of Grand Isle to Colchester just north of Burlington where we parked the 5th wheel for a few days.  We planned to leave the 5th wheel and then travel around the area with the truck which turned out to be an excellent idea.  The weather around Burlington was still warm for most of the trees.  It was influenced by Lake Champlain and of the unusual late start to fall.

Autum trees of Vermont hillside

However, the trees higher up in the mountains were at their peak of beauty.

Our first day in Vermont started with a chance meeting with a local farmer in a filling station.  He told us to be sure to drive through Smuggler’s notch as it was at it’s peak in color.  As we drove northeast toward the mountains, we could begin to see the wide range of colors on the mountain sides.

Grist Mill on Browns River, Jericho

We were on a paved, narrow road winding through the trees and fields of northern Vermont and entered the small town of Jericho.  A stream cascaded down from the mountains through the town and an old Grist Mill stood along the side of the stream.

Poland Covered Bridge, Cambridge Junction, VT

As we were passing through the small village of Cambridge, we noticed a small covered bridge just off the side of the road.  The combination of the Grist Mill and the covered bridge really peaked our interest.

Smugglers’ Notch is a ski area on one side of the mountain and then a narrow, winding pass between the mountains and on the other side the famous Stowe ski area.  As we climbed up toward the pass, the trees turned to orange and reds and as we gained altitude they turned bright yellow.

Brilliant yellow lane up Smuggler's Notch

It was a beautiful drive and made us realize that the real beauty of Vermont was on the back roads, many of which were winding, narrow one-lane gravel roads climbing through the mountains and hills. And that was where the covered bridges were located.

We obtained a book titled ‘Covered Bridges of Vermont’, written by Ed Barna which gave directions to locate them, photos and facts about the bridges.  There were 106 classified as original and partially functional plus others that were reproductions of destroyed original bridges. Originally there were over five hundred documented covered bridges of which most were destroyed by time, damaged beyond repair by floods or destroyed by the hands of man.
We outlined roads from our campground in Colchester which allowed us to find most of the bridges in the northwestern Vermont mountains. Each of the loop roads could be driven in less than a day.   Then we moved the camper south of the state Capitol in Montpelier outside a small town called Williamstown. There we outlined loop roads which covered most of the northeastern and middle portions of the state.
We spent the next ten days touring the state. Of the 106 existing bridges in Vermont listed in the book, we found 75 and took photos of them. In addition to the fascinating covered bridges, we encountered old mills, small villages, steepled churches, mountain streams and falls, beautiful farms and old barns.  Jan and I took almost a thousand photos in Vermont.  Obviously I can’t and won’t show all of them to you; however, I will show you what we thought were the most interesting and beautiful bridges, mills, farms, churches and scenery in the state.

A. M. Foster Covered Bridge, Cabot-Plain

Up high on one of the ridges was probably the most photogenic covered bridge in Vermont.  It is the A. M. Foster bridge located in the Cabot Plain region and is really a reproduction of an original bridge in the region that was destroyed by flood.  There was a light dusting of snow on the roof and lots of it in the grass.  I was in tennis shoes and got wet, cold feet, but the photo was worth it!
I chose bridges to show you because they were interesting or had some or lots of fall color.  Trying to decide which ones to show in limited space was difficult.

Upper Morgan Covered Bridge, 1887, on Lamoille river

Schribner Covered Bridge, date unknown, Cihon river near Johnson

Codding Covered Bridge, 1877, Kelly river on Codding Hollow road

Seguin Covered Bridge, 1850, Lewis river near Charlotte

Upper Morgan,  Codding and Scribner Covered Bridges were chosen because of the fall foliage colors, the streams below the bridges and they were similar to the many other bridges we saw.  Codding was especially interesting because it was called the ‘Kissing Bridge’.  Back in the 1800’s courting was a little difficult due to the presence of a chaperon when the boy and girl were together.  However, Codding bridge was fairly long and it took awhile for the horses to pull the carriage through to the other end.   It was very dark inside the bridge which gave ample time for the young couple to kiss.  Scribner was special not only for the cascading stream, but also for the farm on the other side which raised Elk.  There were some beautiful antlers on some of the bulls in the pen.  We were delighted with Sequin Bridge.  It was set way off the main road down a narrow gravel road lined with glorious fall trees.  The Bridge turned out to be very old and very small, but it was still used regularly.  I took a lot of photos of it.

Smith Covered Bridge, 1870, Barnard Brook near South Pomfret

Smith Bridge was different in that the sides were open with a lattice structural design which was a common form of structure, but this was the first bridge where the sides were left open.  Actually the hillsides behind the bridge were beautiful, but didn’t show in the photo.  It was the entrance to a farm property and was a private bridge.  We didn’t go across it, but took photos from the front.

Upper Falls Covered Bridge, 1840, Black river near Downers Four Corners

Upper Falls Bridge was unique because it had just been renovated with a new metal roof and siding.  Put into an area where the hardwoods were at their peak of color and the bridge became spectacular!  Located west of the Connecticut River, it was owned and restored in 1975 by the local town. Nearby, there were stone remains of old mills that were destroyed by floods of the past.

Willard Twin Bridges, 1870, above the Ottauquechee river dam near North Hartland

Willard Bridges were built over two separate dams on a lake feeding power to a woolen mill on the side of the first bridge.  There was an island in the middle of the dam, thus requiring two separate bridges.  The falls over the dam were both spectacular, but we were unable to get close to them because it was private property WELL POSTED! I have included them here because it was very unusual that two bridges were so close together.
That did bring up an interesting antidote from the book.  It seems that in a small village in Vermont the locals were trying to decide whether to build another covered bridge across the stream that bisected the town so other farmers from that area could come to the town.  One of the councilmen made the following statement:  “We already have four covered bridges on the stream in town.  Why don’t we just cover the whole damned stream?”  The bridge never got built.

FALLS AND CASCADES
Streams and covered bridges go together obviously the latter to get over the former.  But in addition, water was a main source of power for all the towns and villages in the early Vermont.  Upper Vermont being mostly mountainous provided many beautiful falls and cascades through the rocky mountainsides.  Put streams and covered bridges together and the photo opportunities increase exponentially.

Sayers Covered Bridge, date unknown, over Ompompanoosuc river near Thetford Center

A magnificent example of the beautiful combination of cascading water and covered bridge.  Not only were the cascades beautiful, but the right sides of this area was covered with the stone walls of a grist mill and a sawmill.  However, they were so overgrown with vegetation that they were barely visible.

