Alaska - Week Two - Kenai

The Diamond M Ranch where we are staying is a very big and nice RV resort. It is located between Kenai and Soldotna, which both have plenty of stores and a lot of fishing and outdoors gear stores. There is a Wal-Mart, Lowe's and a Home Depot which is pretty big town stuff here. We are pretty centrally located for a lot of activities.

We went to Prospector John's to try gold panning and sluicing. It turns out it was also an art gallery for big timber carvings like life size bears and people, and bigger than life size chairs and salmon. After walking around and checking out some very impressive carvings, we tried out the gem mining and gold. It was rainy and cold, but we stood out at the sluice box and ran our "paydirt" through anyway. Gold fever keeps you warm- for a little while. We hightailed it back to the RV to get some hot chocolate and dry out.

(Michael - We went to Prospector Johns in Soldotna, Alaska. Prospector Johns is a mining village. When we went in there were many gems and arrowheads. We ended up going in the mine shaft where John and I went in the gem mine and found a bunch of gems. Then we all got big buckets of dirt and took it to some sluices and all found a lot of gold and garnets. Once we had all our gold we took the sluicer to another area and took out the plastic grass called miners moss which caught all the gold we didn't see. Then we panned the dirt out of the miners moss and put all our gold into vials. I ended up with 18 pieces of gold and 2 garnets. On the 13th the Sawfest begins where they make sculptures out of wood. Prospector Johns was very fun.)

Big wooden chair - Michael

The mine shaft where we found gems. It was really dark - Michael

It's raining gold.

We were all having fun looking for the gold for several hours. -Shelli

(John - We went to the farm at the Diamond M Ranch which had pigs, chickens, chicks, ducklings, a goat, and a bunny. First, we saw and held the chicks and ducklings. One duckling had a pompom on his head, and they were so soft and fluffy. Next, we held the older chickens one had feathers on his feet. We saw Muffin the goat and held Thumper the bunny, who was huge and he was not even full grown. Then we met Earl and Daisy, the potbelly pigs. They were fat, rough and tough. Last, we got to pet the horse Lightning, he was hurt but he was very gentle. My favorites were the chicks and ducklings. I had a great time and the owner told me I could come back anytime I wanted. I have been back every day since then to feed and play with the animals. This afternoon, the daughter of the farm owner and I had races to see who could catch the rooster the quickest, I did it in 1 and a half seconds!)

These little ducks were very soft and would cuddle right up next to us. -Shelli

This bunny was named Thumper and he was only 9 weeks old, he was not even half grown. - John

Right before John yelled "OWWWW!!!!"  - Michael

Earl and Daisy would eat their own food while also walking over to check to see that the other sibling didn't get more than their fair share, sometimes stealing a little from the wrong pile. - Shelli

This horse was very nice and gentle and I could have rode him if he had not cut his leg. - John

We headed out to the beach in Kenai to watch the people trying to catch salmon with huge dip nets. The dip netting for salmon is a big attraction for Alaska residents who are allowed to catch the fish for "subsistence". All the parking lots and campground fill up with Alaskan's coming in to stock up. Anyone that hasn't been a resident for a year is not allowed and must use fishing gear and pay for "sport" fish licenses. When the fish run, the commercial fishermen get the first shot, then the dip netters at the beach and mouth of the river, then what is left swim up the rivers and into the creeks to spawn. The sport fishermen, bears and eagles fight for the ones that make it inland. Luckily, when the reds (sockeye salmon) run, they come in by the thousands and there are plenty for everybody. You just have to be here during the window when they run.

On the way to find beach access, we saw a caribou right off the side of the road before we crossed the Kanai river. We saw a laundromat that had a sign for gold panning. It turns out it was Joe's Mining and Dive Supply, and Joe told me they find gold right on the beach where the black sands collect. I decided to collect some gear and give it a try.  We took a 5 gallon bucket and a scoop, parked at the top of a high bluff where there was space and walked down a bunch of steps and down along the beach looking for the black sand deposits. I didn't find thick concentrations of 4 inches or more like Joe had described, but I did find some thin layers and scooped up a bucket full. Then the fun began.

Gold is found along with black sands because the two are heavy and settle out together. The bad thing about that is a bucket full of black sand is VERY heavy. It was a long, long walk back dragging that bucket, so we all took turns. The climb up the stairs at the end was actually not as bad as walking through the thick sand on the beach carrying the two thousand pound bucket. When I got back, I tried panning some of the sand to see if there was any gold and it was very difficult to get the sands to pan out. The particle size seems to be just right to keep everything sliding along together and it made for some tedious work. I did find some tiny flecks - really tiny, but it was promising. I went back for another round of sand the next day, and found some thicker spots, but still not the deep deposits. Another long haul down the beach and up the stairs waited for me, but this time I didn't have any helpers. I stopped by Joe's and picked up a bowl and pump that circulate water and use centrifugal force to sling out the lighter material and leaves the fine gold behind. I set it up inside the RV in a big blue bucket, rigged it to a 12 volt car socket adapter, plugged it into one of the accessory outlets, and let it do the work. I did find more gold, but again it was very tiny. We won't get rich from my mining hobby, but it is fun to do. With the weather being overcast or rainy and cool, it was a good thing to do.

