After nearly a dozen years, clamming has returned to the Kenai Peninsula just south of Clam Gulch, and it’s been a long time in coming. We set out around 7:00 am and while we weren’t the first on the beach, it wasn’t yet as crowded as we thought it might be. We drove out on the beach just far enough to make it an easy hike out on the tide flats and it wasn’t long before we struck gold — golden brown clams that is! We were done before we knew it, covered in mud, but smiling “clammy” smiles as we hauled the motherload of 30 clams home for processing. They were a beautiful sight on our fish table on the Kenai River, and a boat going by even spotted us and said “Hey, they’ve got clams!”. What used to be ordinary, is special again. Tonight fried clams, tomorrow clam chowder. Summertime in Alaska has returned…