Eagle River (days 21-23)

Day 21 – Friday, July 20th (Eagle River, AK to Cooper Landing, AK):

No riding for the next few days! It will be a nice change of pace to be off the bike and enjoying Alaska with my friends.

This afternoon, Alex, J.J., and I and I packed up their camper and headed south through Anchorage to the Kenai Peninsula, where we will be camping tonight and fishing for salmon. The drive south of Anchorage took us passed Chickaloon Bay and along the Chugach State Park, both incredible sights to see. When the Chickaloon Bay is experiencing low tide, the water recedes so much that almost the entire bay turns into mud.

We stopped at a few scenic places on the drive to Cooper Landing to take pictures and arrived at our campsite right around dinner time. A few hours later, with the camper set up and dinner eaten, J.J. and I headed out to Russian River around 11pm to start fishing. As soon as we walked down to the river, the very first thing  we saw was a grizzly bear on the opposite side of the river looking for some fish. One of the first grizzlies I have seen on the trip and at a close distance. A few other fisherman were already in the river and were able to scare the bear away before he could steal any of their fish.

We fished until about 2:30am with no luck of catching fish and then headed back to the campsite to get some rest.

Traded in the motorcycle for the SUV and camper this weekend

Driving down the Kenai Peninsula, on the way to Cooper Landing

Campsite at Cooper Landing

Grizzly bear at Russian River (picture taken at about 11:30pm)

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Day 22 – Saturday, July 21st (Cooper Landing, AK to Eagle River, AK):

After a good breakfast, we packed up the camper and began driving back north towards Eagle River. It was such a beautiful day, with temperatures in the 70’s and not many clouds in the sky.  A few miles north of our campground, we stopped at Kenai Lake to see the sights and get a few pictures. Before we hiked down to the lake, I spoke with an older couple (maybe in their 60’s) in the parking lot that were eating lunch and taking a break from riding their bicycles. Come to find out, they left Florida 6 months ago and rode all the way to Alaska! They mentioned that they had one week left in Alaska before they would begin riding all the way back to Florida. And I thought my trip was a long one!

The water at Kenai Lake was blueish green and the mountains a dark green, which made for beautiful scenery! J.J. and I found a cliff area that was about 20-25 feet above the water and after determining the water was deep enough, we both decided to jump in. When I finally hit the water, I lost my breath immediately because the water was so cold, but it was a great experience!

We then headed to Anchorage and got lunch at Moose’s Tooth Pub and Pizzeria (highly recommend!) and then back to Eagle River for the rest of the day. Although we didnt catch any fish, it was still a fun trip!

Kenai Lake – the water was cold!

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Day 23 – Sunday, July 22nd (Eagle River, AK):

Today, most of the day was spent fishing. This morning J.J. and I headed to Bear Creek, a little south of Anchorage to begin fishing. Overall, there were about 50 people total fishing in this spot. We spent about three hours here and J.J. was the only one that caught anything, but I still enjoyed being there in the outdoors on a great day.

After Bear Creek, we then headed north to an amazing spot called the Hay Flats. This was a much different setting than Bear Creek, with less people and a much smaller stream to fish from. We stayed here for a few hours but unfortunately left with no fish to show for our effort. We still had an enjoyable time though!

We headed back to the house in Eagle River and hung out for the rest of the evening. Tomorrow I get back on the road and begin my trip back towards Atlanta!

Fishing at Bear Creek

We weren’t the only ones fishing at Bear Creek! Grizzly bears are frequently seen here. The day before we came here, grizzly bears were charging fisherman and stealing their fish.

Hay Flats

Fishing at the Hay Flats during low tide. At high tide, the water covers all of this mud.