Bearfootin'.....

Once we reached the Kenai Peninsular it was time to go “Bearfooting”! “Bearfooting is a verb meaning ‘having a good time on the road’. It’s also a state of mind - when your travel becomes more important than your destination. We find ourselves waking up in the morning and we have no idea what day of the week it is. What’s more we don’t care!

We had a sunny start as we decided what to do today. Lewis came by to get some of our Salmon so he could marinate it for dinner. Dale told us where we could see real combat fishing on the Russian River.

Leaving the camp we turned right up Quartz Creek Rd which breaks into a Y we went left first and followed a single track road thru the woods. It didn’t seem to go any where so back to the Y and went right. After a few miles the road ended at a deserted part of Kenai Lake. It was awesome. The lake is a glacial turquoise green and surrounded by mountains. The shoreline runs right along the shoreline of the campground. We spent some time on the rock beach.

We then headed back down the road to Sterling Highway. On our left was a little place called the Kingfisher Roadhouse. It overlooked the spectacular Kenai Lake so we stopped for lunch. Inside the roadhouse had burl wood post tables and the tops were thick slabs of polished wood in various shapes. Benches covered with tapestry cushions made it very comfy. We sat out on a screen porch overlooking the water and had a great lunch.

Leaving the roadhouse we found the Russian River and pulled into the parking lot. In the parking lot you can see most anything, old campers, cars,’sacked out’ fishermen. They arrive early in the mornings and some live in the parking lot for a week during the run. This is the hotspot and the Red Salmon are running…slowly! People are shoulder to shoulder along the banks casting for the prize. Its very crowded. We walked down to a spot in the river where we could watch. Along the fence there were signs “Fish Hook Removal call Dr. …”. Gives you an idea how crazy this type of fishing is! We didn’t have the right kind of rods to fish with so we sat on some steps at the edge of the water and watched for a couple hours. It seemed like the opposite bank was getting all the action. To get across the river you take a little rope ferry across the current. It was fun to watch.

Leaving the river we went back to camp and got ready for dinner. Snacks at 7pm and yummy dinner - pork chops cooked in cast iron on the campfire and salmon. Today was Dale’s birthday so we all celebrated - again…
Now we have more new friends and we will definitely connect with Dale and Judy when we go to Albuquerque. We got home about 11:30.

It was a great day.

Photos: Kenai Lake Beach, Russian River Combat Fishing, Sleeping Fishermen, Russian River Ferry, Dale's Birthday