Diamond Creek Hike

I've heard a lot of people talk about the Diamond Creek Trail, but had never ventured there before today. Given the news last week about the mysterious "uplift" on the Homer Beach, I just had to get down there and see it for myself. For those of you who don't know what an "uplift" is, I'll try to explain. A 1,000-foot long section of the beach rose up 20 feet from the tidelands sometime overnight July 2-3rd, pushing boulders up from the ocean bottom, cracking sandstone slabs and toppling rocks upside down. There is actually a rock circle there now and scientists continue to be baffled by it. No earthquakes were measured by the USGS during this time period. If you're interested in more of the story, check out http://homernews.com/stories/070809/news_1_002.shtml.

So, during low tide this afternoon, Nali and I headed down the trail, which was about a mile downhill the entire way. It was a beautiful day - 62 degrees and a little overcast. The bugs weren't even bad! The trail empties out right on the rocky beach, strewn with massive driftwood logs. Once on the beach, we turned left and headed toward Homer. The sun came out in spurts and I soon took off my hoody and wrapped it around my waist, rolled my short sleeves up and rolled my jeans up "capri style" in an effort to soak up as much Vitamin D as possible.

A mile and a half down the beach we came upon the uplift. There were several small groups of hikers out today - all with the same destination in mind. Tide pools are now where there were only sand and rocks two weeks ago. Much of the rock looked like slate but was soft like clay. The earth seemed very muddy and slippery, a grey covering over all. Perhaps it's from the volcanic ash that we received this spring from Mt. Redoubt. After climbing around the rocks for a while, Nali and I headed back to the trailhead.

The walk back seemed to go faster. Why is that? It always seems that when you go somewhere, the trip home goes by quicker. I wonder if it is because the "newness" of the trip is over and you don't spend as much time "experiencing" the journey. What a shame! It is just as beautiful going back as it was going out. Nali even seemed to pick up the pace heading back and I kept having to call her back to me. When we got to the trailhead, I rested on a log for a few minutes drinking in the beautiful Alaskan scenery - too much fog to see the volcanoes across the inlet, but the water was still beautiful. I then rolled my pant legs back down to avoid scratches from the weeds as we went back up the trail.

I knew when I was coming down the trail that going downhill the entire way was a bad omen. However, I only had to stop to rest once going back up and even passed a few folks along the way. The mountain air is truly invigorating, especially when combined with the sea. Once back to the car, Nali and I were both panting. I smiled all the the way home. Life is good!

Homer High Life cocktail

Again, my own creation!...

1 part gin
1 part Pomegranate Blueberry Juice
Splash of Orange Juice (less pulp)

Mix. Pour over ice. Serve.
Sigh and count your blessings!

Turtle Crackers

I've made a quick dessert before called Pretzel Turtles, but tonight I had a sweet tooth and no pretzels on hand, so this is what I came up with - quick, easy, delish!

1 pkg Rolo candies (8 pieces)
4 Townhouse Flipsides Pretzel Crackers
8 pecan halves

Place two Rolo candies on each Pretzel Cracker. Put the crackers on a microwavable plate and microwave on high for 25 seconds (more or less depending on your "wave")... the candies need to be soft. Remove plate from microwave and press a pecan half on top of each Rolo candy. Let it cool for a couple of minutes and enjoy!

Grilled Corn Salsa

Tonight, I grilled up Halibut Steaks with Grilled Corn Salsa. It was SO good that I have to share the recipe for the Salsa, which would be as terrific on steak or a pork chop as it was on the Halibut.

3 ears of corn (husked)
1 large tomato (seeded, cored, and cut into 4 pieces)
1 medium sweet yellow onion (peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch thick slices)
2 fresh jalepenos (cut in half and seeded)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
juice of one lime
3 Tbsp. olive oil (plus more for vegies on grill)

Spread first 4 ingredients on baking sheet and drizzle both sides with olive oil. Place vegies directly on grill and cook over medium heat until brown (10-15 minutes). The tomatoes will come off the grill first followed closely by the onions, then the jalepenos. The corn will stay on the grill the longest.

Cut corn off the cob and chop tomato, onion, and jalepeno. Put all into a bowl with remaining ingredients and stir well. Serve immediately!

It was more Catchin' than Fishin'!

We were to be on the dock at 6:30 this morning. So, last night, Sarah made our lunch (Salami, Roast Beef, Swiss, Lettuce, Mayo and Mustard sandwiches, fresh cherries, and Pringles) and we got our backpacks ready with "foul weather gear" (Alaska's term for rain gear, because here, foul weather may not only be rain, but sleet, snow, high winds, whatever). My sleep was restless, as it usually is when I have to be somewhere early.

