It was time to begin celebration of Laura’s Birthday for the week. So with that it was time to do what we loved to do best, load up and leave town. 😉
And with our travel, we were off our diet for the next week. No calorie counting and no Seagan diet for a whole week. For dinner that night, we decided to try out the Inlet View Lodge in Ninilchik. We were amazingly suprised!
The prices were really good, and the food was excellent. If you are looking for some place to try out- it’s worth it. 😁
After that we continued on towards Soldotna, where we decided we would spend the night. Just before we arrived there, we came across this big fella strutting his stuff along side the road.
Though cars were stopping like crazy and getting close to him, he did not care one bit. He just was excited to show off his rack!
When we arrived in Soldotna we swung in to the park by the Kenai River. There street vendors and food trucks were wrapping up their sites. We decided that we would like to make a point to come up and enjoy the concert in the park in the near future. Soldotna hosted this event every week on Wednesday, so it would be an easy trip to plan and spend a day enjoying the event.
Afterwards, we headed over to Fred Meyer to find a parking spot. There we found a familiar sight of the Spoon Man’s Truck, which usually was found in around Homer.
We figured it would be a nice and safe spot to camp next to familiar company for the night.
The next morning we were driving to Kenai. The plan was to visit Home Depot first, and then Walmart to scope out herbs and flowers.
We began with a Birthday Treat for Laura; a shining pink tea drink that was just as pretty as she was. 😍
Once we were at Home Depot, it was the moment of truth!
Laura picked out her selection of herbs and flowers…
… And they came with the perfect little potting tray that we could fit into new greenhouse!
In the short time we picked out her flowers, the rain began pouring. It didn’t stop us from climbing up top putting our new greenery in its new home.
Now it was time to find out how they handled on the road. The greenhouse had handled the trip fine, but it would be interesting to see if the flowers would too.
After picking up a few more last things in Kenai, we were headed back up to Cooper Lake for a second visit that summer. The rain ominously continued to pour down as we drove North through Sterling and into the pass. Only a small break in the clouds, which contained a small moment of sunshine and a rainbow, gave us a small omen of better weather. The rain poured all the way into Cooper Landing.
Luckily when we turned onto our access road to Cooper Lake and began to head up in elevation we passed out of the water works. As we drew closer to the lake we were greeted with more and more bursts of sunlight…
…And found ourselves a very pleasant night as we we pulled up to the bank line. And the whole way there; not one lick of snow this time! 😉
We wanted to camp closer to the water than we did last time, but were going to need to figure out how to level the rig due to the sloping shore line.
Not a problem- there was plenty of large and sloped rocks in the area!
After a few troll-ups we settled our rig happily at level for our visit.
Now, for our first time camping since we put it on Our Ohana: we deployed the awning! And continued to set up how little home base would be for the next 3 days.
While we had been driving up North to Soldotna the day before, I had randomly came up with a fun little idea. When we had been picking out Laura’s garden at Home Depot- I had also picked up a small list of parts to make it happen. I figured it would be a fun thing to build while we spend the day out at the lake before other people began to show up.
It Began With A Funnel, Which I Painted Black. 
After A Few Coats Of Paint Had Dried… 
We Sealed A Small Sink Strainer… 
… Into The Funnel. 
We Had Also Purchased A Dishwasher Drain Line Kit, So I Attached One End Of The Hose To The Bottom Of The Funnel. 
Then I Cut The Other End Of The Hose To Be Able To Fit Into Our Water Take Fill Inlet.
Why all this you ask?
So we could try out building ourselves a rain water catch! With the ladder right next to the water fill, it made it easy to use a few twist ties to run the funnel up and catch some water if the weather decided to pour on us. 😄😅
Laura wanted a bit more heat for the night, so we fired Kalcifer up. Shortly after he started, the smoke from the chimney disappeared as he started using the smoke as fuel in his catalytic converter.
We had a wonderful evening hanging out inside, and outside, as we watched the sun set over the lake.
After we had wrapped up drawing and playing some music for the night we settled in for the evening…
The next morning was another good day without rain! We kicked it off with some coffee.
