We left Homer slightly nervously on Sunday, July 2. We weren’t sure we’d be able to find a camping spot right in the middle of a holiday weekend. With some good potential spots and a few good backup options surrounding the town of Kenai, we took our chances and headed up the coast. In a stroke of good fortune, we got an excellent campsite overlooking the Cook Inlet, the huge body of water that makes its way inland to Anchorage. The relatively laidback campground was only half full for our three nights there, and it was too far from civilization for us to be disturbed by late-night fireworks. The campground’s harmless bicycle gang of kids stayed up until midnight driving endless circles around the campground loop, but we couldn’t complain when they got up and out even later than we did each morning. We breathed a sigh of relief when the long holiday weekend was over, and we are grateful to have had a much easier time finding campsites than on Memorial Day weekend.

Taken at 11pm over Cook Inlet.

Glowing wildflowers

Volcanoes on the horizon.

After more than four months on the road, we have begun to tire of my standard set of recipes. We’ve had some iteration of tacos way too many times, and even our favorite RV meals just sound…overplayed. I haven’t baked much in the RV, mostly because it feels like a waste of resources. Baking involves generator use, extra dishes (and extra water), and precious cabinet space for ingredients I may not use often. Then there is the issue of wanting to make something and not having cell service to find the recipe. Or sometimes I have the ingredient list saved but forget to include the part of the recipe with the actual baking instructions. Struggles aside, we really needed some menu changes. I am happy to report that in the last week, we have gotten more creative and have made and enjoyed beef pho, our favorite green onion and feta turkey burgers, chocolate chip banana bread, spicy veal chili, and buttermilk cornbread. Yum! This trip has been mostly about necessities, but we certainly have fun splurging a bit on the menu!

Warm banana bread – yum!

Believe me, there is something extra special about a steaming loaf of banana bread made in the RV at our boondocking spot in the middle of nowhere. I had to be more efficient with the dishes used to keep my busboy from striking (and to make sure we had enough water to shower!), and determining the proper cook time in our little microwave/oven contraption required some guesswork. It took extra thought during our grocery trip two days prior to make sure I had all the ingredients I needed. We asked that generator to run well for a longer time period than normal to get that loaf perfectly baked. With all the work Nic has done, it happily complied. The result was absolutely perfect. The warm loaf came out of the pan just like at home, leaving behind just a few spoonfuls of the heavy chocolate chippy perfection that hangs out at the bottom of my banana bread. My cook time estimate was right on, and we got the slightly gooey loaf we prefer. We ate it happily, staring out at the snowy mountains surrounding our RV.

We arrived in the Seward area a few days ago, once we thought holiday festivities had safely passed. We found a great free camping spot outside of town on the road that leads to Exit Glacier. While I freaked out and tried to ignore what was going on, Nic very skillfully maneuvered us through some very bumpy rocky areas to our gravel riverbed campsite. A few other campers joined us that evening and the next, one of whom enjoyed doing some rapid-fire target practice within sight of us. Overall, we enjoyed the great views and the peaceful vibe of the place. We still don’t complain about free either. Our nightly average has gone up to just under $7.00, since we haven’t been able to find as much free camping in Canada and Alaska.

Free camping outside of Seward.

The camping area was surprisingly devoid of wildlife until just before we left. I let the dogs out on our last morning and noticed an eagle perched by the creek about fifty yards from us. I don’t know if an eagle would be interested in snacking on Homer, but I kept a careful eye on him while our tasty little dog made his morning rounds. Pooches safely inside, I grabbed the camera and slowly walked closer to the eagle. I managed to get about thirty feet away from him, with only a shallow creek separating us. While I let the dogs back inside, he had caught a fat salmon that must have been over a foot long. As I approached him I could see the fish flopping around under the eagle’s talons. The eagle had to use his wings to balance himself as he struggled with the desperate fish. When he had sufficiently subdued the fish, he began to rip into its flesh, taking bloody chunks from the still-flopping body. While I felt a little disgusted to watch the still-alive salmon die one eagle bite at a time, it was pretty incredible to see the strength of the eagle. He guarded his prey carefully, looking skyward in between mouthfuls. When some seagulls ventured over to check things out, he screamed angrily at them, threatening them to stay away. After returning to the RV, we continued to watch the spectacle from our window. A female eagle joined her mate, and then another pair of eagles appeared to get a piece of the action. We watched the birds as we ate our oatmeal. Only seeing bears eating salmon would have been better breakfast entertainment.

Flopping fish

Getting bloody

Screaming at seagulls

In flight

After our two nights outside of Seward, we made our way back into civilization. We (and hundreds of other RV campers) are camped now in the bustling waterfront area of Seward. When we arrived yesterday, two huge cruise ships dominated the harbor skyline. We could barely get the internet to work on our phones, since Seward’s tiny bandwidth (meant for a population of less than 3,000) couldn’t handle all the visitors. We happily watched the cruise ships leave last night, and we have slightly better internet now. After so much remote camping, we have enjoyed the opportunity to walk to locations right from our RV. We have visited the library and the grocery store on foot, and the waterfront path’s sights have kept my eyes occupied as I’ve caught up on phone calls today. We’ll find some fish and chips for Nic tonight and get some laundry done tomorrow. For now, we are watching boats come in and out of the busy harbor as Nic applies for jobs in Montana. Our biggest concern of the day is staying warm and dry, as it’s rainy and only about 50 degrees.

Exit Glacier

Exit Glacier