Warren Covered Bridge, 1879, over Mad river in Warren Village

A dam was constructed below the bridge to produce electricity is located on the left side of the photo although not visible.  The water from the dam fed a huge tube which dropped through a turbine creating electricity for the town.  Originally the white building on the left was a woolen mill with a water wheel.  It had been renovated into a home.

Mill Bridge built in 1883 just outside of Tunbridge was another example of a bridge, waterfall over a dam that generated power.  Originally there was a Grist Mill next to Mill Covered Bridge using the water from the dam, the Saw Mill  had its own wheel and a blacksmith shop as part of a mill complex using the river power.

Old Grist Mill converted to Power Generator plant on Gihon river

An example of a mill that was changed into a power generating station was found on the Gihon river.  We took this photo from the center of the covered bridge that crossed the stream.  This mill channeled the water off the stream upstream, ran it through turbin-wheels under the building and out the rear into the stream again.

Renovated Grist Mill on Brewster river, Jefferson

This Grist Mill was located on a very small stream using a water wheel.  However, the mill had be sold and then renovated into a home.  The water wheel was moved from the stream side of the home to the street side where is was visible for the tourists.  There was also a covered bridge upstream from it.

Old Sawmill at Kent Corners

Then there was the old 1803 sawmill that had be abandoned over a hundred years ago.  It was fed by the water through a pipe from the small lake where the water is falling over the dam.  It was under restoration by the locals in Kent’s Corner, but had a long way to go.   A very small, private covered bridge drew us to the area and we were able to photograph it hidden in the trees at the back of the owners yard (we tried to get permission, but nobody was home).

Old Mills on Otter river downtown Vergennes

The ultimate use of water for power was at the city of Vergennes where a very large dam held back a lake  in the center of the city.  We drove over the dam noticing the water cascading down the under the city street and then drove around the back to see the falls.  There were two of them and they had originally provided power for several mills, but were now used to generate electricity for the city.  It was interesting because the dams were a natural barricade of rock across the Otter river damming it.  The mills were built on top of the rock base forcing the water to go through two separate cascades.  The city street over the dam was actually a bridge.

Moss Glen Falls between Granville & Warren

We were driving up a winding mountain road looking for another covered bridge when we saw this beautiful falls cascading down the side of the mountain.  It wasn’t on our map, but later found it on the topographic map and it was called Moss Glen Falls.  There were many falls and cascades on the streams in Vermont and we stopped to enjoy them as we covered the back roads in the mountains.

CHURCHES, FARMS, OLD BARNS, OLD HOMES & BEAUTIFUL TREES

It seems to be a tradition to photograph the white churches of New England and far be it from me to be any different.  It seems that the people of New England made the bright white spires on the their churches to stand well above the surrounding forests to guide the parishioners to their doors.  The results were often quite spectacular.

Boyden Winery Farm, Cambridge

On that first loop tour through the Smuggler’s Notch we came over a hill to see the Boyden Winery Farm down below us.  The tasting room was closed for the year so we didn’t stop to taste the local wine.

The original bridge across the Ottauquechee river was old iron Union Street bridge when the yellow home was built in 1812.  It was condemned in 1965 and Middle Covered Bridge was constructed by the last of the covered-bridge builders, Milton Graton.

1883 Home at Mill Bridge, Tunbrid

Another beautiful old home was found behind the Mill Covered Bridge in Tunbridge.  The sign on the side of the home indicated it was built in 1883.  These are but a few of the beautiful homes and farms that we photographed on our tours through the back country of Vermont.

And finally, I can’t finish this overview of Vermont without showing a few of the photos of the fabulous autumn trees in the Green Mountain State.

Last look at Kasilof RV Park for 2009

Everything is boarded up.  The lines are all drained, tomorrow we head to Anchorage with a flight out to Denver early Monday morning.  From there we meet with Dave and Shirley who will take us back to Kansas for the winter.  It’s sad to say goodbye, but it’s been a really great summer with lots of friends visiting (we will get to that later), who helped us make a ton of improvements (more of that later too) and the weather has been spectacular!  We had a whole month with no rain (bad news for the forest fires) and temps up in the high 80’s (now that’s hot here!).  But then as usual, the reds came into the river and the rain came back too.  Rain wasn’t bad this year at all and it helped alleviate some of the fires that were up here (fortunately not close to us).

So let’s take a quick look back at what happened this summer and who was here to visit us (not counting RV’ers who we enjoyed having with us too):

Travis finishing the Siding on the Office

Travis Andregg, Karen and Todd’s oldest son came to visit us and work at the Park for a month in May and June.  One of the many, many tasks he helped us accomplish was the new Office space.  He helped me put up the walls, lay the floors and put up the interior sheet rock and ceiling.  Then while I did the electrical and the finish work on the inside, he cut and installed the wood siding to match the rest of the Lodge.

Travis first Sockeye (Red) Salmon

It wasn’t all work and no play though.  Here he is catching his first sockeye salmon at the Russian River with all the other Combat Fisher-persons.  We had a great day there with lots of fish and fisher people.

He also caught his first King salmon and Halibut when we went fishing with our favorite guide and friend, Captain Don Erwin of the Alaska Trophy Charters.  He caught lots of Halibut that day also.

Jacob & Friends going Clamming

We took Travis back to Kansas with us for his sister Nicole’s wedding in June and brought back Jacob Post, Debbie and Paul’s youngest son to help with other tasks for a few weeks.  Here he is posing with some of his eagle friends waiting for the tide to go out so he could use that clam shooter over his shoulder to pop out those elusive razor clams.

Making the Conex disappear

We had purchased a used Conex storage unit for the Park.  Jake and Jan were busy painting it Forest Green to make it blend into the spruce and cottonwood forest behind it.  They must have done a really good job painting it because I haven’t been able to find it lately (actually it’s so full of stuff I’m wondering where I can put our 4-wheeler).

Debbie arranging the Office Store

Debbie flew up a couple of weeks after Jake came with us and spent a week helping out too.  The new Office had been completed and she took over the task of arranging the gifts and things in the store portion.  She also got to do some fishing with Jake and Kevin, but it was too early for the Reds to be here and the Kings were as elusive as usual.

