Kenai And Saldotna

Kenai Alaska is located on the west side of the Kenai Peninsula near the mouth of the Kenai River. The Kenai River is home to some of Alaska’s best salmon fishing and my goal was to do some fishing while we were there.

The RV park we stayed at overlooked Cooks Inlet and the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, often called "Alaska in miniature", is home to a wide diversity of wildlife including moose, eagles, brown and black bears, lynx, wolves, and trumpeter swans, while Cooks Inlet is home to Beluga Whales, all five salmon species, halibut, rainbow trout, arctic greyling, northern pike and Dolly Varden. This large, sprawling region is dominated by the Susitna River drainage, but also includes the streams of West Cook Inlet and the Knik, Matanuska and Little Susitna rivers.

The Cook Inlet region also contains active volcanoes, including Augustine Volcano and Mount Redoubt.

The eastern portion of the refuge descends from the Harding Ice Field to peaks in the western Kenai Mountains. Mountain goats, brown bears and ravens have been sighted crossing glaciers and on nunataks - exposed mountains projecting above the glacial ice.

Ice worms are a little known inhabitant of temperate glacial ice they ranging in length from 1 to 3 cm. Moving between crystals of ice and through the many interconnected channels in granular snow, ice worms generally stay near the surface of glaciers. Most species of ice worms rise to the surface at dusk while other live in puddles of glacial meltwater. Ice worms eat airborne pollen grains, fern spores and the red algae that lives in snow and sometimes colors it pink. I didn’t get to see any of these guys.. awwwww!

We didn’t get to do much in Kenai and Soldotna because Pierre was sick, he came down with the flu and I ended up taking him to the doctor. We did get to walk along the beach almost everyday and I did see some Beluga Whales, the first night we were there I saw them with the binoculars! 

I saw some bear tracks here but that was all..no bears and no fishing!

Anchorage Alaska

Alaska has only 700 thousand people and out of the 700k over 300k live in Anchorage, so it is  Alaska largest City...located in the south-central portion of Alaska, at the terminus of the Cook Inlet, it is on a peninsula formed by the Knik Arm to the north and the Turnagain Arm to the south. 

When we arrived our first order of business was to find Allen & Petersen Appliance, they had our new microwave/convection in the warehouse. 

Luck would have it that the RV park we had choose to stay at was not very far away and we found it quick! After confirming that the oven was indeed ours, they gave us directions to the warehouse and we drove over to pick it up! 

While the young man was finding our oven we got to talking to the other two men and both of them were from Alaska and they told me that the place I wanted to go to catch had a big Halibut was in Homer Alaska, one of them even had a boat in Homer and that was where he fished out of...with that under my belt....I made my plans....

With visions of Halibut dancing around in my head we headed back to Esprit and the monumental task at hand...to insert this new oven into the hole the old had made. It only took us 1 day and 2 trips to Lowe’s to make this happen and I love it! 

With that out of the way.. we started to explore Anchorage, it’s a beautiful place and there is lots to do and see. 

The Tony Knowles Coastal Trail is one of four greenbelt trails located in Anchorage. Even though this trail spans 11.0 miles each way (from Kincaid Park to just north of where 2nd Avenue ends in the Cook Inlet), it is easily picked up from several different points in the city, so you can enjoy any segment and hike as little or much of the trail as you desire. 

This trail also provides extraordinary views of downtown Anchorage, the Chugach Mountains, Denali (Mt. McKinley), Mount Susitna (Sleeping Lady), and Fire Island.

Sleeping Lady

Also, because you're next to the coast, the tide can be watched coming in and going out this makes the mudflats change constantly. We were told that if you stand still while the water drains out, it may set up like concrete and may not release its hold on you until the tide has come in over your head! Some time moose get stuck in the mud and die out there! 

The Alaska Zoo is dedicated to promoting conservation of Arctic, sub-arctic and like climate species through education, research and community enrichment… we had a wonderful time at the zoo!

Seward Alaska

Seward is a port city in southern Alaska, set on an inlet on the Kenai Peninsula. It’s a gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park, where nearly 40 glaciers flow from the Harding Icefield into coastal fjords. Wildlife thrives in these icy waters and lush forests around this vast expanse of ice. Surrounded by peaks, the fjords are a spectacular! 

We took the all day cruise on board the Major Marine Catamaran, we saw towering glaciers, puffins, grey and humpback whales, stellar sea lions, killer whales...and stunning scenery. Surrounded by steep mountain walls and glacier-carved fjords, Kenai Fjords National Park provides the perfect habitat for vast numbers of wildlife. It was a bit breezy, but the boat had a heated cabin, so I ran in and out! When we reached the Holgate and Aialik glaciers I was so impressed at how massive tidewater glaciers are and how they “talk” continuously...sighing, booming, cracking and calving. And so blue..hurts the eyes! 

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The city’s Alaska SeaLife Center opened in 1998 and it operates as a private, non-profit research institution and public aquarium, with wildlife response and education programs. It generates and shares scientific knowledge to promote understanding and stewardship of Alaska’s marine ecosystems. The world-class, 115,000-square-foot facility was built with funds from the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill and serves to remind visitors, in a highly interactive way, the importance of understanding and maintaining the integrity of Alaska's oceans. 

It also is one of the only non-profit organizations in the world that has both a public aquarium and fully supported research facility in the same building. The SeaLife Center is affiliated with the University of Alaska Fairbanks and collaborates with numerous state, federal and international agencies and universities. It was raining the day we went and most everyone stayed inside so I got the Puffins to myself, one was very curious about me and swam right up next to me! Made my day and I got some great pictures 

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Exit Glacier is also in Seward and it is one of the most popular road-accessible glaciers in the state. We walked the  "Edge of the Glacier Trail" (also known as the Lower Trail) to get a good photo in front of the glacier and we also hiked the more strenuous Harding Icefield Trail which is about 8.4 miles round-trip (also known as the Upper Trail). The upper trail provides an overlook, as if you're standing right on the glacier. It is a challenging day hike to a 3,500-foot summit, but you are treated with stunning views of the 700-square-mile Harding Icefield. This massive ice sheet, located within Kenai Fjords National Park, is the source of over 35 named glaciers, including Exit. The Harding Icefield Trail winds up the north edge of Exit Glacier, offering spectacular views of the glacier and surrounding mountains along the way.  But what a climb!