Grizzly in a cave,
A hand carved carousel of Alaskan animals,
A bucking salmon.
Then we headed north on the western side of the Kenai Peninsula until the road ended at Captain Cook State Park, and lovely campground overlooking Cook Inlet.
From our campsite we could see the peak of Mt. Spurr (11.070 ft), the most northern of 5 large volcanoes west of Cook Inlet. Glaciers from those mountains left the huge boulders scattered on the beach below us.
Traveling south in the morning we passed through Nikiski, an industrial area of oil refineries and gas production facilities.
Then on to Kenai where we toured the old Russian town, which included this Russian Orthodox Church, built in 1846.
The inside. The priest told me the chandelier was made in Russia and shipped to Alaska in parts.
The retired priest was very informative about the community’s history.
The rear, showing all 3 spires.
We found a great spot for lunch, overlooking the mouth of the Kenai River.
Both banks were lined with fishermen camped out on the beach and “dipnetting” for salmon.
A fisherman stands out in the river, waist or chest deep holding a long pole with a huge net on the end, and waits for a salmon to swim into the net. When one does, the fisherman drags the net up onto the beach where colleagues assist him.
This process continues until he has his daily limit.
In the evening, we played BINGO with our hot pink flamingo daubers which we got in Fairbanks. Alas, they brought us no luck, but we had fun trying.
After checking out a couple of pricy campgrounds in Kenai, we decided to go back to our lunch spot on the bluffs overlooking the river and boon dock for the night.
Coming south down the coast from Kenai, we began to see glimpses of Mt. ReDoubt (10,197 ft.), the volcano which has been active since it erupted in March. It is currently spewing steam from its lava dome.
If the dome collapses, then another eruption of molten lava and ash is likely. Hopefully not while we’re here, but seeing the billows of steam was impressive.
Continuing south we came to another old Russian town, Ninilckik, and another old Russian Orthodox church.
The church is on a hill overlooking the town.
Where old boats go when they retire.
Lighthouse
We stopped for the night at Deep Creek Recreation Area, a campground on the beach below the lighthouse. We like it so much we stayed 2 nights.
It was interesting to watch how these big wheeled tractors launch the boats and retrieve them.
They are quite fast.
The beach is littered with salmon carcasses, minus their filets, which fishing boats toss out and they wash ashore.
This attracts hoards of gulls,
As well as eagles.
Opposite the beach is an estuary, a nesting ground for many waterfowl. Duck tails,
And terns
Everybody relaxed for two days.
The next day we drove out to Anchor Point which holds the claim of being the most westerly point that can be reached by highway in the US. I was wearing my Maine sweatshirt, symbolizing the most easterly point, I guess.
We watched more boats being launched by tractor, and took the dogs for a walk along the beach.
And finally on to Homer, the end of the road going south.
And which of the many businesses that line the Homer Spit got our money, you ask?
Yes, we ate lunch here on the deck overlooking Katchemak Bay.
Where we watched the world go by as we ate: motorboats and sailboats,
Fishermen,
This sea otter was enjoying lunch too…oysters, I think.
We had salmon & scallop burgers…mmmm
No, this historical landmark did not get our money.
We parked to shop at this boardwalk mall.
Yes to ice cream,
And yes to huge fresh baked cookies from this place….shared some with Bob in exchange for freshly caught salmon today….we definitely got the best part of that deal…thanks, Bob!
The spit was crowded with people, cars, and rvs…barely a spit’s distance apart, plus a storm was coming in, so we decided not to camp there.
We drove the scenic skyline drive and some others to get nice views of three glaciers in the Harding Icefield. These are not tidewater glaciers…they do not reach the sea, but just kind of hang out up there in the mountains.
We saw these flowers that look like cotton balls…anyone know their name?
Then headed back north to camp at Deep Creek north, right next to Deep Creek!
Today we stopped by to see Bob again….he’s filling that freezer, enjoying the sport. And now we are stopped at a private cg to get showers, do laundry and computer time. Tomorrow we head for Seward where I hope Carol will take the Kenai Fjords National Park tour to see the calving tidewater glaciers and the marine wildlife. I did that last year so will stay with the pets.
.
