Back up the Kenai we go, Jury duty awaits!
The first day we kept short and stopped at Stariski State campground. We were the only ones there and got this site on top of a cliff with a view across Cook Inlet. That is Mt Redoubt on the other side. It is a volcano and still throws temper tantrums from time to time.
This is what happens when you have lived in Alaska for a while and the sun comes out.
This sun induced paralysis continued until about 10pm when we headed into bed with squinty eyes and red faces.
The next day we headed up to Captain Cook State Park at the end of the Kenai Spur road. All those rocks behind me are JUST barely submerged when the tide comes in.
We spent the afternoon wandering around down on the beach and up on the bluff just taking in all the sunny views.
Most evenings, we can be found around a fire. I think every sweatshirt I own smells like a campfire.
After stopping off for groceries and fixing a broken electrical connection that made MzDazy not start when we got back with Fourth of July supplies, we headed off to Centennial Park in Soldotna to prepare for the holiday. MzDazy received many compliments on her festive patriotic attire.
Luckily for us the electrical problem was found in pretty short order and I even had the correct size splice on hand to repair her. In the middle of repairing the wire, a gentleman pulled up and asked if I knew Jason in Homer. I said yes, just left him. He said Jason had him on the lookout for us for the past couple of weeks. Hard to hide in MzDazy.
Across the road from Centennial Park is the cross country ski area. We spent an afternoon and 7.5 miles walking the trails. It is great how many green areas the City of Soldotna has in it.
At one point Ruckus came hauling ass back around a bend in the trail with a cow moose hot on his tail. After calming the moose down and getting a hand on Ruckus, I looked around the bend to see what all the excitement was about. About 50 feet way were these two, just munching away. I guess Momma Moose would rather not have the yellow kid join them for lunch.
In the end, I think only the “adults” were concerned at all.
This guy raided a nearby camp for some “nuts” to store for winter. Ruckus startled him and he dropped it. Ruckus scoured the bushes until he found it. We made him give it back. With all the commotion, the campers came out of their tent. We asked if they were missing any candy and he held up an empty bag. Makes you wonder how many the little guy had squirreled away?
The afternoon of the Fourth we went to the Rodeo. It was a small one, but was fun just the same.
This young cowboy looked to be about 13 and maybe 85 pounds with the dirt in his pockets. He had to wrestle that steer to the ground. It drug him all over the arena and even tried to scrape him off on a fence.
In the end, the cowboy prevailed and the whole place erupted in cheers. I am pretty sure the steer weighed 4 times what the kid did.
A large swath of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge burned in the Swan Lake fire. Around the camping areas and such they did a good job of protecting the trees, but everything else was left to burn as nature intended to cycle the forest. We stopped in this area last year and people were harvesting Morrell mushrooms by the bushel. This year the fireweed has grown over the area and is starting to turn the place into a giant pink carpet. By next summer there will be baby trees again. The birds are back nesting and other wildlife is repopulating the area.
Ruckus and I went for a hike over to another small lake. By time we left, all that fireweed was starting to bloom.
All over the state, there are these public use cabins. They are provided by whatever agency owns the land. They are a wonderful resource. Martha and I used them frequently when we lived in Sitka. This one is on Kelly Lake and is a half mile walk from the parking area.They even provide a small boat for your use.
Kelly Lake was just down the road from the Lake we camped at. It made for a nice walk to go over there. As you can see, some of our tax dollars are being put to use to build trails so that we have easy access to these beautiful places.
MzDazy found a nice spot on the shore of Peterson Lake to settle in for a few days. The trees provided a very nice wind break. While we like to see lots of new things, from time to time we like to sit still for four days or so. We try not to spread out too much each time we stop, but there is always some amount of that and you have to pack it all up to go again. This spot being on public land with few amenities was FREE camping. If you want to see a full time camper get really excited, say FREE CAMPING!
This is an island in Peterson Lake just off from the camping area. There was a couple building a compound out there with their many very friendly dogs. The Fish and Wildlife Service did not seem too keen on this and came by daily to see what they could see. I have to say, that even though they sent their law enforcement officer out to investigate, through binoculars, they never went to the effort of going to the island to see what was being constructed. Those people hauled multiple loads of stuff a day out there.
Even Alaskan dogs get sun paralysis!!
While it has been a great 5 weeks on the Kenai Peninsula enjoying the beautiful scenery and visiting with friends, it’s time to head back to Wasilla for Jury duty. Hopefully is will be short and painless. The next plan is a Northern loop so stay tuned!