Jerod & Jordan traveling north

At this same time, Jerod, Jordan and Jerod’s friend, Brett were driving north with the Park’s new addition, the ‘Amazing Grace’ which is a nine passenger van to be used to haul around guests at the Park.  They were pulling a boxed in trailer with our 4-wheeler and two inflatible pontoon boats to be used on the Kasilof river and in Johnson Lake plus a bunch of other stuff that everyone thought we needed in Alaska (and we do!).

Moving Sod from the Fire Pit

They arrived a couple of days after Paul and they all quickly went to work helping build the fire pit.  Here Jerod and Paul were hauling out layers of sod to the sides.

Ryan as Mr. Cool

Ryan, Kevin’s oldest son arrived shortly before Paul and was soon installing windows in the rear of the Lodge for the new bedrooms that added last fall and finished this spring.

Ryan & Paul installing Lodge Windows

Here Ryan is inserting the window while Paul is helping as he can to provide materials and support.  Soon a window was added to each new bedroom without outside access allowing for exit in case of a fire in the Lodge.

New Walkway to Kitchen

Three of Ryan’s Firemen friends, Jeff, Dave and John came to visit and catch fish (duh!).  While they were here they help build a new walkway to our camp kitchen area (now does that really surprise you that four firemen would want to build a new gravel walkway so they could get to the kitchen?  DUDx2!).  Never-the-less, the new walkway was really nice and we needed it.

New Walkway to Deck from Lodge

It was so great that they added another from the Lodge so they could get there faster. Actually, we had a great time with them and they helped us at lot fixing up the fire pit (go back to the fire pit story for this one).  They also caught a lot of salmon and halibut even more than they could get in their fish boxes so they left some for us.  We have so much fun up here that I don’t know how anyone could stand to not come up and join us!!!!!!

Stromgren Family

They no more than left when that crazy family from Topeka came up to visit us, THE STROMGRENS, Jan’s youngest daughter’s family.  Oh what a wild and wicked time we had with them (sorry to the Jesus figure that they had with them).  They brought this small Jesus figure with them from their church with the idea what the rest of the world was like and to keep their sheep in the fold.  We took him with us everywhere and showed him what it was really like to live in the New Frontier with all it’s beautiful scenery, wonderful fishing and delightful weather.  Needless to say that there were a few characters that were encountered that might make Jesus rise to the occasion; however they prevailed and those characters were held at bay and enjoyed!

Sea Life Center

It wasn’t all fun and games as was seen in their section in the blog.  Craig and the boys helped with the building of the fire pit and several other tasks around the property while Kyra, Marissa and Miranda did maid duty in the Lodge and helped prepare food for all of us.  We visited Homer and Seward and they went on a great Halibut trip with our favorite Captain Don.  Kevin and I took them salmon fishing and eventually all the guys caught their salmon.  The girls had a little more trouble in that area, but it was largely do to lack of salmon when they were fishing.

YODELING

Nephew Kevin and his new best buddy, Brandon (because he helped him catch a red) kept us entertained each evening with glorious singing around the kitchen table.  It was very entertaining from afar since we were as far as we could get away around the camp fire or in the Lodge playing cards.

Salty Dawg Saloon

We just dumped them off at the airport and had to go to Seward the next day to pick up our friends from Hoxie, Dave and Shirley Cooper (Dave is actually Jan’s cousin although she won’t admit it.  That Cooper clan is that way!!)  We had a blast with them too although Shirley was slightly under the weather with her bum knee.  They had come up on a Cruise line and we toured Seward in the rain (familiar scene) then went Halibut fishing and salmon fishing, moose watching and general good times with a foggy trip to Homer.

Evening Camp Fire

Less we forget our wonderful evenings around the campfire with Shirley bundled up like a mummy and the rest of us lost in the smoke from the wet logs we were trying to burn.  Actually, we enjoyed the evenings around the campfire tremdously especially this time of year when the evenings are cool, but calm and pleasant.  The sun sets around 9pm and it is glorious!

Todd's Red, RED Salmon

But that wasn’t all of the visitors.  Along came Todd and insisted on going fishing everywhere!!!

Halibut Fishing

He insisted on going Halibut fishing with Dave and then he had to go fishing at the Russian River for Reds. The worse part of it was that he caught fish wherever he went!  We did have a good time and we caught fish too!!  But that was only part of what he did while he was here.  He helped me lay out and build the deck extension which was a huge job with a stairs down to the driveway below.  It looks great as you will see below.  Come up and enjoy it with us sometime next

SUMMER!

Finished Deck Extension

Steps from Driveway to Deck

Todd & Dave fishing for Halibut

Todd came up to Alaska to go fishing and we did; however, I got him to help build the extension to the deck while he was here.  As you saw last time, he did a lot of the work in building the deck with me standing by helping some of the time.  His trip didn’t start off that great as he was supposed to arrive on Thursday and we had a Halibut trip planned for Saturday.  His flight from KC to Denver was sent to Pueblo because of thunder storms in Denver.  By the time he actually arrived in Denver, his flight to Anchorage had already left, s0-0-0-0 the next available flight required a flight to Phoenix (?????), then a flight to Seattle where he caught a flight to Anchorage, a day later!!!!!! What happened to the days when we could book a flight and expect to arrive at the destination at least on the same day?  You didn’t sit with your knees under your chin and the plane wasn’t stuffed with people.

Our catch

Anyway, we were able to postpone the Halibut trip (it helps to be good friends with the Captain) and we went Halibut fishing the next day.  A beautiful day, cool, no rain, calm seas and lots of fish.  We didn’t catch anything huge, but we did catch lots and had a blast.  Jan and I went with Todd and Dave  with Captain Don and his grandson, Hunter.  We caught a lot of small sharks and enough nice Halibut to send a picture along to you to envy!  Above Dave is reeling one in and Todd is grinning at his exertions.  Next is our total catch for the day.  Lots of good Halibut fillets.

Putting up the Railings

We  were putting on the final touches to the deck extension by screwing in the railing boards.  You saw the entire construction process in last nights blog and here we are finishing off the deck by me holding on while Todd was screwing in the board in the proper place.  At this point we still had to finish off the front steps, but we had completed most of the main deck and walkway.

Final Finish to the Deck

Todd decided what the finished deck needed were a couple of sentinels to watch over who came into the kitchen deck.  So he talked us into placing the bear and the eagle at each corner to keep out the rif-raf.  Of course, then we had to put in the totem to keep the two of them company.  It turned out to be a great addition to the RV Park and one that will get a lot of use in the future.

