Kenai Fjords Tour - The Chugach

The tour company has different boats at the harbor of Seward. Two were catamarans with double keels and others were single keel. The tours offered varied from three hours to 9 hours in length. we took the 4 1/2 hour tour of Reserrection Bay, which included a lunch of prime rib and salmon on their private island. The boat we were on was the Chugach, that is also the name of the nearby National Forest on the Kenai Peninsula.
The capacity is 150 people for this boat. There was a galley serving coffee, hot chocolate, beer, wine and snacks. Passengers could move around during the tour and be on the open front or back decks.

Kenai Fjords Boat Tour - July 31, 2010

Today, eleven of us signed up for a boat cruise/tour of Resurrection Bay out of Seward, Alaska. It's about 90 miles from Sterling so we allowed 2 hours to drive there. Donna and I drove by ourselves and got there first about 10:15 AM. The tour company has a private parking lot a couple of blocks from the harbor and there is a free shuttle bus provided.
In a tree next to that lot there was a Bald eagle nest with two "chicks", they looked full grown.

Kenai River Walk - Soldatna - July 25, 2010

The season for King Salmon fishing will close on July 31 in the Kenai River and for Red Sockeye Salmon on August 15. According to the approximate count by the state, over 770,000 Sockeye passed into the Kenai River during the May to August runs last year. About 340,000 were caught by dip-netting at the mouth of the Kenai River.
The run for Sockeye was projected at 1.7 million for this year. Here are some of the fishermen and women at Soldatna this past Sunday. The Salmon don't strike at the hooks, there's no bait or lures. They just swim into the hook with their mouths opening and closing and hook themselves. Snagged fish with the hook anywhere other than their mouth must be released.

Forests in Alaska - July 27, 2010

As we came through the upper Mid-west of the US in June we saw, here and there in the trees, purple bags about the size of grocery bags. We found out these were traps for the Emerald Ash Borer that has caused great destruction in many states and two provinces in Canada. The traps were set up to give a indication of the population of these insects. Sort of like fly paper with a particular scent for the one beetle. The Emerald Ash Borer is an invader from Asia.
In Alaska, the Spruce trees have their destroyer in the Spruce Bark Beetle. In recent years the beetles have caused great areas of trees to die. The insect is a native to this area but have been more widespread than in the past. Some reasons given are: forest fire suppression, warmer weather year-round, human habitat development and timbering residue.

Muskoxen in Alaska - July 27,2010

One use of the muskoxen that I know of is their fur. Much like other animals such as alpaca and vicuna, the undercoat of fur near the skin is very fine and insulating. When it is harvested and made into garments it is excellent for winter wear.
There is limited hunting allowed for the Native people in the northern areas of the continent and they of course, use the entire animal, hide, meat and bones.
The muskoxen had been absent from Alaska for about 50-75 years before being reintroduced with a small herd from Greenland in 1930. Wikipedia has a good article about muskoxen.

Muskoxen - July 15, 2010

Here is a photo of a muskox and calf.

I finally have a good internet connection here at the Soldatna Public Library. I've been waiting to get here to post this video from The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center of the Muskoxen. Jill, here they are.

Kenai River and Fishing - July 24,2010

Here in Soldatna the Kenai River is the focus during the salmon runs.


This is an aerial view I found on the internet of the lower stretch of the Kenai River. You can see the bridge that crosses the river about half-way up from the coastline at the bottom. The river is a tidal river there and the tides run up to 22 feet high People fish near the bridge with rods and reels and dip-nets. The dip-netters must be residents of Alaska and others must buy out of state licenses.