Photos ...
One: What we saw (fog) compared to what we hoped to see (blue sky and glacier topped mountains)
Two: A beautiful view of the mountains we would have seen across Cook Inlet -- I didn't take this shot, but I wish I could have!
Three: The amazingly green water of Kenai Lake at Cooper Landing.
Four: Misty mountains along Turnagain Arm
Five: Fog shrouded view of glacier - Portage Glacier, I think.
Six: Our ocean side campsite at Ninilchik
Seven: A young scruffy-looking bald eagle
Eight: View of cliffs along Turnagain Arm on our return trip. Note how small the vehicles look!
Yesterday (Sunday) we left Anchorage and started south down the Kenai Peninsula. I was really looking forward to this part of the trip, since the scenery is so spectacular along Turnagain Arm, Cook Inlet and all throughout the Kenai. I also had high hopes of seeing lots of wildlife and had planned to go on a whale watching cruise.
Unfortunately, we were thwarted by the weather. Both days were rainy, foggy and cold. All of the pictures I took were gray and washed out -- no color anywhere. The gorgeous mountains were all shrouded in clouds, and we got very few glacier views. Other than four moose and a bunch of eagles, we saw no wildlife, and there was no point in going on a cruise.
Even though the conditions were awful, we covered the whole of the peninsula. We took the Seward Highway along Turnagain Arm, passing through Girdwood, then making a short side trip to Hope. We returned to the highway and after passing through Moose Pass, we stopped briefly in Seward for lunch. We turned off just before Seward, hoping to visit Exit Glacier, but it was raining so hard we didn't bother. I had to settle for a couple of bad pictures.
We then retraced our path to Moose Pass and headed west. We could not believe how much traffic was leaving the Kenai! As we turned onto the Sterling Highway, we met miles and miles of RV, trailers, motor homes, cars and trucks, all leaving the Kenai, presumable after a weekend of fishing.
We passed through Cooper Landing, Sterling, Soldotna, Kasilov, and Clam Gultch. We finally stopped for the night at a campground in Ninilchik. Under other conditions, it would have been a fantastic site -- we were only yards from the shore of Cook Inlet. All around us were eagles, some perching on dead trees or rocks on the beach, some soaring and calling. Occasionally the clouds would lift slightly and we would get a partial view of the mountains on the shore across from us, but we were never really able to see them.
There were lots of fishing boats in the inlet -- just before we turned in for the night, we counted over 50 vessels of all types and sizes just offshore. Not sure what they were trying to catch - maybe halibut?
Today we woke to more rain and even heavier fog. Once again, we headed south through Happy Valley, Anchor Point and Homer, finally ending our trip on Homer Spit, which is one giant tourist trap! We turned around and headed north on the Sterling Highway as far as Kasilov, where we turned off on the Kalifornsky Beach Road to Kenai, then returned to the Sterling Hwy. at Soldonta. We followed the Sterling to the junction of the Seward Highway at Moose Pass, then traveled north around Turnagain Arm, through Anchorage to Wasilla, where we are now camped for the night.
There is no doubt that the Kenai is all about FISH, FISH, FISH, at least during July and August. There were fishing camps, guiding services and campgrounds everywhere. The beaches were littered with the bones of filleted salmon and halibut. The gulls and eagles looked very fat and well-fed!
Even though the weather did not cooperate, at least we saw the Kenai. Who knows, maybe we will get back there again before we leave Alaska.
Tomorrow we are going to visit the Alaska Museum of Transportation and Industry, then head north again to Fairbanks. Donny wants to check out some of the gold dredges north of there.
It's hard to believe that we have only been on the road for two weeks! It seems like so much longer.
Later
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