Todd at the Russian River

Todd wanted to go Red fishing and we tried fishing on the Kenai, but the fish had all passed though.  We heard that they were catching Reds up on the Kenai at the confluence of the Russian River so we took a drive to the Russian River Ferry Landing to see if we could catch some too.  WE DID!  There wasn’t a crowd and the three of us had a blast catching and releasing big Red salmon.  Here you see Todd bringing in a nice Red while the Ferry is in the background taking a load of fishermen back to the campground.

Todd with Large, Mature Red Male

We caught several Reds that hadn’t turned to their mature colors of Red and Green before they spawn then die.   We kept several of them for smoking.  Todd and I both caught several large Red males that had matured and were ready to mate and spawn.  Here Todd is showing off one of the big ones he caught.  It’s colors are beautiful with a bright crimson body, a dark green head, fins and tail.  We modeled the sign on our van, Grace to

Park Symbol

match this.  I had heard that the flesh of the Reds after they had matured turned mushy and strong flavored.  NOT TRUE!  The flesh had lost some of it’s bright red color, but it was still firm and when we smoked it, we couldn’t tell the difference between it and any other salmon that we caught.

Brown Bear at the Russian

Although it is difficult to see in this photo, a brown bear was visiting the area and enjoying the salmon as well.  Here Jan is fishing while up the river beyond the Ferry is a group of people that were fishing and their boat at the tip of the trees.  Just beyond the rear of the boat is a brown bear that was enjoying the catch of the people that had been in the boat.  It didn’t bother any of them other than to enjoy their fish and then wandered into the woods, later to appear on the other side of them at the edge of the water trying to catch his own salmon.

Todd's Final Job

Which brings us to Todd’s final job while he was here with us this summer.

It seems that while Dave and Shirley were with us earlier, he really wanted to see a Brown Bear.  We never saw one.  However, after he left, Todd and Jan found the droppings of a Brown Bear on the road to the west of us.  So to satisfy Dave, Todd went down to the road and picked up the droppings of the Brown Bear and we sent it to Dave so he would have something to show other than a photo of a Brown Bear.  Wasn’t that nice of Todd ?

Clearing out deck space

While the neighbor Harold Hansen was here with his front loader digging out the area for the fire pit, we had him dig up the roots and humps in front of the existing kitchen and deck so we could extend it.  The deck on front of the kitchen was too small and confining when we had guests, especially if it was raining.  He also flattened and moved the excess dirt between the kitchen and the Park Model so we could level it and plant it to grass seed.  We did lose some of the ground cover, the bunchberries,  cranberries, fireweed and wild roses, but it was a small price to pay for having the deck area cleared.

Fastening Joists to Posts

After laying out the size and square of the new deck, Todd and I dug holes for the concrete tubes and placed the floor joists.  The deck extension is 16 feet long and 12 feet wide.  We then stabilized the joists with 4 x 4 treated pine posts and poured concrete around the bases in the tubes.  As soon as it was set, we nailed the joists to the posts to support the deck.

Installing Deck Board

The photo shows Todd and I placing the deck boards and screwing them in place.  With this deck we made 1/4 inch gaps between the deck boards because the lumber we are using is kiln dried and doesn’t seem to shrink much.  The posts above the deck will be the supports for the railing around the outside of the deck.

Making Joists for Walkway

From the front of the deck, we extended the deck to the driveway with a walkway.  Here Todd and I are fitting the joists to the 4 x 4 support posts to hold the walkway decking.

Finished Walkway Joists

I was nailing in the last of the walkway joists when Jan took this photo.  For the walkway we laid the decking board lengthwise rather than crosswise to minimize the amount of cutting that would be required.

Setting the Stair Poles

Having completed the decking on the walkway and finished the railings around the entire deck, we began to build the stairs down to the driveway level.  Here we are setting base poles for the bottom of the stairs in the concrete tubes and nailing them to the stairstep joists.  We then placed in the double 2 x 6 steps and built the railings down to the bottom.

Finished Entrance Steps

The steps are finished, I placed gravel around the base of the steps out into the gravel of the driveway so we wouldn’t be dragging dirt up onto the deck.  Since the photo was taken, Jan has been picking up rocks around the yard and in the ditches along the street to fill along the dirt bank on each side of the steps.  We kept the two spruce trees on each side of the steps at the top and someday they will probably be to large although that will be many years from now.

Finished Deck

The Finished Deck with an eagle and bear to guard the entrance.  Temporally the totem on the corner although it will be moved out to the other side of the fire pit next summer.  And one of the heavy picnic tables which just fits in the front corner.  We moved the flower pots up on it to give it some color.  The area to the right and below the bear has been planted with wild flowers, bunchberries and a couple of small spruce to fill in the space.  Next summer we will add a walkway between the Park Model and this deck.  But that’s for the future.

Shirley & Dave enjoying the campfire

The Cooper’s arrived the day after the Stromgrens left.  We drove to Seward to pick them up as they were getting off the enormous cruise boat that brought them up the Inside Passage to Alaska.  They had a wonderful trip with lots of great memories.  We were intent on improving on that while they were visiting.  Dave is Jan’s cousin and Shirley is a friend since grade school.  I actually attended grade school with both Shirley and Jan through the 4th grade.

Here we are the first evening enjoying the sunset around our new fire pit.

Shirley was cold!

Shirley wasn’t acclimated to the Alaska cooler weather yet and even though we were sitting around the fire, she was wrapped up in a blanket with only her face visible.  It is difficult to transfer from the Kansas heat and humidity to Alaska climate.  Shirley had also hurt her knee on the cruise and wasn’t able to get around a lot so it was difficult for her to stir up the heat to keep herself warm.

Dave's red catch

It didn’t take Dave any time to go fishing.  Fortunately, another big school of red salmon had entered the Kenai river the day before and there were plenty of reds to learn how to catch them.  Dave caught on quickly snagging two legally in the mouth the first day.  Kevin, Jan, Dave and I were fishing every day with the new school in the river so there were plenty of fish being caught by all of us.  For the next three days in a row,  we all limited out with three each giving us a lot of fish to process for freezing and smoking.  Dave also got a lesson in cleaning and filleting salmon.

