RV with Harvest Hosts - Great Way for a FREE Night's Stay!

Sweet deal for RV enthusiasts!  The Diamond M Ranch Resort just affiliated with Harvest Hosts, a membership program in the United States that provides RV owners with a free self-contained (no hook ups) night's stay at wineries, farms and ranches across the country.  Nice! 

Planning Your 2011 Alaskan Vacation - Which Month is Best? (Part 2 - MAY)

Click here for Part 1 (with thoughts on Winter, and April)

May is an astounding month here in the Great North.  Snow may or may not be on the ground this month---and, even with the warmer temperatures, you still never know---snow may (or may not) fall from the sky at any time.  Alaskans, delighted at the return of the long sunny days and the arrival of summer, are all ready to hang flower baskets on their porches, hungry for the green and the happy blooms full of color, but all Alaskans know that baskets hung outside in May are not guaranteed.  A 60-degree day may still dip to below-freezing temperatures at night.

While the flower baskets might need to be brought in for the night, our native Alaskan plant species can handle the temperature dips just fine.  It is astounding, for those who take a walk through the spruce-laden forests during the month of May, to see the many varieties of plants unfurling their way out of the ground, often right next to a slowly-thawing mound of snow! 

The month of May is when the green suddenly explodes, the beginning of the month starting out with a mostly bare-looking earth, but within a short time-span, lawns are green, flowers are blooming and the vibrant richness of summer is fully engaging.  If you were an Alaskan who was tapping your  paper birch trees in April (see picture above), creating delicious syrups and wines from the bounty of birch sap gathered, you understand exactly why May culminates in an explosion of green.  With such a rich Spring-time gathering of water and nutrients from the soil, what plant wouldn't? 

Plants aren't the only things waking up.  Migratory birds are in!  It really is hard to describe with mere words the sense electricity and excitement that sparkles through the air when a huge flock of excited shore birds arrives.  On the estuary that the Diamond M Ranch overlooks, we watch large groups coming in, the neat and tidy flocks exploding with joy as they arrive, circling and dipping and diving through the air, all the once-perfect-V-like arrangements breaking into a thousand happy feathered individual birds, celebratory honks and shrieks and cries of delight filling the air. 

Alaska is the destination hot-spot for all sorts of winged species.  Beginning in April and continuing through the month of May, you may see swans, loons, robins, hummingbirds, and a host of other birds arriving "home" to nest and raise their young. (For an excellent article on this topic here, information on shore birds here, water fowl here, and general info here). 

One of the best things about visiting in May is that it will be friendly on your pocket book.  The tourism and hospitality industry here in Alaska does a fantastic job of helping travelers experience our great state, and in May, since most people plan their trips to Alaska around the salmon run in July, you will have them almost entirely to yourself!  Everyone is getting their cruises, guided tours and hospitality services ramped up and ready to go for the summer rush, but because of the smaller flow of people, May prices tend to be much lower than they will be in just a couple months. 

For those wanting to experience Alaska, but without a lot of spare spending money, a vacation here during the month of May could be just what you are looking for.  For example, here at the Diamond M Ranch, you could spend a week in a beautiful one bedroom apartment suite during the month of May, complete with a full kitchen and including your own private deck overlooking the Kenai River estuary, mountain ranges and more, and do it for about $200 less than you would in July! 

Alaskan-dweller Lynne, who blogs here, had this to say about vacationing in Alaska during the month of May, providing vacationers with some great money-saving tips!

"Sometimes breakup doesn't come until May. Might want to wait until first week of May. That is usually when they open Denali Park for first 30 miles to private vehicles. Just before tour buses start running. And May is great time to go to Homer for Halibut or salmon fishing. But don't rent an RV in May and expect many RV parks to be open. Usually not until Memorial Day. And if you drive north of Anchorage, dress warm. It has snowed and sleeted on us in May pretty often."

Thanks, Lynne!  (FYI, for those who RV, we are one of the few RV Parks that is open in May, and with great rates, too)!  If you live in Alaska, or have visited here during the month of May, please feel welcome to share your thoughts, suggestions and tips in the comments box below.

Planning Your 2011 Alaskan Vacation - Which Month is Best? Thoughts on Winter and April Vacations

Martin Family, Cross-Country Skiing, Alaska

One of the first things to do, when planning your Alaskan vacation on the Kenai Peninsula, is decide what time you will want to be here.  The following is the first post in a series filled with our tips and suggestions for finding the time that best fits your vacation goals.

 October through March - If you are a winter sports enthusiast, or have always wanted to experience Alaska during the snow-covered months, we recommend planning your vacation during this time period.  Snow sports abound, such as skiing (cross-country and downhill), ice skating, snow-mobiling (we call it "snow-machining"), snow-shoeing, ice-fishing and so much more.  The opportunities are endless, and if you're not sure which activity best suits you, talk to the operator of the accommodations you choose and get some advice from a real live Alaskan.  Looking for a romantic getaway in an exotic location?  Trust us.  It doesn't get much better than a warm cozy suite room, candles lit, wine glasses poured, all overlooking a beautiful snow-covered vista!  These words from Jack and Debbie Brown say it all,

"Jack and I spent New Years Eve at the Diamond M Ranch Resort. The scenery was just beautiful! Imagine watching fireworks bursting over the snow covered Kenai River valley ~ Fantastic! The Green Tree room is like a honeymoon suite with beautiful kitchen area, living room, and jaccuzi. Gorgeous furnishings in each room. This resort is as wonderful in December as it is in June. Happy Trails in 2011!"

