Soldotna and Kenai

7/17/07
We woke to a bald eagle in the trees above our tent. It called a
couple of times but it left before I could get a photo. We took that
as a sign to get up and we went for breakfast in Seward.
After breakfast we packed the camp went to the Alaska Sea Life Center.
They had a presentation about the Steller's Sea Lion first so we hear
Bill talk about this endangered species (that we'd seen on the cruise
last night). He identified three populations of Sea Lions of which
the Alaskan ones (Western population) had undergone a drastic decline
in the 80s and early 90s. They had three of them there but don't have
permits to breed them. I asked him about the genetic diversity of the
species but he didn't know what it was.
We continued on our self guided tour but they called for a lecture on
Salmon Life histories so we went to it.
Mareth Griffith did an excellent job with it. We know there are 5
types of salmon (she taught us a mnenomic using our hand) and that the
salmon hatches in fresh water, lives in salt water, and returns to
fresh water to breed. The stages of their life are Alexine (?), fry,
smolt, and adult.
After the Alaska Sea Life Center, we headed toward Soldotna. The
scenery was gorgeous, as all the scenery has been but its cooler than
yesterday. We only saw one bald eagle prior to our arrival in
Soldotna. We found a site for the tent at the Centennial campground
and we packed up and headed to do laundry.
After the laundry, we headed to the beach in Kenai. There were people
camping on the beach and some swimming in the water but the majority
of folks were standing in the surf holding dip nets. The nets are
about 3' across. They hold them perpendicular to the shore and when a
salmon swims into it, they flip it up and onto shore. We spoke with
one guy that got 44 fish in three days of fishing. They take them to
a processing plant where someone else guts and prepares the meat.
After this, we stopped at the Kenai VC to see what they could tell us
about the region. They charged for the cultural film so we just
looked at the touristy things they had and then left.
We went to a locally owned restaurant and split a "Grizzly Burger"
which was a HUGE hamburger topped with bacon and cheese. It measured
over 9" across so it was MORE than enough for Ruth and I to split.
From here, we're heading back to the camp. Tomorrow we ride the 100
miles or so to Homer.

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Todd Ryan; Hudson, MA
Westborough HS Science Teacher
MSF RiderCoach