As we traveled from Anchorage down to the Kenai Peninsula, we knew we were missing out on a lot of spectacular scenery due to the weather and smoke from the many Alaskan fires (and even some fires in Siberia). Click on any pic to start the slideshow:
But we entertained ourselves the best we could, which usually meant eating interspersed with glimpses of beautiful countryside and Alaskan quirks:
A typical Alaskan summer, evidently:
Finally, the Kenai River:
Here are some scenes from around the area:
We stayed at a nice campground between the towns of Kenai and Soldotna, so could take advantage of each of their services, like big box stores, post office and groceries. Bubba took a day trip out on the Kenai to fish for salmon and got totally skunked. He was so sad! But then we did a float trip down the same river and it was SPECTACULAR!
Though it was an overcast day, it never rained and we were grateful the skies had cleared of smoke so we could see the amazing scenery. Just days before, the view would have been obliterated.
We were actually very sorry to leave this location, it’s beauty was just stunning. But we had to move on; sometimes camping reservations work out that you have to leave one campground before you can get a reservation at your next location. So the night before we pulled into the town of Homer, we spent the night in a roadside pullout along Cook Inlet, a very common practice all around Alaska because of the frequent difficulty in getting into a campground. So this one didn’t suck:
The next morning, we drove the remaining 70 miles into Homer through sporadic rain showers, crested a hill and encountered this.
That’s the famous (or infamous, depending on your experiences there) Homer Spit stretching out into Kachemak Bay towards the mountains on the far side, a 2.5 mile long spit of land not more than a quarter mile wide. But it’s home to a deep harbor, restaurants, bars, tour reservations of all kinds (fishing, sightseeing, sea kayaking), and of course, shopping. We loved the Spit. How can you not, with business names like Spit Lick Ice Cream and Spit Tobacco?
The next morning, our view of the mountains and bay from our back window was a sight to behold:
Here are scenes from the Spit (don’t forget to click on a pic to see a larger version):
That afternoon, after trying to arrange a “flightseeing” trip on a float plane and not having much luck (all booked), we got a call from a pilot who said, “Can you go in an hour? I can get a flight in for you two and one other person.” Wow, we jumped on it! Check out this video:
Soaring above Cook Inlet and the Chigmit Mountains
It’s a good thing I got pics of our view the first morning (we stayed here a week), because the next morning, the bay looked like this for the remainder of our stay. Fires burning all over Alaska, including on the Kenai Peninsula, have blanketed the state with smoke.
But this lovely creature paid almost daily visits to our campground. Someone here puts herring out occasionally and this eagle and her mate stop by frequently looking for an easy snack:
I managed to grab a video of one of these snack attacks, but the quality was poor. But here are some screengrabs from it; she’s spectacular!
We took a day to drive around the area, Bubba with fishing gear on board, and found a lovely little state recreation area (Anchor River). Bubba got some fishing in while I strolled with the camera.
Another huge highlight of our trip is the kayaking tour we took around Yukon Island, on the far side of the bay. What FUN! We took a water taxi over to the island where the kayaking outfit kept a “base camp,” then we were outfitted with everything we needed for a sea-kayaking adventure. Click on the link below to catch a video of our trip!
Kayaking Yukon Island and Kachemak Bay
Stay tuned for an update on our trip over to Seward and the boat trip to a real glacier, simply amazing!