June 16--Deep Creek to Johnson Lake, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska

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June 16, 2011 Thursday Deep Creek Campground. Sunny looking west, cloudy and rainy looking to the east. 51 degrees out at 10:30 am.

The tide this morning is the lowest for the month, at a minus 4.19 so, the beach was crawling with people out clamming. With a fishing license, free for kids, you are allowed 60 each and there is no size minimum for the clams. Hence, the beach was crawling with families with children in tow and church youth groups.

One of the major problems with such a fluctuating tide is that boats have trouble getting into the water. They have solved this problem with big wheeled tractors. The boat is put on a boat trailer and towed across the mud flats and out into the water until it is deep enough for the boat to float free. We watched them do this for quite some time and it was a fascinating process, cost was $60. per boat trip.

We stopped by the Old Russian Orthodox Church, Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord, in Ninilchik. We discovered in Homer, especially, and in other places on the Kenai, a group of people who dress differently with the women and girls in bright long skirts and their heads covered in a hat of some sort. When we asked the librarian what religion they followed, we were told they belonged to the Russian Old Order of Orthodoxy. The Russian priest who started all this back when Alaska was part of Russia must be smiling down from heaven to see Russians in Alaska still, even though these old order Russians arrived here 50 years ago.

Drove to Johnson Lake Campground and as we drove into the park to find a spot to stay, a tiny body about 2 ½ inches long, nose to tail, ran as fast as he/she could in front of Rosie II. We think it was a mouse or something mouse-like, but it was really small. (later a wildlife biologist told us it was a vole.) Parked ourselves right on the lake shore, but unfortunately we were at a really bad slant. We watched several row boaters on the lake and some people fishing from the bank. Saw a very pretty pair of red-breasted mergansers swimming and diving down for a very long time under water. Finally saw a few song birds in these trees. Later, we worked on this blog and read books and relaxed.

Valerie woke up at 11:30 that night and decided to take a picture of the sunset for you.

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