Still having fun in AK
Well it has been over a month since we arrived at Ninilchik River State Park , our home for the summer.
We have met a lot of great Alaskans (who hail from all over the U.S. and Canada) and have enjoyed visiting with the folks that come to our beautiful Park to escape from the City (Anchorage) for the weekend. We have settled into a regular routine of cleanup and odd chores that keep Our Park a favorite place to camp by many folks.
We had one very exciting evening last week when we went for a bike ride up to the Ranger station.
We had heard that Lou Lou had delivered her calf and was back by the road leading to the Ranger station. We had been warned that Moose are very protective of their young but didn’t think we would see her that evening. But as we proceeded to the station we were surprised by this very large and fast animal that just appeared at the side of the road and she was headed at a very fast pace in our direction. Jane was in front and she shouted back to Chuck “Go like the wind!” and she could hear Chuck saying “Go, go go!” as they peddled as fast as they could.
They were thankful that they had their new bikes with big wheels and low gears as they put all of those things into action. They didn’t slow down until they were at the Ranger station. “Wow, now that was a real Alaska experience!” Chuck said as they got off their bikes with legs that felt like rubber. Then they looked at each other and in unison said “And we have to go back that way!” After a lot of nervous laughing and letting their hearts get back to a normal beat, they took care of their business at the station and gathered up enough nerve to head back to camp. Jane ha d a picture in her head of the Lou Lou standing in the middle of the road just daring them to cross her territory and Chuck was thinking the same thing. So they got on their bikes and road as fast as their legs could pump until they got back to camp. They made a vow that evening to only drive the pickup on that road until Lou Lou and the baby were gone or at a point she was more friendly. The next day they drove the road and again saw Lou Lou and the long legged calf as he jumped and ran around and even touched noses with this mother, from the safety of the pickup. We are looking forward to the day we can watch them as they visit our summer home.
We have had a couple fun events since the first of June. The Hosts at Johnson Lake had a potluck lunch and we got to meet Hosts from other Parks. It turned out to be a real nice day weather wise and the Hosts Cleta and Tom cooked up some really nice burgers and the other hosts brought great salads and desserts. Cleta topped off the day with homemade ice-cream. It was a great gathering and it was good to see the Rangers that were able to attend. After driving around the park and checking out the lake we headed home to a quiet evening and popcorn cooked over the open fire.
We attended a fund raiser for two families whose homes had burned down. The first home even started a forest fire which was quickly put out by the fast response of the fire department and the Forest service. We were pleased to learn no one was injured in the fires. The Spaghetti feed was a great success and there is to be another program on June 30th where they will be serving roasted pig and there will be live entertainment. We don’t want to miss this party!
We have taken a couple trips to Soldotna and Homer for supplies and to see the sights.
The weather is getting much warmer and dryer which is nice and on the weekends our park gets full with folks coming to clam in the bay and to go halibut fishing in Cooks Inlet.
