Just in Case!!!

Just in case Mary is checking this I thought I should do a new post. Well, and since it's been like 2 years! :)
We are still in Anchorage, where we just bought our first house. After 2 years of looking we were thrilled to find a house that we loved, in a neighborhood that we also loved. So now Paul is five minutes from work, and I have to make the drive...sacrifice, sacrifice! We are still human child-less but we have our two little anti-social chihuahua's to keep us company.Someone once said it best "Chihuahua's are great pet, IF they are yours" and I couldn't find it any more true! We still love to fish, camp, and hike. And although our favorite King fishing spot was closed for the season, the red season is upon us and we will soon take up residence at the Russian, so if anyone would like to stop by, we'll be on the Kenai side, just up from the ferry crossing close to the fallen tree. You won't be able to miss us, I'll be in my deluxe reclining chair reading, and Paul will be covered in fishing gear down in the water! :)

Our New Addition

So yes, we are maybe a little crazy, but we have a new little puppy. Her name is Mee-Shell and she is Senor's surprise sister from his supposedly fixed mom. We are having to get used to all the puppy things that we haven't had to deal with for several months. Luckily we are getting wood floors this weekend! :) Senor and his sister are getting along great. He is very concerned about where she is and what she is doing at all times. They have tons of fun playing together, and even though she's 5 months younger, she can certainly hold her own. Like most girls, she thinks she rules the roost and we have to make sure that we take her down a few notches every now and then.

Dipnetting on the Kenai

There are so many great things about living in Alaska. We get a check every year just for living here, we get to enjoy views most people only experience once in a life time, we get to watch wildlife in our backyard, and once a year for about 3 weeks we get to dipnet for the salmon for free, just because we are residents. Of course you have to have your fishing license but at this point of the summer who doesn't! :)
Paul and I decided to go join the masses and get some fresh reds. Just to give you a little idea of the craziness of it, the fred meyer in anchorage was completely out of permits for the Kenai, almost every other car going down the Sterling Highway had some sort of fishnet rigged up to it, and I had to wait in line for almost 10 minutes in the Fishing License ONLY line in Soldotna, which is usually vacant.
Undaunted we head to the beach to catch our fair share, and we waited, and we waited, and nothing happened. Well, there was a seal swimming around for a while...but nothing else. Then we saw some fish start to jump, and we felt confident it was our time, so we lengthened the pole and prepared ourselves for the slaughter...and waited...and waited. We actually ended up with 4 fish, but when the people around you are pulling out sled's full of fish you start to wonder. The woman who helped us jump our car this morning (another reason why you probably shouldn't leave a hyperactive dog in the car alone) told us that just before we got there everyone was slaying them, but she remembers that we came down at the end of the run...so that made us feel great! :)
Needless to say there is one more weekend...and we'll be there!

Daddy's Big Day

The moment that Paul had been waiting for all year finally came...he caught a king on the Anchor! :) Usually Paul catching a fish is not such an important event, I mean, he does spend most of the his summer fishing and not to brag, but he ends up seeing a lot of action on his pole, fishing on the Anchor however is a different story. This is a moment that most flyfisherman wait a lifetime for...to reel in a King Salmon weighing 30 pounds is a big deal on a normal set up...but with a fly rod it's an even bigger more thrilling feat. This year, the counts were pretty low and not very consistent, which made it very frustrating to fish...everyone sort of became fish whisperers to try and figure out how to catch the elusive kings. Paul and his friend Vaughn were finally able to land one each...coincidentally within minutes of each other on different parts of the river. It was cause for great celebration, and an annoying 5AM wake-up for Senor and me so that we could go down and take pictures! :) It was well worth it however, to see the beautiful foggy morning by the ocean, and to have 30 pounds of King Salmon to eat.

Memorial Day Fishing

This weekend has historically been the opening of the Anchor River down in Homer. This year they opened it a weekend earlier, but nonethless it felt like the opening. Due largely to the loud parties and bonfires that we're sprouting up in the campgrounds. We were in a different campsite this year, and although it was farther away from the spot we like to fish, I think that I liked it better than the one we usually go to. It was nice to wake up in the morning to the sound of the river. The fishing was not so great, and neither was the weather, but we still had fun. Senor, was much more exploratory this time which gave us hope. It also gave me a few tense moments due to the low flying eagles! :) Our cuisine this camping trip was also greatly improved due to our camper, we had halibut taco's, ham and sweet potato's, steak, and everynight we had our cocktail hour with Gin and Tonic's thanks to Vaughn and Sherri!