Trail River Campground...it's a beautiful place

When it comes to campgrounds on the Kenai Peninsula you would be hard pressed to find one more beautiful than Trail River Campground near Moose Pass. It's nestled in the mountains along the shores of Kenai Lake amidst some of the most scenic views in Alaska. We went there for the Memorial Day Weekend and even though it pounded down rain on Saturday the remainder of the weekend was absolutely perfect as far as the weather goes. Sunny skies with warm temps.

The campground was packed on Friday afternoon, but we found several empty campsites. Some of our friends met us there and we spent the weekend cooking over campfires, taking in the views, playing football, and walking down to the lake. We also worked on my generator which didn't want to generate. It works just fine now.

On Monday the campground emptied as everyone had to return to work. We stayed an extra night and ate breakfast at the Crown Point Cafe. The food is good but make certain you have plenty of time if you go there for a meal.

We returned to our house this afternoon and we are already talking about when we can go back to Trail River Campground. After all...it's a beautiful place.

...the shorebirds of Kachemak Bay

There were lots of birds: Hudsonian Godwits, Dowitchers, Western Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plovers, Northern Shovelers, Bald Eagles, Common Ravens, and various gulls. We saw them all along with several thousand other birders at the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival in Homer, Alaska. The birds were interesting indeed, most of them making a quick stop over on their way to nesting grounds farther north.

But, more interesting were the birders, most of whom had spent considerable amounts of money on spotting scopes, tripods, binoculars, cameras, and all weather clothing so they could stand out in the wind for extended periods of time and discuss the various differences between the four species of sandpipers "just beyond the edge of that mud flat." One birder was overheard stating his "glass" cost $2400, and I don't think that was the most expensive one on the viewing platform. I felt a bit conspicuous standing there with my $89 Nikon binoculars. But, I saw plenty of birds, so I guess they worked okay.

On Saturday we spent most of the evening at the Light House viewing station on the Homer Spit. Birders came and went. It was quite the social birding scene. Everyone seemed delighted with the evening weather, the birds, and the camaraderie. Everyone shared their knowledge and offered their scopes for others to look through. The atmosphere was festive and it was easy to lose track of time. Before we knew it it was past 9:00 PM, and we headed back to the trailer for some heat and then bed.

The weather turned gnarly this morning as the winds whipped the ocean into white caps and lifted clouds of dust into the air on land. Still, it was a great weekend overall and we were glad we went to see...the shorebirds of Kachemak Bay.