We had a great trip to Soldotna and Kenai today. The salmon were still running in the Kenai River and the banks were lined with eager fishermen.  At the mouth of the Kenai River fishermen were waist deep in the icy water with their pole nets stretched out hoping a salmon would accidently swim into the net. It seems ineffective to me, but it works!
 

The rule is you must be on the “shore.” This guy was out in the river paddling along with his net.  I think he would be in trouble if Fish & Game showed up!

Jim stopped to talk to these guys about the salmon fishing. They are Alaskan residents, and lifelong friends. Meet Gene Charles and Gene Charles. Really nice fellas.  They said net fishing for pinks  is 21 days long.  The rule is head of household gets 25 fish, and each member of the household gets 10.  Sherry got to pick up one of their nets, she says they’re heavy.  Families come down here for a few days of fishing. Camping on the beach. Kids playing in the sand while parents fish.

This is John. He had the afternoon off and decided to get in a little fishing.  John said they had lived in Alaska for three years. His wife was hired as a teacher in a school above the Arctic Circle where winters get down to – 60. Then they drove to the Kenai on a trip and loved it. He said the winters are sooooooooo much warmer in the Kenai! He said it only gets down to – 10 (I think he’s crazy.)  

 Jim has a thing for chainsaw carvings so we stopped at a little place on the way back to Seward.  This guy doesn’t use Redwood, he uses Spruce, which is much harder and has a finer grain. It allows him to carve much greater detail and put a much nicer finish on the carvings. I really liked his work, the proportions are more realistic. No funky, chunky bears and eagles like you see along the coast in Northern California. His carvings are unique, like the bear chairs – so cute! He said he lives in Port Angeles in Washington State. Every summer he loads up his wood and comes to Alaska to spend the summer carving.  Check out his web site at thedreamerswoods.com

We were here in 2010 and the towns of Soldotna and Kenai were much smaller. In three years the towns have GROWN. Now they have McDonald’s, Arby’s, Fred Myers, Home Depot, etc.  We didn’t recognize the towns.  

 

 We stopped at Kenai River Flats so I could do a little birding. It was a warm and sunny  day and the birding was awesome. Sherry and I walked the road checking out all the little shore birds in the ponds.  For great BBQ try Sackett’s in Cooper Landing.  This was the best BBQ we’ve had in years! Brisket, Pulled Pork and Hot Links. OMG, it was delicious.