Pulling out cottonwoods

Of course he had to earn his keep by helping around the park, and work he did.  He drove the truck and the 4-wheeler while I tied chains and ropes around the cottonwood saplings that had grown up all over the park.  We cleared quite an area between our Park Model and the RV pad next to us.

Riding the cart

We loaded our little utility cart with the saplings and took them down to the dump below the back of the lot.  Dave had to ride on the cart to keep the saplings from falling off.  It worked!

Cutting concrete tubes

Dave also helped me level off the area in front of the kitchen for the future deck extension.  Here he is cutting concrete tubes that will hold the 4×4 support posts for the deck and then we dug holes for them in the area where we were building the deck.

Fishing for Halibut

It wasn’t only work while Dave and Shirley were here.  Todd came for a visit a few days after they arrived and we had to go on a Halibut trip with our Captain Don of Alaska Trophy Charters.  Jan and I filled out the charter and we had a great time and caught a lot of fish.  Here Dave is reeling in another one while Todd is looking on and grinning at Dave’s effort.

Our Halibut catch

It was a good day!   We caught a lot of fish and although we didn’t catch any whoppers, we did get a lot of good fillets off these beauties.  Each of us caught plenty of fish including a lot of small sharks that begin to come in the Inlet to feed on the salmon scraps.

Momma moose

They were anxious to see the local wildlife including moose and bears.  Fortunately we didn’t see any bears but we did find evidence of one and Dave got a trophy to remind him of it in the future.  This momma moose was standing along the road eating and we stopped to take a picture of her.  She was happy to pose for us for quite some time before moving on to other forage.  Later we also saw a momma and two young calves along the beach road, but we didn’t get any photos of them.

Homer's Salty Dawg Saloon

As with all our first time guests, we had to take them down to Homer to see the mountains and the sights.  Unfortunately, the trip down was foggy and we couldn’t see the mountains across the Cook Inlet.  We were hoping that the fog would burn off and they would become visible on the trip back.  We did stop at the tractor pull at Deep Creek and Dave being an old farm boy was fascinated with the tractors putting in the charter Halibut boats and pulling them back out of the water.

Eagle on top of Salty Dawg Saloon

Dave collects photos and carvings of eagles and sure enough there was one sitting on top of the Salty Dawg Saloon just for his visit.   It’s obvious from the photo that this is a common roost for the eagles and the gulls noting the white coating on the roof tiles.

Inside the Salty Dawg Saloon

Inside the saloon, we had to sample their drinks to make sure that they were up to our standards.  It was a cool, foggy day outside and the wind was blowing off the Kachemak Bay which it often does, so we had Cocoa with a shot of  Amaretto in it.  It sure warmed us up!

The Cooper dollar

Looking at all the dollars with previous visitor’s names on them inspired Dave and Shirley to add their on in the only bare spot that they could find.  He did eventually pin the other side of the dollar so you could see the name on it.

Kenai Moutains across from Homer Spit

The fog never did clear so you could see the mountains across Cook Inlet.  However, while we were in sampling the fare at the Salty Dawg, the peaks of the Kenai Mountains across Kachemak Bay south of Homer began to clear enough to see the outline of them and some of the glaciers flowing down between them.  The fog still hung tight over the water and it never did clear as we  drove back north.  We stopped at Bob and Linda Steinke’s cabin beyond Ninilchik and the fog had cleared enough there to view Mt. Redoubt and some of the northern Alaska range.

We had a great time with the Cooper’s as we always seem to do.  We took them back to the airport in Anchorage on the 8th of August, nine fun filled days

Here’s Marissa’s journal that she wrote while she was here:

July 19, 2009

Numero Uno: El Journal de Stromgren Familia

Hola amigos, chicos, ninos, ninas, abuelos (grandparents), I think that just about covers all bases.  Marissa here, writing to you all on our 3rd lovely and adventurous little Alaskan escapade. I’m the 3rd  to take over the journal after Travis, Jacob and Jordan, so here goes…The following rendition was inspired by the 3 stooges AKA Post boys, and has been modified due in part by our Alaskan countryside:
*Please sing the following to the tune of SpongeBob
Marissa: Are you ready weird family?
Weird Family: Aye Aye Captain
Marissa: I can’t hear you….
Weird Family: Aye Aye Captain!
Marissa: Ooooooo who lives in a RV up in the vast Alaskan country?
Weird Family: Gram and Gramp Kasilof RV Park Keepers!
Marissa: Gracious, Alaskan, and Smelly are they!
Weird Family: Gram and Gramp Kasilof RV Park Keepers!
Marissa: If fishing, wildlife, and sights are something you wish…
Weird Family: Gram and Gramp Kasilof RV Park Keepers!
Marissa: Then fly to Alaska and begin to smell like a fish!
Weird Family: Gram and Gramp Kasilof RV Park Keepers!
Marissa: Ready?
Weird Family: Gram and Gramp Kasilof RV Park Keepers! Gram and Gramp Kasilof RV Park Keepers! Gram and Gramp Kasilof RV Park Keepers!
Marissa: Gram and Gramp.…. Kasilof RV Park Keepers! Ha-ha!

Time on my hands? Yes, it is raining outside and I am in between loads of laundry (Missa moo cow wears several hats, AKA Marissa the maid and toilet paper switcher outer). Alrighty, so let’s get you all caught up on our experiences thus far. We left Thursday the 16th around 4:30 a.m. from the Stromgren household. We flew from KC, to Minneapolis, to Portland, and up onto Anchorage. Gram and Gramp Kasilof RV Park Keepers (Yes, that is in fact their new title) graciously picked us up and we drove onto the thriving metropolis of Kasilof.
On the way we stopped for several Kodak moments, mainly because Mom is carrying around the little Jesus figure from the Church. Jesus is a miniature doll version the Church gives to families to take on vacations; the families are told its because Jesus likes to be adventurous, however, in reality he’s ensuring they follow the righteous path… With our Paparazzi-like skills we will have a plethora of pictures to share in the near future! We made a pit stop for pizza and beer (root beer for the minors) at the most adorable little brewery in Soldotna. Upon arriving to the Kasilof RV Park, the exhausted Stromgren familia hit the hay and visions of grizzly bears, mountain lions, and redneck campers danced in their heads.