Let's back up for a moment. You see, my friend, Jana, introduced me to Steve a couple of weeks ago. Steve summer's in Alaska (he is retired from the military - Navy, I believe) while his wife keeps the fort down in Montana. She comes up for a visit in the summer but does not stay for the length of time that Steve does. He is in love with Alaska, as are most of us here. He has a terrific boat, the "4 Freedom," which comfortably seats 5 people (one sleeping in the berth... "love you, Jana.") Cap'n Steve loves fishing. He needs it like air. But, with over 300 pounds of fish already in his freezer, he doesn't "need" to fish. So, he takes friends fishing most days of the summer here in Homer, Alaska. Invited on today's trip were myself, Sarah, Jana, and Gauge... 4 women!

Ramp 4 was our destination in Homer's harbor. Down the ramp. Take a left. About 5 boats down on the left was the 4 Freedom. Steve was readying his ship and was eager to give Sarah and I the grand tour (you can stand in one spot for this) and the safety instructions... to include dialing *CG on a cell phone to reach the Coast Guard. Jana and Gauge were not far behind us and as we pushed off and headed out of the harbor, the skies were blue with the promise of good weather.

After about an hour and 20 minutes, we arrived at the fishing spot near Flat Island in the Cook Inlet that promised us dinner. We were 25 miles from Homer at this point. 55 degrees with a slight breeze and plenty of sun had us taking layers off immediately - no foul weather gear needed today! From the first time we dropped a line, we were reeling in Halibut. It was unbelievable!

As promised, Cap'n Steve hauled in the biggest catch of the day! It was a 45 pounder (yummo!). After a few hours of fishing (and eating lunch at 9:30am), we had caught our limit of 2 each. Actually, we each caught several, but would throw back the smallest fish as we caught bigger ones. It was more fun than you can possibly imagine! However, those 30 pounders can give quite a fight when reeling them in, as you can see by the expression on my face!

As we headed back to the harbor, Cap'n Steve let Sarah drive the boat! She loved it and the Captain was quite impressed by her skill at the wheel! Sarah did a tremendous job of avoiding the sea otters - so cute floating around carelessly on their backs, and the sea birds floating on the water. Who knows... maybe she'll Captain her own boat someday!

We arrived back in port around noon, but still had a lot of work ahead of us. We unloaded the fish, cleaned the boat, hauled the fish up to the cleaning tables on the dock and fileted them out!

It was the first time Sarah and I had ever fileted Halibut. But, with a few tips from the experts, we didn't do too bad! However, the seagulls were pretty fearce and the folks who had been there cleaning fish when we showed up told us to watch out because one of the gulls had come right up to the cleaning table and carried off one of their filets! Sarah and I were careful, threatening the gulls with our knives whenever they got too close. However, it was a little unnerving when a bald eagle showed up and all the gulls were scared off and the eagle was eyeing us. We held our ground, though and, ended up with 35 pounds of fresh Halibut filets to put in the freezer!

Just another day in paradise!

Rhubarb Peach Cobbler

Okay, so I'm always inventing new recipes and thought this would be a good forum in which to share them. Rhubarb is in season right now and we have a big batch in the middle of our flower garden. So, I came up with this recipe yesterday and it is so delicious that I ate half of the cobbler right out of the oven!

3 cups chopped rhubarb
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
2 cans diced peaches, drained
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 box of yellow cake mix (save the rest for another cobbler next week)
6 Tbsp butter

Coat 11x7 pyrex dish with cooking spray. Turn oven on to 375.
Combine rhubarb, water and sugar in a pot on the stove. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down and simmer until rhubarb is soft (like the peaches)... about 10 minutes or so.
Stir in peaches, vanilla, and cinnamon, and pour mixture into prepared dish. Sprinkle cake mix over the fruit mixture and then cut up butter and randomly dot butter over top of dry cake mix.
Bake for 35-45 minutes, until golden and bubbly.

Eco - Footprint

I’ve been watching a lot of the Sundance Channel on TV this summer – movies with subtitles (but end up being pretty interesting), and lots of eco-friendly programs. Every day, I try to leave a little less of a footprint on this world. I’m getting better at it. Now, I not only recycle plastic #1’s and #2’s, aluminum cans, glass, and paper, but I reuse all plastic bags that come from freezer veggies and such. I use those for when I scoop dog poop in the yard or Sarah cleans the litter box. I don’t get plastic grocery bags at the store anymore – I have 4 large cloth bags that I use. I also keep all kinds of containers – glass and plastic – you’d be surprised how handy they are to have around. I also don’t put my produce in those plastic produce bags. I just leave it loose in the buggy – wasted packaging. I wish there were a way to take my flour and sugar containers to the store to fill them up instead of having to buy those items in all that extra packaging. I’m sure that will come in time.

Oh yeah, and my friend, Ann, who had applied for a position with the Bethel area school district (right here in Alaska)... got the JOB! She's moving up here the end of July!