Kenai Peninsula, Alaska – Part I

The weather conspired against us once again as we made the 200 mile drive from Anchorage to the twin cities of Soldotna and Kenai on the western side of the peninsula.  The highway runs along the portion of Cook Inlet known as Turnagain Arm and we can only imagine how lovely it must be in full sunshine with the snow-covered mountains reflecting in the water.  For our trip we were treated to gray skies and gray water which makes for a soggy scenario.

This is probably a good time to insert a few words about Alaskans and their relationship to weather.  They seem to ignore it.  If the sun is even hinting at shining and the thermometer is hovering in the high 50’s, the natives are running around in tank tops and shorts while we tourists are snuggling down deeper into our hooded sweatshirts. 

Our “home base” in Kenai was the Diamond M Ranch, a very pleasant surprise in spite of what continued to be wet weather.  The campground is a work in progress for several generations of the Martin family.  A number of activities had been planned but bad weather derailed some of them.  One event that was not seriously impacted by rain was a clam chowder/salmon bake/potluck dinner scheduled for Saturday evening.  After wolfing down a hearty meal we were treated to some rompin’ stompin’ bluegrass music provided by a pair of very talented young ladies from Indiana who bill themselves as Diamonds in the Rough.  With fiddle and guitar they rendered up bluegrass and Celtic tunes.  We later learned they’ll also be performing at the Alaska State Fair in Palmer later in the month.

We were parked next to Russ and Rochelle   and so were able to  visit back and forth, enjoying the opportunity to savor a pair of rhubarb pies utilizing rhubarb from their very own garden.  For our first full day in Kenai we made a mad dash down to Homer so the guys could get signed up for a fishing charter they planned to take.  It was another dreary day and so we can only imagine how pretty this scene might be in good weather.  While in Homer, we had lunch at Land’s End on “the spit” and checked out The Salty Dawg, a saloon decorated in dollar bills and abandoned underwear.  Behind the  saloon, we watched a pair of knife-wielding fish filet-ers at work; they dispatched halibut into filets and “cheeks” with the speed of ninjas and the precision of surgeons.

 

 

 

 On another drizzly day we headed north out of Kenai (which, by the way, is pronounced KEEN-eye and not kin-EYE which is the way I’m inclined to say it) and after checking out the visitors center we stopped by the Holy Assumption of the Virgin Mary Russian Orthodox Church.  Built in 1895 with a $400 grant from St. Petersburg, this is still an active parish.  The docent, a retired   archpriest who served the parish until 1991, explained the various icons which decorated the tiny church and gave us a brief history of Russia’s involvement in this area of what eventually became Alaska.  We were all very curious that there are no pews in the church.  According to the Old Testament, the congregation is instructed to stand…and so they do.

Saturday was a pretty tiring day starting when the guys took off for Homer at 4:00 a.m. in order to catch a fishing charter at 6:30.   Russ is an experienced fisherman but Howie has only minimal experience in the fine art of drowning worms.  However, they both scored their limit of two halibut each and came rushing home to get the catch into the freezers.  Russ had to put some effort into hauling this “but” in – it must be hard to bring up a 300 pound prize winner!  Reportedly, “chicken halibut” (fish that are between 10 and 30 pounds) are the best to eat so we are happy to say that those are what we have in our freezer.

Because the weather was so crummy we decided not to relocate to Homer to camp on the spit so we re-upped for another three days at Diamond M and then moved to the other twin city, Soldotna, for an additional three days.   The town’s visitor center is smack on the Kenai River and has a boardwalk where fishermen can congregate to try their hand at snagging a salmon.  The weather finally improved and we had a nice day to explore the visitors center and walking trail at Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.  We didn’t see any wildlife but the forest trail did render up some very interesting mushrooms.  Are we surprised?  After all, we are in a rainforest of sorts.

Our final stop was the Homestead Museum in Soldotna and it turned out to be one of those wonderful surprises, a little gem when least expected.  The docent, daughter of one of the town’s original homesteaders, led us from exhibit to exhibit, explaining much of the town’s history and the artifacts before us.  Slowly it dawned on us that Soldotna's “historic past” happened during our teen years!  The town was homesteaded following WWII when veterans were given preferential treatment in staking a claim to 40 acres.    Once again we were awestruck by the treasures which find their way to small-town museums.  It was a delightful afternoon and the best fun thus far of our Alaskan tour.

We had high hopes that we’d be able to spot some resident beluga whales at the mouth of the Kenai River where it empties into Cook Inlet but we were apparently several weeks too early – they only get active when the silver salmon are running.  The silvers have started but the massive influx won’t be until later in August.  But we did have the opportunity to stare at the Inlet with Mt. Redoubt in the distance and chat with a newly-minted Alaskan, a former Californian who has abandoned the smog of L.A. and moved to the pine-scented Kenai.  We also spotted several seals sporting about at the mouth of the river.

Our paths crossed with Bill and Carolyn’s – they are headed down to Homer for a few days after a couple of days in Kenai.  Russ and Rochelle are staying on in Soldotna for another few days and will then mosey on over toward Anchorage and Palmer.  And we’re on to Seward for a few days, including a wildlife cruise, so stay tuned for Part II of the Kenai report.