Blogs from Kenai, Alaska, United States, North America - page 3

The Kenai Peninsula is known as Alaska’s Playground—home to the Chugach National Forest, Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, and Kenai Fjords National Park. There is something for everyone from salmon and halibut fishing, clam digging, whale watching, and glacier cruising to hiking, biking, kayaking and everything in between. From Seward, we hiked to Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park, the only one of the glaciers accessible by car. We also took a glacier cruise, where we got close to Holgate Arm, one of the huge tidewater glaciers that “calve” and where huge chunks of ice break off into the sea with a deafening crash. Both of these glaciers are part of the massive Harding Ice Field, here since the Ice Age and covering the entire southeastern part of the peninsula. We enjoyed watching bald eagles fly ... read more

The talk of this summer is the continuously cold weather, overcast and rain. The few days when the sun breaks through the clouds and pours onto the pale skin of scattering ants, people flood the parks, the trails, the water ways, and highways. After a long winter of an average 5 degrees and 2 feet of snow, the thick overcast, as far as I am concerned, is greeted just as warmly as any other summer day would be in Tennessee (maybe even more so without the extreme humidity and unbearable waves of heat). After I have done my time in the office, I keenly escape into the outdoors with a light sweater. The ambitious sense of adventure has died down and left me with a true appreciation for spending my time as I feel most valuable. ... read more

Arriving in Homer is a spectacular sight to behold and no picture can do it justice. The land mass that projects 5 miles into the Kachemak Bay is called the “Spit,” and Homer is known as “the end of the road.” It is also known as the Halibut Fishing Capital of the World, although there are also a variety of salmon and other fish. Again, we were not in the right place at the time the Chinook and the reds were running. However, we did have success catching Halibut from a charter. We caught 6 fish together and could keep 2 each. It was filleted by the staff before we docked back in Homer, and then vacuum packed and flash frozen and stored until we were ready to send it home, which we did. Thanks to ... read more

We were happy to leave Anchorage and the flu bug that got me down there. UGH! Too bad we can't leave behind the yucky stuff when we're on "vacation." I did feel sorry for myself that I was so far away from home and sick. I guess I was "homesick." The highway to Seward began along Turnagain Arm and was an estuary for all kinds of interesting birds. Then the scenery changed to rugged snow-capped mountains. Another WOW! Seward is the only town along the eastern side of the Kenai Peninsula. We dry camped in a city lot along the water, facing Resurrection Bay and surrounded by mountains. The view again was breathtaking. The bay was named by an explorer who arrived in its protected and calm waters on Easter Sunday, dubbing it Resurrection Bay. Unfortunately ... read more

When we awoke, Rob and Estrella were out for a canoe ride. It had rained during the night, but was a beautiful morning. When they got back, Danielle and I paddled around a bit and said good morning to some loons (an adult pair and 2 juveniles). We paddled to the car and got the sleeping bag that I had left behind. After we paddled back, we fixed up a lunch and got ready to hike the seven lakes trail. The girls were off and running along the trail with Carina and we had to remind them that we could easily run into a bear or moose, so they should stay close. We found a nice meadow and the girls ran around and wanted to keep playing in it, but we had plenty of miles ahead ... read more