Solid Rick Bible Camp - Soldotna, AK (Work Day 9)

After work today the Solid Rock Bible Camp staff took us out to dinner at a Chinese restaurant. It was very nice. They also give us nice picture frames with Solid Rock Bible Camp carved into them. Later we put a great picture of the SOWERS team into the picture frame. Then they took us on a driving tour of Cook Inlet and the mountains and volcanoes across the inlet, Kenai, Old Town Kenai, the Russian Orthodox Church in Kenai, the oil refineries, the oil rigs out in the Cook Inlet, and the Kenai Airport. It was a very interesting and informative evening. Ted was our tour guide and James was our driver.

Soldotna, AK - Sunday

We went to church today. We also attended Sunday school where we listened to a very interesting lesson on cults. Most of the other SOWER couples went fishing today. Several of the men have gone fishing nearly every evening. My little freezer in the trailer is full of fish from our Halibut fishing trip. We are experimenting with recipes for cooking halibut.

Soldotna, AK - Heritage Center

We slept in today. Then we went to “The Moose is Loose” bakery for apple fritters for breakfast. Oh do I love those apple fritters. After breakfast, we went to the Heritage Center where we learned quite a bit about how Soldotna got its start. After World War II, veterans were offered homesteads of 40 acres if they would clear, settle and farm the land for one year. They could apply for up to 4 forty acre parcels. Non veterans, could apply for the same homesteads, but they had to settle the land for 4 years. So, towns of the Kenai Peninsula are relatively recent with settlers since WW II. Before that, the Russians and the Indians were the primary residents. The Russians hunted for otters and sea lions. There are still active Russian communities and active Russian Orthodox Churches in the area.

Seward - Resurrection Bay

There were some beautiful glacial mountain views on the way to Seward. We stopped at the visitor center and then we went to the Alaska Sea life Center. Grant was fascinated with the octopus. I enjoyed watching the sea lion swim round and round in circles and playing with the sea anenomies. Then we went on a cruise of Resurrection Bay out of Seward. It was a very rainy day. It was nice to be able to be inside the boat with beautiful views of the marine wildlife, the mountains, and the glaciers. Resurrection Bay was a brilliant blue-green. I thought it was just rock flour, but the park ranger that narrated the trip said that it was plankton in the bay that reflected the blue-green color. The first glacier we saw was Godwin glacier. The picture doesn’t do it justice, but there were think blue strips of glacial ice. Bear Glacier is part of the Harding Ice Field, and although we couldn’t see the glacier very well in the rain, it was very interesting to see the terminal moraine that extended into the bay creating a fresh water lake. The lake was filled with ice bergs. The tour included an all you can eat buffet with prime rib and salmon.

Solid Rick Bible Camp - Soldotna, AK (Work Day 8)

Today is the last day of work for the second week. Pictures show the progress being made on the Chuck Wagon Camp Hotel. The Insulation and visqueen moisture barrier are completed in all four rooms. We have been having some really amazing sunsets. They are a little hard to see from the camp because there are so many trees, but they still are spectacular. You have to be up at 11:30 PM to see them. Tomorrow we are going for a boat tour of Resurrection Bay and the glaciers in the area. We will be leaving out of Seward.

Soldotna, AK - Church and Lunch with SOWERS

We went to a good bible teaching church this Sunday. The message was on the importance of reading scripture and trusting in God. There was also a good Sunday School class on the false message of faith healers and others that promise blessing for making large contributions. It showed, in scripture why their messages are false.


After church, all the five SOWER couples from this Solid Rock Bible Camp project met for lunch. It was Myron's birthday as well. We had a bit of fun getting our pictures taken with the painting on the wall.


Grant had to have a picture of the broken water line that had to be repaired when we first arrived here. Now we can throw the broken part away.

Homer, Alaska - City Sites

It was cold and rainy most of the day today. After a little breakfast at a fabulous bakery, we went to a wild life museum. Then we met another SOWERS couple (Lynda and Dave) that had come down for the day. We had coffee together and then walked the streets of the Homer Spit area doing a little window shopping and souvenir collecting. I bought a nice warm sweater. Grant bought a pocket knife.


On our way back we drove to quite a number of shoreline views of Cooks Inlet. It was hard to get good pictures because of the rain. We stopped at a Russian Orthodox Church in Ninilchik, Alaska. In the church yard there was a beautiful display of fireweed, which is a very common pink/purple flower here in Alaska. The locals say that when the fireweed is gone for the year, it's time for winter.


I have a lot of fishy smelling clothes to wash!!!