July 19 - 20, 2024 Discovery Campground Beach and Back to Soldotna

July 19th, 2024  

We woke to a beautiful day and headed down to the beach.  

Low tide - YEA!:

This area of the Cook Inlet is known for their agate beaches and that is what I was hunting!  Along with the great views, beautiful weather, nice walk, I did find some agates and some other cool rocks.  

Can't wait to cut them open (just have to find a place now - hopefully in Yuma or Quartzsite).

These rocks are huge and no, I did not take any - LOL:

If you look closely at the middle of this picture, there is an oil rig.  Behind that is the mountains and volcanos:

My rock hunting partner:

The mud flats of Cook Inlet:

The mud flats are very dangerous - it is like quicksand.  We threw a few rocks in and they just disappeared.

"Mudflats form when silt and mud are brought in by seas, oceans, and tributaries. The mud and the silt are deposited into bays and lagoons when the tide comes in. The water mixes with the mud and silt, creating the muddy quicksand that occurs in mudflats."

https://www.adn.com/alaska-life/2020/07/13/the-true-history-of-cook-inlets-deadly-mudflats/

Those rocks are HUGE!:

We made our way back home and just relaxed in the sunshine.

He wants out and is not happy that he is inside:

Cool burl on the tree behind us:

"A burl is a rounded, woody growth on a tree trunk or branch that can be knobby in appearance. Burls are a collection of tree cells called callus tissue that form as a protective response to environmental stress, such as injury, disease, or infestation. The stress causes tissue from unopened buds to build up in layers, which can continue for decades. Burls can grow to be several feet across, weigh hundreds of pounds, or even reach 20 feet in height and width."

What a beautiful view:

This little one was hanging around us for most of the evening - we think it was a young one, just out of the nest:

We ended the evening with a great campfire and a supper of baked potatoes and steak - YUM!

July 20th, 2024

Today we headed south to Soldotna and are staying at the Soldotna Elks for the night.  We spent the day getting caught up with some things, shopping, and planning.  Tomorrow we are heading east so stay tuned and enjoy today.

Stats for July 20th, 2024

Stats for today:
Miles Traveled: 37 Miles
Routes Traveled:
Alaska: Kenai Spur Highway; Delta Avenue; Suthard Blvd.

July 17 - 18, 2024 Captain Cook State Recreation Area

July 17th, 2024

It rained hard overnight but when we shut down and hooked up, the sky was clear.  Our first stop was Walmart to pick up a few supplies and who did we run into - Peggy and Larry, doing their shopping.  How fun!

We continued our travels to the end of the road:

We passed many oil rigs and refineries such as Chevron and Marathon.  There were others but I did not catch the name.

We continued north - lots of greenery:

One of the amazing things about Alaska is how quickly everything grows.  Plus there are wildflowers everywhere.

We are heading to Discovery Campground in the Captain Cook State Recreation Area.  We were here before and I have to say, it is one of my favorite campgrounds.  I always called it the "End of the Road" Campground because the road ends and there is the campground.

A beautiful creek before we hit the end!:

But it really isn't the end - anymore:

We found a spot - BTW - same as 2009 - set up, had lunch, and then a road trip...

When I said above that it wasn't the end of the road ... well, in 2009, any road past this point was really just an ATV road.  It was rough and narrow and muddy..etc. - You know what I mean!

BUT!  This road was very much improved for about 10 miles so away we went.

Out of the corner of my eye - movement - A MOOSE!:

And her baby - AWWW!

We watched for a while and then continued on:

There are folks who live out here and we passed quite a few cabins.  Some road signs but the gravel road ends and goes to a dirt trail:

Cool bridge:

Another road that ends in a path:

This bridge will hold 40 ton!  Hmmm, wonder what else goes back here:

Now we have reached the end of the gravel road - the dirt road goes off to the right:

This cross was there also - built out of logs with the American flag and solar lights hanging from it:

Heading back we saw fields of these white puff flowers - Beautiful:

Pipeline equipment:

More flowers - the purple are fireweed:

"Fireweed season is something locals look forward to every year with bittersweet emotions. Fireweed season is perhaps the most beautiful time of the year in the region, but it also marks the end of summer, and the slow decline of daylight. The fireweed blooms from the bottom up, and any good Alaskan can tell you that you can tell how soon fall will arrive by how far up the stalk the fireweed has bloomed. When the flowers turn from its traditional bold purple-pink color to a reddish-brown, you know fall is near. When it turns to a wispy white, you know fall has arrived. Eventually the white will fade and the fireweed will be turn brown until it wilts and dies. Alaska native legend has it that when the top of the fireweed blooms, winter will arrive in 6 weeks."

We also saw fields of wild iris but I couldn't get a good picture.

Another road that goes thru lots of mud:

We came around a corner and look who we found - not sure if there are same ones we saw earlier:

Mama and if you look real close, her baby is behind her:

Mama:

Baby and Mama:

We sat and watched them for quite a while until they moved into the woods - What a treat!:

Cow Parsnip:

Here we are back home - how about all that greenery:

Some of these plants are over six foot high:

And the size of those leaves - oh my:

The path behind our site:

The end of the path ends on a bluff above the Cook Inlet:

The side path:

I was heading that way to the beach when Andy called - my cat, Gray, got out.  Gray was acting strange earlier - I think he sees all the foliage and probably some creature smells and he wants out.

Once we got him, I put the harness on him and took him out.  He is not happy with the harness so we are going to need to be diligent when opening up the door.  

He keeps meowing at the door to go out..  Very strange.  He has not been like this since two years ago in Texas.

Stats for today:
Miles Traveled: 37 Miles
Routes Traveled:
Alaska: Suthard Blvd.; Delta Avenue; Kenai Spur Highway

July 18th, 2024

It rained most of the night and most of the day today so we did some things around the motorhome and hung out.  (And watched Gray sit at the door and cry - not sure what is happening here.)

Tomorrow's weather is Sun and no rain - YEA!  I hope to get to the beach to check for agates and maybe a campfire tomorrow evening: 

Enjoy today.