Clamming

There is small town called Clam Gulch just a few miles of Soldotna, which is where our latest adventure took place. The beaches at Clam Gulch are famous for the hundreds of thousands of razor clams that are harvested there every year. Neither Brandon or I particularly like to eat clams, but our good friends Amy and Bryan do-so we decided to join them in trying our hand at clamming. Here is what we learned:

Step 1: Consult tide book. Clams can only be dug out of the sand at low tide. 

Step 2: Buy clam gun. When I heard this, imagined some shotgun looking-thing that you shoot into the sand in order to blow a hole deep enough to access the clams. This is wrong. Here is what a clam gun actually looks like:

Clam gun = a hollow aluminum cylinder used to pull up sand. No shooting involved.

Step 3: Wander the beach in search of small round holes in the sand. These holes/dimples are called "clam shows" - basically where the clams bury themselves in the sand.

Step 4: Drive clam gun straight down over the center of the hole, then pull up the column of sand. 

Step 4 is not for the faint of heart. Big muscles required. 

Step 5: Search through the sand you pulled out and collect your prize. 

We had an awesome time clamming. Not only was it exciting to stumble upon those little clam holes, but even more exciting when you dug out the sand and A-there was a clam there in the first place, B- you hadn't murdered the clam with your gun, and C-it was a nice big one. When all was said and done, we scored about 50 razor clams for the day. The boys stayed up till 2 a.m. cleaning them, and by then nobody felt like cooking, so we decided we would freeze them and try them another day. I see clam chowder in our near future... (:

Wildfire

Where have we been the last 2 months? Europe! We spent over a month in Romania, Hungary, and France visiting family, hanging out with old friends, and of course doing the tourist thing. It was an amazing time, and way too much to cover in a blog that's supposed to be about Alaska. Instead, here is a small sample from each of the places we visited:

Dracula's Castle- Transylvania, Romania

Bridge over the Danube River- Budapest, Hungary

Eiffel Tower- Paris, France

It was truly the experience of a lifetime, but needless to say, we were ready for a little R&R by the end of it. Little did we know that what we would be coming back to was more excitement and chaos. The day that we returned to Alaska, a little fire that was accidentally started near town blew up into something a lot bigger- the Funny River Wildfire.

Nobody is sure how it started, but it grew fast. There had apparently been a very dry spell while we were gone, and there was no forcasted rain in sight. Then, the wind came. It blew the fire straight towards town, causing several evacuation orders in and around Soldotna. The closest the fire came to our home was 7 miles, but we had the Kenai River separating us from the fire. It eventually did jump the river, but luckily, we didn't get evacuated. We sure did get smoked out, though. 

That tiny red dot is the sun

By day 6 of the fire, it had consumed 243 square miles, making it the biggest wildfire in the US at the time. There were over 700 firefighters working to keep it from destroying life and property, and they did an incredible job. They set up a fuel break that held so well, not a single person or home was affected. Only 3-4 recreational cabins. 

That straight edge at the top of the fire map is the fuel break. And just above it is the city of Soldotna.

It was amazing to see our small town rally together and show appreciation for the firefighters. And to help the evacuees.  People around town donated food and supplies to both groups. The restaurants in town offered free food. Local hotels let evacuees stay for free. And everywhere you looked, there were signs thanking the firefighters. 

As of now the fire is over 50% contained, the air is finally clear, and the burn ban in town has been lifted. The fire is still going, but moving toward the mountains where people and property are not in danger. So once again - THANK YOU FIREFIGHTERS! 

Now to get back outside (without fear of the black lung) and enjoy the start of summer....