Monday July 11

Princess Kenai RV Park

9 AM.  57°F.  Partly cloudy

Heading to Soldatna to get the tire repaired or buy a new one...and then to several beaches along Cook Inlet.

No tires and no one has time to attempt a repair. We decide it will have to wait until we return to Anchorage. 

Back to the Rockhounding Alaska  book...

The first beach is Salamatof Beach which is actual owned by Conoco-Phillips but allow locals to use the beach. The rules are you can only pick rocks below the high tide mark. It's low tide so we're in business. These beaches have agates according to the Book but the picture they show look suspiously like chalcedony.  Starting to wonder if the author is a rockhound or a travel agent.

While at this beach there are guys with fork light and atvs up and down the beach. So I walk over to query about their activities.

 Turn out the forklifts are holding nets that are anchored out in the water. They are fishing for "Reds" the guys says. He obvious figured I had no idea what reds were he said Sockeye Salmon.  They were pulling in their nets as the tide was starting to come in. I got the impression this was a low tide activity only.

After collecting a sampling of beach rocks we head to Beach #2: Nikiski Beach.

As we walk on the rocky beach a couple was come up the beach. I asked them if they found anything interesting and if they were locals. Turns out they were visiting fron Saudi Arabia. Originally from Chicago but now in the middle east and their first trip to Alaska.

Same type of rocks so we headed out to grab something to eat. Bob read that each community had a favorite cuisine some were Vietnamese, some Thai, and some BBQ. Guess which one Bob opted for. Yup BBQ. Following the guidebook the first BBQ place listed is now a Cannabis shop, the second we never found and the third we drove by twice. It was a drive-thru only

Shack. So we drove in. The owner operators are summer only people. She lived worked and retire in Soldatna and he is an Oklahoman. So we drove to Alaska to have Oklahoman BBQ at Black Jaxx BBQ.

It was very good. If your ever in Soldatna I recommend you stop by and have ribs, chicken and pulled pork or brisket.q