Swimming Upstream to Kenai

Old Walmart Parking Lot, Kenai, AK – July 24, 2014

We left Homer, with me driving Big Guy and EJ driving the Element. We were only going a short distance, to Ninilchik, so it wasn’t worth the effort to tow the car. We wanted to explore and EJ had promised me breakfast at Veronica’s.

A funny for you, frustrating for us, story is that EJ and I both remembered down to the same minute details that a small restaurant/coffee shop, Veronica’s, was located in Ninilchik. So we drove every road that we could find in Ninilchik and could never locate it. However the church we remembered was there and the coffee shop, as we both remembered, was supposed to be within walking distance. We found a church that we thought was the church we remembered, but there was no restaurant/coffee shop nearby. After we got back home, EJ pulled out the notes from our 2011 trip and found out we were looking in the wrong town. It was in Kenai, not Ninilchik. So if you every find us looking for something we swear is right here, just humor us, OK?

Well, at least we found the church (or what we thought was the church). We remembered that it was white and it had an onion on top. Wait a minute, that pretty much describes all the Russian Orthodox churches we’ve seen here.

We drove through the Ninilchik settlement. Some places survived, others didn’t

The local commercial boat basin was pretty busy. Fish boats were loading ice and this guy was discharging red water. I guess maybe that wasn’t all water. Fishing must be good.

While we were at the beach level we saw this helicopter playing around. Or maybe he wasn’t playing. It was very windy and he kept approaching this house getting really close before he would back off and repeat the process. For a while we thought he was just buzzing someone’s house, but when he finally landed we decided he was just fighting the wind.

We hooked up the Element and pointed Big Guy towards Soldotna. We had considered staying at Fred Meyers, but because of the RV crowds and craziness, we wanted other options. We had heard from a friend, Nancy O’bosky, that there was an abandoned Walmart in nearby Kenai. Now it’s not that we are cheap, frugal is the word I prefer, it’s just that when we stay in places like this it tends to avoid the tourist crowd.

When we arrive at Camp Abandoned Walmart there are about 5 RVs in this huge lot. We talk to one fellow who had parked his trailer under an overhanging roof and he said his trailer had been there a week and nobody had bothered him. Good enough for us.

Knowing that the upcoming weekend is the last weekend of Net fishing season for Alaska residents we expect a crowd. We carefully select our spot to ensure maximum elbow room and settle in. As you can see in this picture, the huge parking lot is practically empty.

The fellow in the white trailer had the right idea and parked under cover. While the fellow in the red trailer parked his in the rain next to the roof but parked his jeep where it was nice and dry. Why not park the trailer there too?

Even a tent camper was getting into the act.

Interestingly enough, the new Walmart right across the street, was packed with RV’s. That was fine with us.