Numero Dos: Day 2, The Failed Fishing Shenanigans

The Stromgrens awoke refreshed and anxious to catch their little fishies; almost everyone awoke rejuvenated, Kyra (the almost 48 –year-old) woke up nearly unable to walk with her bad knee. She claimed she must have sprained it while sleeping….must have been a very active nightmare… Kevin, Jon, Ryan, Craig, Marissa, Caleb, and Miranda went into town to obtain their fishing licenses (notice Kyra was not present…more info to come in a bit).  The first hotspot we attempted was donned, Morgan’s Landing. Contrary to popular belief, Morgan has not and probably will never land ANYTHING. The area has a small platform to fish on, but some incompetent designer placed giant trees in the water in front of the platform, making the act of bringing a fish up to the platform nearly impossible. We had a brief run-into with a family from Texas, and when we asked how their day of fishing was we were told by the tiny Texan Tot, “I cast my line out there and ain’t catch nuffin (yes he said it like NU-FIN).” Oh how we love the smarties from Texas (Kristina aside)! *Please note Brandon was down the river a ways and stepped into a hole, or tripped, he won’t really admit, and got loaded with water in his waders (Spelling?). Frustrated and wet (only Brandon) we moved onto spot #2 (the name escapes me), only to discover there were too many fisherpeople already in place. We headed back to the Kasilof RV Park (sorry I enjoy using the full title) for some tasty eats and to rest up before attempting another fishing venture at night. While waiting Marissa, Brandon, and Miranda went on a little 4wheeler ride. With Marissa navigating, the 3 troopers cautiously navigated through local trails and construction sites (According to the two backseat drivers, Marissa drove slower than a snail on a mission).  Later on after dinner the Stromgren familia, (minus Kyra)  and Kevin went out to Crooked Creek with high hopes of landing some big ones.  We fished for about an hour and a half, standing out in the water and battling the currents, but sadly we came up short. However, the troops did gain valuable fishing skills from guider Kevin, one of which was the act of patience. ☺
Back to the Kasilof RV Park to catch some beauty rest, and to prepare for the adventures with Cap’n Don which would await them the next morning.

Numero Tres: Deep Sea Fishing with Scallywag Cap’n Don

The Stromgren familia, geared up and multi-layered with the finest in latest fishing fashion, headed on over to Cap’n Don’s home to meet up with him for their day at sea. Not sure what exactly has been mentioned on previous trips by relatives concerning Cap’n Don, with the exception of his butt crack of course….but it must be said he is a bundle of an ‘ol Irishman, full of tales from his time spent on sea from the utmost southern Virgin Seas, to the Alaskan bays and inlands. One might say he resembles Jolly ‘ol Saint Nick, due to his rosy cheeks, and jolly personality. He also may have studied under Ghandi because of his endless patience with novice fisherpeople, such as the Stromgrens. None the less, the crew headed out to the Alaskan blue sea  in his crusty but ironclad boat, and ventured about 12 miles off the coastline. The first spot the crew stopped at was not so lucky, so they moved on out a bit farther and SHAZAM the fish, they just kept on ‘acomin. A total of 12 (and by 12 I technically mean 15 but keep it on the down low) were round up and are currently being filleted and processed next door in the café Kasilof. Miranda caught 2, one of which we kept, and then poor little Boonda caught a case of the ol’ sea pukes and had to spend the rest of the day looking green and feeling blue in the co-captain seat. Caleb caught on, and by the end of the day he was a smashing young fisherman who would drop the line only to immediately catch a fish and then start the process all over again. Brandon, AKA Beeber the pro-little-fisherman was in heaven all day. Casting out, battling the reel in, and ooooing and awing over his catches. Craig, the multi-handed helper ran about all 5 lines assisting others when the battle with the fish became too much to handle. He rarely was able to work his own pole because the others kept him busy by screaming “Dad!” “Craig!” “Oh holy s*** this is a HUGE ONE!” (sorry  miniature Jesus, we strayed from the path). Craig won the award this deep sea fishing trip for the Most Awkward and Unusual Catch of the Day, by reeling in a 100 something lb. Stingray. Congrats go to Craig! Marissa, (yes everyone I am not as high maintenance as you all think) caught 7 total, and was incredibly irritated because only 1 was large enough to keep.  This brings us up to speed with the exception of Kyra, last but certainly not least. Before I hand it off to mi Madre so she can tell her tale of using a Fake ID in order to obtain her fishing license, I have to say my experience thus far in Alaska has proven to be not only memorable, but refreshing. The country is beautiful, from wildflowers, to snow-peaked mountains, to green wet inlands, it is nothing short of breathtaking. The people are friendly, and things just seem to take place on their own natural time. Life seems simple and relaxed for the people up here. Fishing, hunting, spending time with friends and family, these are the things they live for. Time is slowed and beauty is all around. Now that I’ve shared my poignantly spun version of our vaca so far, I must pass the torch onto another.

Kyra (who has been spending one-on-one time with little Jesus confessing her sins) now has the floor:
Wow, how can I even begin to follow the wonderfully written day by day adventures of the Stromgren family in Alaska!
I do really feel that having the miniature  Jesus from our church with us on this trip has kept us safe from bears and getting arrested for  using fake ID’s to get fishing licenses!
As Marissa said, we were all loaded in Jesus’ van AKA  “Grace”  wearing the proper and attractive fishing gear on our way to meet Cap’n Don, when I realized that I didn’t have a fishing license or any ID in my fishing outfit!  Kevin  and Craig told me to use Marissa’s driver’s license and just write her name and make up a fake number on the license. The problem with that plan was soon discovered. The lady in the store was filling each license out herself! I was waiting in line sweating it out wondering how I was going to pull this one off, passing as a redheaded 22 year old!  This is how I know that Jesus was with me…. I just pulled my hat down really low, hid my wrinkled hands and he took care of the rest! I passed as my daughter!!!!!!! Now, the Alaskan Fishing authorities may wonder why Marissa got 2 fishing licenses for the same day, but I’m just glad I didn’t get arrested!!!!  End of this story, with more to follow soon……..