April - While most people in the United States have this strange season they call, "Spring," we Alaskans have our own special time of year, a season unto itself.  We affectionately call it, "Break-Up," because this is the month where all the snow begins to do exactly that---breaking up, slowly and steadily melting, leaving an abundance of water in it's wake.  Mud abounds, as do puddles both large and small, as the earth begins to show her face again, the promise of green just around the corner. 

There aren't a lot of vacationers here during the month of April, so if you are looking for a real bargain on a room or cabin, this is the month to find it!  Take a walk through the thawing woods and be amazed at the hardy green plants that are poking their little heads through the slowly melting snow.  The sun comes up early and goes to bed late, its rays of light energizing each little Alaskan community.  Moose go ambling around the woods and neighborhoods alike, females all close to giving birth and more than delighted to munch on the willow stems emerging from the receding snow.  Everywhere, during the month of April, life in the Alaskan wilderness is beginning to stir. 

To be continued... 
Click here for Part 2 - MAY

So Much To Do on the Kenai Peninsula! (Work Camper Adventures at the Diamond M Ranch Resort)

Helping to run the Diamond M Ranch Resort campground is not a job for the faint of heart. Somewhat similar to juggling plates, a good work camper has to be able to multi-task. Here at the Diamond M Ranch, that means the ability to go on dog sled rides with Ididaride Sled Dog Tours...

 

Raft glacier-fed rivers with the Alaska Rivers Company...

Haul in a big catch with Chihuly Charters...

Or go flying with High Adventure Air (awesome!), and even enjoy a glacier cruise with Major Marine Tours, and so much more!

A big thank you to all of the above companies, for offering our work campers these opportunities to experience Alaska. As they say, the best advertisement is a happy customer, and our work campers certainly had a ball with all of you!

We have the most amazing Work Campers, year after year, and words can't express how much we appreciate them. Each one always has a unique skill, whether it's in answering phones, organizing office areas, helping with new construction, landscaping and gardening, building fences, working security, helping with ranch animals, having a friendly smile to greet guests, hosting fish fry socials---and even making beautiful signs* placed all around the resort, named after each one of our family members!

Summer at the Diamond M Ranch Resort flies by quickly, always so much going on---so many things to see and do, as well as so many wonderful guests to help have a wonderful stay. We appreciate our Work Campers so much. Their energy, smiles, and helping hands truly enable us take our business to the next level!

*Thank you, Jim Diggs, for the beautiful signs and for the great pictures above that you shared with us!

The Biggest Little Fair in Alaska: Kenai Peninsula State Fair in Ninilchik

The Fair is this coming weekend! 

Stay tuned for some pictures and commentary, but in the meantime, go here for more information, schedules, and more:  Official Fair Website

RVing in Alaska: Slow Down and Smell the Spruce Trees!

Roger and Ruthanne Jansen, Work Campers at the Diamond M Ranch this summer,
exemplify the fine art of making the most of every moment!

Not everyone has the time to take a leisurely trip through Alaska, but it's important to remember that a vacation is only a vacation in so much as it is a vacation!  If you maintain a fast pace and a tight schedule, hustling from one stop to the next, concentrating on the map and the milage and the next stop, you may be in Alaska but you're missing almost everything Alaska has to offer. 

Don't let the cities and the roadways fool you.  There's nothing tame about Alaska.  It's still a land of rugged wildness---a place where you can breathe deeply, stretch out stiff limbs and remember what it is like to be alive again.  Many RVer's understand this, so instead of scheduling a whirlwind tour of the state (going a mile wide and an inch deep), they pick one specific part of the state to really "get to know," to richly experience and enjoy.  Make no bones about it---the quality of their Alaskan vacation time is unparalleled.

So if there is one piece of advice we could give you, as you plan for your Alaskan vacation, it is this: make it a priority to fully enjoy the piece of Alaska that you find yourself in.  Walk on the spongy tundra.  Breathe in the salty freshness of the river mouth.  Stay up late for a one-of-a-kind "midnight sun" sunset.  It doesn't have to cost money, because it's not about money.  It's simply about engaging with your surroundings and drinking deeply of the richness all around you. 

As the saying goes, a good motto both for RVer's and for the rest of us,

"Wherever you are, be all there."

Alaskan Homestead Cabin

 

RVing in Alaska: July Dipnetting Season Is Upon Us!

It's the middle of July, and for those of us with lodging accommodations next to the Kenai River, that means only one thing  Lots and lots of motor homes!  It seems like everybody and their brother (and mother and uncles and cousins, for that matter) are down from the Anchorage, hoping to get their nets in the water and load up on a winter freezer's worth of salmon.  We're glad to be of service and enjoy the energy that all these guests bring to our busy campground.   

Schools of salmon are making their last pilgrimage, leaving the cold ocean waters and making for the streams of their birth.  My kids and I were at a beach a couple days ago, young faces squealing with delight as we watched salmon make their way past a well-fed seal and up into the fresh water creek where we stood, slippery scales passing between our bare legs, thrashings tails leaving a brief wake of foaming white water before disappearing around the bend.