Bullwinkle J. Moose

Well, we did not see Bullwinkle, but we did see his wife and child.  All set to pull out of the Diamond M RV Resort/Park yesterday and I looked at the large lawn outside our door, thought about how Skruffy and Bubba both like the grass so much every day, many times a day.  Thought about how it would be in Homer…out on the spit.  I have researched being out on the spit a lot.  It will be crowded, it will be sandy, rocky, no grass, no peace and quiet…but the view would be out of this world.  Told Marcia that I felt we should stay…be close to the vet here that knows what is going on…and let the dogs enjoy the grass some more.  So stay we did, now through July 6th, Skruffy’s next scheduled appointment.

But that does not mean we are going to sit in the RV park all day…and we both wanted to go back to Seward before the huge 4th of July crowd arrived there so that we could say hello to Maxine, and let her know how Skruffy is doing.  We got over there, and Maxine was not at her trailer.  We looked all over for her, we talked to the campground host, but after a few hours she never showed up to her trailer.  We left her a long note, and I know she will hate the fact that she missed us.  It was on the way home that we saw the mother moose and her calf way in the distance.  Above you can barely see them…but eagle eye Marcia saw them.

Took us awhile, but we finally made up for that moose whose picture we missed on the way up the Alaska Highway.  That seems so long ago now…it was 36 days ago that we left Watson Lake, Mile Zero on the Alaska Highway.  It was 32 days ago that we first entered Alaska with our visit to Skagway…and 27 days since we re-entered Alaska.  So much has happened in this short time…so many good things, one very hard thing with Skruffy.  But we are making the most it, it will be easier when she gets stronger. We do see progress…she does not need help getting into the motorhome most of the time now.  She’s being a little picky with what she eats, and just does not want to take her antibiotic pill.  It is a struggle, but we are getting through it.

Since we had the camera out, Marcia got a few more pictures on the way back to Soldotna.  It sure is a nice drive, but a lot of concentration for the driver. 

At the turn to head toward Soldotna, there is a nice turnout looking over a huge open field with lots of water, they call it Tern Lake…the White Bird in the picture is an Arctic Tern.  There are lots and lots of birds, and the other day on our way to Anchorage, and earlier today we saw a Trumpeter Swan swimming around…but not on our way back.  Perhaps next week when we leave we will get a picture of it.

    

We drove to this view area, and there is what Marcia described as a Babbling Brook running under a bridge we drove over.  It is much more pretty than the pictures show.

From Tern Lake, the route to Soldotna follows the Kenai River most of the way.  The river is at a very high level right now due to the high snow melt and recent rains.  The river empties into the Cook Inlet just past Soldotna.  The other day we saw fishermen and rafters in the river.  Don’t know how they can stand the extreme cold water.

It was a nice day, despite some light rain, and despite not seeing Maxine…but leaving her a note about Skruffy was worth the drive for sure…seeing the Moose and scenery, well that’s the topping on the cake.   Unfortunately, as we got close to Soldotna, we came upon a wreck which shut the highway down…although we were able to bypass it on a dirt side road where traffic was diverted.  Found out that a 50 year old woman was riding her bike alongside the road and swerved into traffic, being hit by a F-350 commercial truck.  She did not make it…what a shame.

Tomorrow Bubba gets a haircut at Petco, and then we are going out to dinner with the twin brother, and his wife, of some people who use to attend our church back in Florida.  They just happen to live right her in Soldotna area, and are friends with the family who own and operate the RV Park.