Moose Tracks and NOT the Ice Cream!

After our early morning wake-up the day before and 12 hours of fishing, Russ let us sleep in today to recover some strength. We didn't have anything planned for the day as Russ had planned for it to be a travel day. On our way from Seward to Homer a couple days before, we had driven a 22 mile loop that took us around a state gaming preserve. It was a dirt road and we did not see any wildlife as we drove down it. However, Katie read about this park in the Milepost and found a few good trails that time didn't allow for us to hike on the day we drove in. Our loose plan for the day was to hike the trails and then make our way on to Anchorage and possibly Talkeetna where we had a plane ride booked for the next day. After blissfully waking up without an alarm, Katie and I packed our bags and waited for Russ to come back from his morning drive. He had woken up earlier than us, of course, and drove down to

the Spit and around town while we got our beauty sleep. We packed up and hit the road but didn't even make it out of Homer before we stopped. Russ spotted 2 bald eagles and a nest right next to the highway, so we pulled off to snap a few pictures before we headed on our way. While driving to Homer we were tuckered out and came in late so we didn't stop at any of the suggestions

that the Milepost had given for the road. But, since we left the town with no where to go, we made all the stops that we wanted starting with the welcome sign to Homer, the halibut fishing capital of the world. We made a couple more stops but reached the Skilak Lake Rd around noon and geared up for our hike. We did a small hike to a gorge with a great view

then headed back down the road for our 3 mile round trip hike to the lake. Russ packed his bear mace, I got on my hiking shoes, and we all put some rain gear on. It was an overcast day and the rain had been coming on and off all day so we didn't know what to expect for the hike. The trail itself was beautiful! We hiked through 3 different terrains as we made our way to the lake. First we hiked through a forest made mostly of pine and birch which eventually opened up into a burn area offering commanding views of the hills around us and then finally we passed through a swamp before we came to the lake. The lake shore was a black sand beach full of small, smooth, pebbles. There was a fog rolling in off the mountains toward the lake which although it was beautiful, also meant rain was coming. Along the path we had seen no wildlife to speak of other than a few birds, though

we did see the normal signs,

especially on the beach. There were bear tracks and scat everywhere and they looked awfully fresh too. We walked along the shore for a bit and after it started to rain we decided we should to head back to CJ's loving arms. We ended up taking the wrong trail back. The one we took was apparently designed for the primitive campsites that lined the shore. We took the trail to the end and were just about to turn around when Russ spotted a huge coastal brown bear starring right at us. He watched us for a second and then went back down the bank at which time Russ and I started walking forward to get a better look. Katie

got really nervous and wanted us to stop and turn around and of course we didn't listen. A few seconds later we spotted him again as he swam up the stream toward the lake. A boat with 2 people in it started yelling at us to stop, thinking that we didn't see the bear. This time we heeded the advise as we thought we had gotten close enough. We watched the bear for about 15 minutes while he swam around searching for fish. We saw him make a few swipes, but he always came up empty. It was amazing to watch, but eventually the rain got the best of us and we headed back down the trail. About half way back from the lake we came across these freshly trodden moose tracks. After our bear encounter our hopes were pretty high for seeing a moose. The tracks continued on most of the trail but eventually they veered off right before the trail head and we left slightly disappointed, but we had no room to complain. The rain followed us all the way back to Turnagain Arm where we had planned to watch the bore tide come in and hopefully glimpse some belugas too. Unfortunately, we misjudged the date when we looked up the bore tide schedule resulting in us waiting for a smaller boar tide and not knowing the exact time it would coming in. Because of the rain we had almost no visibility and it wasn't long before we left Beluga Point in search of food. We went to the Sour Dough Mining Company for dinner where Russ ordered us the feast which was for 4 to 6 people and included unlimited trips to the ice cream bar, which was Katie's favorite. The food was pretty good and we all were so stuffed by the time we left that walking was difficult. Even after all we ate, we still had leftovers that would feed us for 2 meals. Being in our engorged state, we didn't feel like doing any more driving, so we ended up staying in Anchorage for the night, which meant that we would have to wake up early the next morning to compensate for the lost time in order to make our flight to see Mt. McKinley.