There is a lot of clutter here from me rigging up this system to get gold from the black sands.

After a few days of the rainy or overcast weather, we got some really beautiful sunshine and warm days with temperatures all the way over 70 degrees. We went with the Diamond M Ranch group on a razor clam digging expedition about an hour South. There were hundred of people all up and down the beach and it looked like all the clams should have been taken. However, as soon as we walked out through the muck to the digging area, we found out there were more than enough clams for everyone. We started looking for the little circles or dimples on the ground that were the result of a clam squirting water. We soon learned there were so many clams, all we really had to do was dig a hole anywhere and just keep expanding the sides. In fact, it was sometimes hard to dig without hitting a clam with the shovel and breaking their surprisingly fragile shell. I would dig and Michael and John would reach down into the hole and grab the clams before they could dig away. Sometimes they would grab the clam and it would extend it's foot as an anchor and make it pretty hard to pull them up. After just about an hour we walked away with 97 clams, and n the drive down and back, we saw three moose. It was a very nice sunny day.

(Shelli - When we arrived back at the RV the clamming group met up on the lawn armed with scissors and knives. The guide taught us all the "parts" of a clam and the cleaning instructions began. It took hours, but we had a good time. All the participants talked about where they were from and what they were doing, or had done in Alaska, so we all learned and enjoyed listening to everyone's stories. The weather was beautiful and the boys even said they were having a great time as they were cutting, snipping and scrapping slimy clam parts away. Everyone in the cleaning group had to try the raw clams......needless to say....raw clams are not any of our families top of the list for favorite foods!) However, we did surprisingly like the clam chowder made and served at the ranch the following evening as a potluck social for all the campers.

This was when we were riding to the beach in the back of a truck and the driver went very fast on the sand so we would not get stuck. - John

There were so many clams we learned we only needed one digger and two grabbers.

This was right after we had started and we had about 10 clams already. - John

I was helping cut and clean the foot of the clams, it was cool because they would tense up after they got cut up. - John

We had planned on leaving on July 16th after a week here, but we extended the length of our stay because the reds had not run yet. We have the flexibility to stay around to see the big run, so there was no reason to head out until we got a chance to see the big numbers of fish. Because this is the big time of the year for fishing, the campgrounds are overflowing, and we had to move to an overflow area with only electrical hook-ups to be able to stay past our reserved time. Even the llamas are getting squeezed. The dry campers are being put in the field, right there with them. Once the big groups catch their season limit and the weekend passes, there should be more elbow room. We will move to a full hook-up spot Sunday and stay at least until Wednesday.

Don't the llamas look sweet? They eat them here.

The excitement really builds as it gets closer to the big run. Pretty much everyone is here for the salmon and the promise of rivers and streams full of them is a big draw. This run of reds happens pretty much right around the middle of the month of July every year, and it turns out the reds really started arriving late on the night of the 15th. The campground's fish cleaning station had a long waiting line as the dip netters brought in the the morning's catch and the first big hauls we had seen.

The day before the Reds came in. Anxious fisherman were trying to get ahead of the game down at the Kalisof River but not much luck yet! -Shelli

(Shelli- The weather is great for running and the RV resort has wonderful wooded trails and a paved bike path that goes for miles. The kids have gone with me a few mornings on their bikes to take Maui out. Maui loves the roads and trails back to the farm and down to the river. Since leaving California, Maui's world has totally opened up to the outdoors. He seems to love the freedom of space and running with not many boundaries compared to our backyard filled with the pool and no off-leash opportunities. He seems to thrive in his new found life!)

Maui in the field near the barn.

Out by the barn, there is a bald eagle nest with three baby eagles in it. We have been watching the parents sit in the tree tops nearby and stand guard over their babies. They can't sit in the nest with them because the babies are about the size of a small buzzard! The three babies barely have room for each other in the nest. One time when we walked up the mother flew right over us and then landed in the treetop. We could see a feather on her beak and found a fresh kill of a bird on the grass. We think she had just killed the bird and was going to take it to feed her chicks, but when we walked up she dropped it. We left so she could come down and get it, but several other people showed up and kept her too nervous to come down. We heard one guy picked up the bird and was waving it around for the mom to come get it. Two things - I guess he thought the "eagle eyed" mom couldn't see it without it being swung around; He must not have any idea how bad it might feel for two inch long talons to rip into his hand.

Mom flying right over us.

He's not playing possum.

Two of the little chicks.

Mom on the right and the nest on the left.

As we were doing all these activities, we were on the lookout for moose. We average at least one sighting a day, but we have only seen one bull moose and he was young with really small antlers. Some of the female moose we have seen were huge.

We will be starting our next week off by going fishing for salmon. Wish us luck.