I went ice skating for the first time in years last week, during the annual community Christmas Eve skate at Kevin Bell Arena. The last time I was there for something other than hockey photos, I was celebrating a friend’s birthday. That time, it’d been a while again since I’d put on skates. It didn’t […]
Read MoreTag: Outdoors and Recreation
Homer Cycling Club receives grant for trails
Christmas came early for the Homer Cycling Club and outdoor trails enthusiasts alike. The Rasmuson Foundation recently announced that they awarded $11.9 million in new investments to support community-led solutions across Alaska. $250,000 of that went to the Homer Cycling Club — one of a few nonprofits across the state who received major grant funding […]
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Out of the Office: Breaking the winter cycle
Most mornings I wake up, take my vitamin D supplement and drive to the office or plop down at the desk in my living room. When I get up from my laptop to refill whatever warm beverage I’m sipping on and look out the window, it’s usually grey outside and there’s usually something falling from […]
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Nonprofit seeks new community skate park
When residents and visitors enter Homer proper, one of the first things they see is the longstanding skate park with its multicolored ramps and obstacles in front of the HERC complex at the corner of the Sterling Highway and Pioneer Avenue. The park has seen a number of updates and renovations over the years since […]
Read MoreOut of the Office: Aurora’s performance was worth the wait
If I were to tally up the hours I’ve spent trying to find the aurora borealis, they would likely add up to weeks. Searching for them is like trying to bake cookies with a pantry some invisible entity stocks at random. The recipe calls for just three ingredients: Geomagnetic activity powerful enough for the human […]
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Russian River Campground closed to public use beginning next week
The Russian River Campground and some surrounding areas will be closed to “all public use” beginning next week to accommodate ongoing construction efforts. The area is expected to reopen Oct. 12. According to a news release from the U.S. Forest Service, the campground, including “all trails, roads, parking lots, campground loops, and all other facilities” […]
Read More Russian River Campground closed to public use beginning next week
The Russian River Campground and some surrounding areas will be closed to “all public use” beginning next week to accommodate ongoing construction efforts. The area is expected to reopen Oct. 12. According to a news release from the U.S. Forest Service, the campground, including “all trails, roads, parking lots, campground loops, and all other facilities” […]
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Ninilchik voters to decide on levying tax to support pool, rec services
Ninilchik residents will be asked during the Oct. 7 regular election whether they support creation of a Ninilchik Recreational Service Area to levy property taxes to support the community’s pool and other opportunities. That’s after the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on Tuesday unanimously approved an ordinance authorizing the move. The proposition comes after a successful […]
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Seward Silver Salmon Derby opens for 70th year on Saturday
The Seward Silver Salmon Derby will kick off its 70th year on Saturday, Aug. 9. The annual competition challenges fishers to catch silver salmon in Resurrection Bay, with prizes for the heaviest overall, heaviest of the day, and cumulative. A release from the Seward Chamber of Commerce, who organize the derby, says that there will […]
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Sockeye fishing ‘exceptional’ on the Kenai
A northern Kenai fishing report published by the State Department of Fish and Game on Friday says sockeye fishing on the Kenai River is “exceptional.” Freshwater fishing The Russian River and Russian River Sanctuary are open to fishing, with bag limits of six sockeye per day and 12 in possession. Per fish counts from the […]
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Sockeye fishing good on Russian, Kasilof rivers
A northern Kenai fishing report published by the State Department of Fish and Game on Thursday says that sockeye have arrived in each of the local rivers — there are lots of opportunity for good fishing in local waters. Freshwater fishing The Russian River and Russian River Sanctuary are open to fishing, with bag limits […]
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Mount Marathon preview: Fast times, big crowds possible as race returns to weekend for 1st time since 2015
The Mount Marathon Race on July 4 in Seward swells the number of people in the town of 2,800 to at least a few times that size. The largest crowds to watch just short of 1,000 race about 5 kilometers up and down to the 3,022-foot point on Mount Marathon have traditionally happened when the […]
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Strong sockeye run prompts early open of Russian River Sanctuary
For the ninth year in a row, the State Department of Fish and Game has opened the Russian River Sanctuary Area to sockeye fishing early in response to strong runs. The sanctuary, a small area of the river near Sportsman’s Landing at the confluence of the Kenai and Russian rivers, has been opened early every […]
Read MoreReeling ‘Em In: Kudos to anglers who adhere to fishing regulations
During a short scouting trip out to the Spit over the weekend, we stopped by the fishing lagoon to check out the action during the incoming tide. The skies were overcast and the temperature was touching 54 degrees chilled a bit by the debut of an afternoon breeze cruising in from the southwest. Jacks were […]
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A long-term dream, realized in miniature
It was 1992 and Larry Bernbeck was working as a trucker in the Lower 48 when he attended a boat show in Lake Tahoe. He remembers being struck by the variety of thoughtful details present in the small boat replicas, which included historical battleships, oil tankers and tugboats. “Any kind of boat you possibly think […]
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Alaska developing plans to introduce deer to southern Kenai Peninsula
The state of Alaska is developing plans to transplant Sitka black-tailed deer to the southern Kenai Peninsula, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced in a June 3 press release. Currently, the southern peninsula does not hold a population of black-tailed deer; ADF&G has been developing a strategy to capture and translocate the animals […]
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Reeling ‘Em In: Tourism season shifts into overdrive on packed Spit
As most of you know by now, things have changed dramatically out on the Spit as the tourist season kicks into high gear. Cruise ships are rolling in along with RV caravans sporting rigs featuring everything from satellite dishes to side-out decks configured with barbecue grills large enough to feed a Super Bowl tailgate party. […]
Read More Reeling ‘Em In: Tourism season shifts into overdrive on packed Spit
As most of you know by now, things have changed dramatically out on the Spit as the tourist season kicks into high gear. Cruise ships are rolling in along with RV caravans sporting rigs featuring everything from satellite dishes to side-out decks configured with barbecue grills large enough to feed a Super Bowl tailgate party. […]
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Reeling ‘Em In: Tough times all around
The Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon wasn’t exactly a hotspot for king-popping last week even for the couple of fish-stealing thug seals that showed up. Nevertheless, it was still possible to stir up enough action for a few lucky line flingers to bag a Jack or two along with a couple of recordable dimwit Chinook that […]
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