Numero Quatro and Cinco! Fish Processing Days

Hey hey again everyone! So I got some feedback from the peanut gallery in major suspense on whether or not Kyra was dragged away by the local Alaskan authorities for using Marissa’s ID……truth be told it worked like a charm. So the result of our little fishing venture with cap’n Don: we caught our full limit. GO STROMGRENS, THE NOVICE FISHERPEOPLE! So then the task of processing was a load of clean fun. By the end of two days of processing wonderfully smelling fish, we ended up with about 115lbs. of Halibut total. The 115 lb also included Brandon and Kevin’s Sunday catches with Cap’n Don, in which they each snagged a few more. I combined the 4th and 5th days because the troops did odd jobs around the house; we didn’t really travel long distances or battle mountain lions, so the details are nothing short of non-adventurous. The fire pit is coming along at quite the rapid pace due to the valiant efforts by the men in the family. I know we all can hardly wait for the end result, so we can warm our little toesies and cheeks by the fireside while singing tunes to the Post boys’ guitars. If we’re lucky maybe they can even bust out some Johnny Cash and sport the glorious mountain teeth…..we will wait and hold our breath! Sunday night Kevin, Ryan, Craig, and Caleb (under the talented guidance of the Pyle men) headed out to Ryan’s secret fishing spot with high hopes of snatching some Reds. And AHA! Believe it or not Mr. Caleb  reeled in 3 right off the bat, Kevin came in short, not bringing in any, and Ryan drove in headfirst into the cold currents to save his pole when it got ripped out of his hands by a salmon. Poor Ryan learned how to water ski while being pulled down the Kenai River by a giant Red Salmon….(he already lost one pole earlier this week so the unlucky lad was determined not to lose another). Today (Tuesday) Gram and Gramp Kasilof RV Park Keepers and the Stromgren 6 headed out around 7:15 a.m. for a Fjord Cruise Ship 8 hour tour in Seward…..we drove the 2 hours to get there only to find out the tour had been canceled because of 15/20 ft. seas and rains. Apparently Alaskan Fjord Customer Service Reps. Have not received proper training in notifying customers when cancellations occur. Craig was not too happy ☹, but we came to the mutual conclusion we’d rather stay alive than to be swallowed by giant ocean waves. Alas, we made up for the mishap by visiting the Seward aquatic museum and by sharing a fantastic tasty lunch at a local hotspot eatery in Seward. And now I must leave you all because the dinner bell is a’ringing and my stomach is making incredibly awkward noises that I hope are sounds of hunger and not the result of our lunch today…..Love to you all. Chat again soon!!!

Missa-

So now I will just show the photos with some explanation of WHAT’S HAPPENING!

Stromgren's arrive in Achorage

It was the afternoon of the 16th of July, we had just let Paul, Jerod, Jordan and Brett off at the airport earlier and now were waiting for the arrival of our next family members.   Welcome to Craig and Kyra, their daughters Marissa and Miranda and sons, Caleb and Brandon. Oh, and less I forget, their Jesus figure that travels with members of their church to new places to experience new things and keep their members on the straight and narrow.  He had a major challenge on this trip!  We picked them up in the ‘Amazing Grace’ and headed south to the Kenai Peninsula and all it’s wonderful scenes and adventures.

Family at the Turnagain Arm

The ride from Anchorage to Kasilof is listed in the top 25 most scenic highways in the U.S. and we had to stop many places along the road for Kodak moments as the kids like to call them.  Here we were at a pull-out along the beautiful Turnagain Arm.  The tide was in and the water was rushing along to fill the inlet with salt water.  The silvers and pinks were coming in, but we didn’t get to see and beluga whales.

Dinner at St. Elias

We had to stop in Soldotna at Jon’s favorite pizza/brewery for dinner.  The pizza is great as is the beer.  As Marissa wrote, ‘It’s the most adorable little brewery in Soldotna!’

Jesus communicating with local animals

We finally made it to our home in Alaska, the Kasilof RV Park and thus required a photos of Jesus communicating with our mascot.  Thus ended a long and tiring day for the Stromgrens leaving Kansas City early in the morning and arriving  in Kasilof Alaska almost 20 hours later.  Needless to say everyone was quick to get some sleep to prepare for all the exciting things that were happening the next day.

Now rather that take you through a day-by-day of what was happening, I am again going to deviate and show the events that occurred during their seven day visit.

Fishing

Kevin & Brandon's reds catch

Salmon -  Late July is the prime time for catching Sockeye (Red) Salmon.   Of course all of the kids were eager to catch some salmon.  The first attempts were less than successful with snarled reels and boots full of water.  However, after several attempts Kevin and Ryan managed to show Caleb and Craig how to catch them, Caleb showing all of them up catching his limit of three.  Brandon had been unable to go with them that night so Kevin took him fishing the next night and Brandon was thrilled to catch his own red salmon.

Caleb reeling in a Red

Caleb showed them how again the next day reeling in a red at the River Terrace where the family was visiting Tom and Sally Curry.  River Terrace is one of the premier red fishing spots on the peninsula and my sister Sally and her husband, Tom have their 5th wheel there.

Brandon trout fishing

Brandon was satisfied catching reds so he also had to test out fishing for trout in Johnson lake across from the campground.  The lake freezes every year so the Fish and Game stock it with Rainbows each spring.  This year the lake froze solid and most of the previous year’s fish died.  Therefore, the trout are rather small.  Brandon caught one of the monsters, but I don’t think he really planned to eat it.  We were feeding him good!

Craig on the Halibut boat

Halibut fishing – It was the day for the Stromgren’s trip with Captain Don Halibut fishing.  Craig is all ready and waiting for the boat to be launched into the Cook Inlet anxious to catch his share of the big fish.

Brandon's first Halibut

Brandon caught his first one and it wasn’t a monster, but was a good eating twenty-five pounder.  This was just first of many that he pulled up to the boat.

Kyra's Halibut

Kyra not to outdone pulled in a big one for herself. She was mighty pleased with her catch and the days trip.  The seas were fairly calm although the sky was cloudy and there was haze and clouds covering the beautiful mountains of the Alaska range on the west side of the Cook Inlet.  The mountains were visible although they were just dark silhoulettes against a backdrop of clouds.

Marissa holding her own

Marissa also had good luck and caught several although she had a hard time catching one big enough to keep.  She finally caught one big enough to land in the fish well for later eating.  Although there weren’t any pictures of Caleb catching his Halibut (?), rumor has it that he more than caught his share, but managed to avoid the camera all day until the final Halibut were hoisted on the rack at Captain Don’s.

Miranda modeling rain suits

Miranda's catch

Sea sick

Then there was Miranda who started off the trip the night before getting all dolled up in her latest rain suit fashion. The next morning she was ready to go and was really excited when she caught her first Halibut.  But then the Green Goblens got her and she had to talk to Ralph over the side of the boat a lot.  They say you really don’t turn green when you get sea sick.  Do you want to bet?

