The Kenai Run

Kenai Peninsula - Wednesday thru Saturday, August 10 thru 13, 2011

The Kenai Run starts with a drive from Soldotna to the town of Nikiski where we visited the beach and had lunch.  The beach was not white, but was a dark gray, made of finely ground rocks compliments of ancient glaciers.  The sand was much finer than what we see in Jacksonville.  An added attraction were the mountains across Cook Inlet.  And of course we had to see how cold the water was.

 

We were going to continue on up the road towards Captain Cook State Park but decided to turn around.  It was getting on towards 3:30 and we decided to stop by the Kassiks Micro Brewery before it closed.  There was no fee for the tasting and the portions were generous with repeats if desired.  We ended up coming away with four 20oz bottles.

Then it was back to Kenai for some food and a little sightseeing. We had lunch a Veronica’s Cafe, and it was excellent.  We had a sandwich wrap and some black bean soup which had no black beans in it.  They were small red beans, but it was still goood!

Across the street from Veronicas was an old Russian Orthodox Church.  We had heard it was open for visitors, but not today I guess.

 

As we were leaving town we saw another sight that made us believe Alaskan are serious about their winter transportation.

Then it was back to Fred Myers in Soldotna to spend the night.

Thursday it was off to Homer to spend a few days, but first we made a stop in Kasilof to see my brother’s friend Jon Pyle.  Jon and his wife have a beautiful RV Park near Kasilof that they run during the summer. I had to include this because of the Jayhawk flag.

Jon gave us a typed list of “must-sees” for our trip to Homer.  The first was another Russian Orthodox Church and cemetery in Ninilchik.

 

And an overlook of the town of Ninilchik with a view of Redoubt Volcano.

 

The highlight of today’s journey was the Norman Lowell Gallery near Anchor Point.  This was exciting for two reasons.  The gallery is located off the Sterling Highway up a narrow fairly steep road.  At the top of the road we were presented with a pretty crowded parking lot and a freshly graded open area.  We chose the open area because it was wide open and would be easy to turn around here.  About 50 feet into the big open area, Big Guy’s right side suddenly dropped about 8 inches and we came to an abrupt stop.  We got out to see what had happened and we had sunk into the ground up to the wheels.  The right side tires were completely buried.  Now what do we do?  Element to the rescue.  The Element which has four wheel drive, was still connected to Big Guy.  So we started it up and BG, put them both in reverse and backed out.  The Element saved the day!!

 

The other exciting thing was the gallery itself.  Mr. Lowell is a prolific artist.  He built the gallery buildings himself to share his paintings, poetry and the works of other Alaskan artists.  Mr. Lowell is also a homesteader which means he homesteaded the land his house and this gallery sit on back in the late 1940s. He is 92 years old, still painting and active at the gallery. EJ  got to meet him.

Around 4:30 we stopped at an overlook which allowed us to see the Homer Spit where we would be spending the next 2 nights.  This was a very nice park which welcomed you to Homer.

 

After a busy day, we relaxed and enjoyed a campfire and these views.

Friday we decided to explore Homer.  Since we were already on the Spit, we decided to start there.  First up, the Salty Dawg, a well known saloon. Yes, that’s real currency on the walls.

Next the tourist area.  This area is for the people who aren’t out fishing and the cruise ship passengers.

The Seafarers Memorial to all those who lost their lives at sea.

And a popular and practical way to get around in Alaska.

We thought that today would be a good day to take the fermentation tour. We made stops at the brewery, the meadery, and the winery.  After a drive around town and stops at several shops we headed back home to our special spot on the beach and a rowdy cat.

Saturday was another great day.  Lunch at the Sourdough Cafe. The picture is tilted so I could fit in all the food.

There’s an interesting story behind the Sourdough Cafe.  The owners traveled to Alaska in an old beat up cargo van.  They had a gas oven in the van they used to bake bread.  They also brought some sourdough with them that they use to this day.  About 70 miles or so from Homer, their van broke down.  They baked bread and sold it to people passing by on the Sterling Highway until they had enough money to pay for repairs. They made it to Homer and made baked goods out of the van until they had enough money to buy a building.  The van still sits out in front of the cafe to this day.

And another story about sourdough.  Back in the late 1890s there was a story circulating that if men ate regular bread it would diminish their libido.  So all the miners ate sourdough because they didn’t want their love lives to go downhill.

Now that we’re properly nourished we head to the Farmer’s Market to see what the locals are up to.  As it turns out, it was very little Farmer and mostly Market.  However, they do have fun with their vegetables.

Here’s Frank with the Halibut he caught.

OK, so if you don’t look too close you can’t see the little trapdoor in the side.  But from a distance it looks real. This was at the Islands & Oceans Visitor Center.

On our way around town, we saw a bunch of cars pulled off the side of the road and decided to go investigate.  Turns out they were looking at some nesting eagles.  Notice the baby in the nest.  It’s as big as the parents.

Sadly, our time in Homer had come to an end and we had to pack up and head back north.  But first we had to take care of the darker necessities of camping.  That’s right, a trip to the dump station.  The city campgrounds in Homer are dry camp only, but they do provide a dump station on the way out of town.  They charge a minimal fee which you don’t mind when you put your money in this guy. (Remember, the winters here are very long and Alaskans are very creative)

Along the way we spy some more Alaskan creativity.  It’s an old airstream type trailer decorated as a bumblebee, stinger and all.

After another resupply stop at Walmart in Kenai, we’re on our way to Seward.  As it’s getting late, we find another roadside turnout and set up camp for the night about 45 miles from Seward.

As you can see from the map above, we’ve gone as far south as you can go on a connected paved road.  After Seward it will be time to turn around and see how far north we can make it.

BG Miles Today	238	BG Total Miles	6592
Eat Out total $	693.16	BG Total Fuel $	3599.24
Entertainment total $	452.52	Total Camping $	965.91
E Miles Today	94.5	E Total Miles	2067.7
E Total Fuel $	421.22	Day # of Trip	71 - 74