Also Laura opened up her small collection of Birthday gifts. This was a happy day for her, but with some very sad moments. This was the first year Laura was celebrating her Birthday without her Mother… 😢
Patricia was definitely there with us in thought and spirit that day. 👼
RJ was traveling her way down from Anchorage, and decided to swing out to see what the camping spot was like so she could bring out The Ithaca the next day.
During her brief visit we all walked the access to the lake to make sure she would have the proper ground clearance. She also dropped off a pop up tent for us too! Our friends Nic & Luke had been concerned about the forecast of rain for the weekend, so we sent RJ out with a message for them on her return to the land of cell service: It was not raining out!
Shortly after she left, our friends Ben and Kendra showed up. They set up their tent, and we we all set up the pop up tent. Then, ironically, the rain began. To spite the drizzle, we put together the makings for a fire.
The year before, our friend Whitney had given us a wooden lizard, which came with bad history. She had wanted us to burn it in Kalcifer, but it was much too tall to fit in. We decided to light it up to begin the celebration for this weekend. So with that- this fire is for you Whitney!
The rain continued but we persevered. A few more friends of ours arrived, our friends Jess and Jesse! We spent the night hanging out and getting a little damp before we retired to our small shelters for the night.
The next morning I awoke to Jess making coffee at the ripe time of 7 AM. Though much too early to be up, I hung out and chatted with her. Laura eventually drifted out as well.
It Turned Out It Was An Awesome Time To Be Up… 
…Because That Morning We Were Greeted By The Most Beautiful Beam Of Sunlight… 
😁 
..Shining Down Over The Steam Of Our Coffee Cups.
Then the rain began again.
It came down heavier this time. We hoped that Nic & Luke might not have heeded our message we had sent with RJ; we would feel bad if they showed up to the rain they had wanted to avoid.
With the rain, Ben & Kendra packed up their camp site. Kendra had to be back at work the next day anyway- so with the rain it was time. Jess & Jesse decided to chill out for a day nap. Laura and I settled in to cook up some Tuna steaks. 😋
We had continued to let Kalcifer burn from the day before, and the camper glowed with the warm toasty feeling that only fire seems to provide.
With the rain continuing, and the camper perfect, we butted our 2 tables together and it provided enough space for us to play a full game of Firefly Adventures! It was a great way to wait out the rain that day- and a few hours later RJ arrived.
We were rusty on setting up the awning on The Ithaca- so it took a bit of time to set it up. We enlisted Jesse’s help. 😄
Though the rain began to drizzle down, we made the best of it. Jesse set up an amazing spread, in which he cooked and slow roasted every bit of his fixings over the fire to perfection.
And with that, the vittles and libations began!
That evening we were greeted with a pleasant suprise- Joey showed up!
She rolled in and RJ helped pump up a stand up paddle board that Joey had brought with her. And with great care- Joey took Laura out to teach her the basics to paddling for a nice Birthday trip out on the lake. 🚤
Jesse had spent the whole day slow-cooking a set of ribs; which were the softest ribs I had ever tasted! If we were going to break our diet to eat meat on this occasion- this was the way to go! 🥩🤩 A million thanks to Jesse for being the food master during our camp out that evening!
And so, as the night continued, we all laughed and played…
…Until the dusk finally told us it was time to settle our heads down for the night.
The next morning, we were not greeted so much by rain, but by strong gusts of wind. With that, Jess & Jesse decided it was time for them to pack up camp.
Once again, ironically enough, as soon as they left the weather shifted; and became very nice. We decided we would pack up camp as well, and go for a hike on a nearby trail.
Oh! How did the rain catch work that weekend?
Great! We used water as we needed it, and it was replenished.
As we packed up camp our new rain catch coiled up nicely to be stored in one of our roof storage pods. 🙂
RJ headed back down to Homer with The Ithaca, and we met up with Joey for a (very) small hike at the trail head.
It was a tiny hike to this other small lake, but it was a perfect way to enjoy the end of our wonderful weekend. When the hike concluded, we bid our Farewells to Joey and continued along our journey further North. 😉
Geoff Murphy 8/1/2021