Stromgren Family Halibut catch

All in all, they had a GOOD day with lots of fish, good weather and a fun Captain.  By the way, Craig did also catch Halibut including helping reel in many for the rest of the family.  He also got honors for the most unusual fish of the day with a very large skate.

FUN TIME -

Riding the 4-wheeler

Caleb driving the 4-wheeler

We just got our new 4-wheeler when the Post boys brought Grace and the trailer up from Kansas and Nebraska.  The kids had a good time driving it around the park and around the neighborhood on the side roads.  The kids complained that Marissa drove too slow, but we didn’t think so!

Meeting in the camp kitchen

Family around the table

A big part of our fun can be found around the dinner table.  This time was not lacking in the amount of time in that pursuit either.  We had some great rousing dinners with fabulous food and sometimes too much wine for a whole week.

Caleb pulling out big raft

Girls stuck in lily pads

All the kids who visit have to take the rafts out on Johnson Lake either to fish or to just row around.  The Stromgrens were no exception and like the others, they all get stuck in the lily pads which form a large area at the edge of the lake.  Caleb pulled the large raft over to an area where the lilies were not as thick, but the girls still had to row their way through them to open water.

CLAMMING -

Ready to go

Caleb and Craig are ready to dig the elusive razor clams.  The normal gear is boots, waterproof pants and coat, heavy gloves, a clam shooter, shovel and buckets.

Digging for clams

Next comes the search for the tell-tail dimple in the sand which indicates a clam below, then the digging begins.  Those with shooters cover the dimple and push the round barrel in to the sand.  Then holding their finger over the hole in the handle to create a suction, pulls the sand and hopefully the clam out of the hole.

Sometimes it's not worth the effort

Brandon got one although it was hardly worth the effort it took to pull all that sand and water out of the hole.

Caleb's clam

Caleb got a better one after some effort.  It will be a tasty treat after some cleaning and cooking.

Kyra's clam

Kyra got a nice big one, but somehow the clam got a little busted up during the process of digging it out of the sand.  That’s alright because after some serious cleaning of the sand out of the broken shell, we will still get some good eating out of it.  We didn’t stay that long as they just wanted the experience of clamming and we were going to Homer that afternoon.  So after about a dozen of them, we gave the clams to my sister and nephew, Nelson who stayed and got a batch to eat for dinner.

JOBS -

Filling gravel along the kitchen

One of the things we ask the family members when they visit us is to help us with the multitude of jobs that we need to do to make the RV Park a better place.  The park is intended to be a family place where they can all come to visit and eventually will own a share of it.   There were a lot of jobs needed to be done this year as there were a lot of improvement projects going on at the park.  As you saw on the ‘Construction of the Fire Pit’, Craig, Caleb and Brandon had a big part in helping to develop and build it.  The layout of the blocks was primarily Craig and the boys helped me fill and finish off the concrete blocks with concrete.  Then they hauled gravel to fill in the fire pit floor.  Here they are helping by adding gravel to the side of the Kitchen/Shop to keep the rain from splattering the side of the building.  It was their idea to add the bigger rocks along the edge of the matting.  Good idea and we have added it to other areas as well.

Kyra sweeping the laundry

Who is that holding a broom?  Is it the maid? No, it’s Kyra doing her share of household duties to help us out.  As Marissa said in her narrative, each of the girls helped clean the Lodge, the bathrooms and the laundry.  Plus they helped the dinners by making deserts and doing dishes.

Collecting quarters

Miranda also collected the quarters out of the washers and dryers in the laundry, then she and the boys counted them and rolled them to be sold to the guests for doing their laundry.  All of the family helped collect the trash each day and hauled it to the dumpsters over by the river.

TRIP TO HOMER -

Stromgren family at the Homer Overlook

One of the required sightseeing tours that we take all the relatives is the trip down to the end of the highway in Homer, ‘Lands End’.  The Stromgrens were no exception and they spent the afternoon driving down to Homer, ‘The Halibut Fishing Capital of the World!’.  The afternoon was partially cloudy so not all of the beautiful mountains on the other side of the Cook Inlet nor the Kenai Mountains across Kachemak Bay were clearly visible.  However, they were able to see the mountains and the glaciers.  They were at the Homer Overlook on the bluff above the town of Homer and the Homer Spit.

Homer harbor & kids

They ate at the Mexican seafood restaurant then walked the boardwalk along the harbor.  They had to look at all the shops across the road and look through all the gift shops.  They stopped at the Spit Snagging Hole where people can fish for salmon.  Unfortunately there was a lot of fishing going on, but no catching.

The Salty Dawg Saloon

No trip to Homer is complete without a photo in front of the Salty Dawg Saloon, the old time watering hole for the fishermen.  They did get a chance to walk through the saloon and saw all the dollar bills tacked to the walls and the ceiling; however, they weren’t allowed to stay because the kids were not of legal age.  They had a fun afternoon touring the city of Homer, known as ‘A small drinking town with a fishing problem!’

SEWARD -

Stromgrens at the Sea Life Center

We had reservations for a boat tour of the Kenai Fjords National Park a day before they left.   We got up to a rainy sky and in rained all the way to Seward.  As we got closer, the wind also came up stronger and was blowing hard by the time I dropped them off at the tour building.  The tour had been cancelled because of wind and high waves (10 to 15 feet).  We obviously would not have wanted to participate in that so we opted to tour the city of Seward and spend some time at the Alaska Sea Life Center, an aquarium and sea life rehabilitation facility.  It was used extensively during the EXXON Valdez disaster to clean the oil off of the sea animals and birds.  The state later used funds from the lawsuit to build the aquarium and research center.

Jesus on a seal

Even the Jesus figure got in the act by sitting on the seals head in the main section of the aquarium.

The rain never let up that day and we stopped for a great seafood lunch on the wharf, then started back to Kasilof.  We considered stopping at Exit Glacier so the kids could see a glacier up close, but it was raining so hard and the glacier is a long walk from the parking area so we decided to head back to the RV Park.

With the long drive back to Anchorage the next day, we ended the Stromgren visit to Alaska.  We had a great time with them as we know they did too.  I am including some more of the many photos that were taken during their trip without words to go along with them.

You figure out what they are singing!