Down the Kenai we go
The Kenai Peninsula is said to have every feature of Alaska in one place. That makes it kinda an outdoors Disneyland. This is a good year to go, there is less tourism still because of Covid, but everything is open and people are happy you are here. In a normal year, the weekends are packed and the weekdays are just crowded during June, July, and August. This year, the weekends are okay and the weekdays are wonderful. Our campgrounds have been nearly empty during the week, making getting choice sites a breeze. We have joined a site called Harvest Hosts that hooks you up with a free nights stay at a farm, winery, golf course, or other attraction. They just ask that you try to make a purchase from the host. There are not too many locations in Alaska, but most seem to be on the Kenai.
Our first stop was Quartz Creek campground on Kenai Lake just outside of Cooper Landing. It was the day before fishing opened on the Kenai and Russian rivers so all the sites were reserved through the weekend. We lucked out and got this lakefront site, there are only 4, for one night before the reservation kicked in for the next camper. Being Glacier fed, the lake is a beautiful teal blue.
Ruckus is on a mission to test out every body of water we come to, Kenai Lake, check!
The view from our campsite was pretty stunning.
Our next stop was at a Harvest Hosts member, Timberline Farm. Frank, the owner met us when we arrived and helped get us situated in the nice camp spot he had created for Harvest host visitors. He gave us a tour of all of his greenhouses and let us sample some of the different varieties of Kale he had ready to harvest. We bought some Kale that was so good, we ended up eating it all and buying more before we left in the morning. Nothing better than fresh food that was not harvested too early so it could be shipped all over the world. We look forward to stopping at other farms on our travels.
Centennial Park and Campground is right in the middle of the city of Soldotna. Once you enter the park, you would have no idea that you are right next to a highway in the middle of a city. The Kenai River flows right through and there is a trail with stairs that lead right into the river. We stayed here for 5 days.
It took Ruckus a bit to get used to walking on the grates on the boardwalk along the Kenai River.
With the river right out your back door, you have to get in there and see what you can get. I hooked into several fish, but did not get any of them successfully to the shore. One of them fought for several minutes before snapping my line and taking all my tackle. I met a very nice retired Marine named Pell. He showed me the technique for “flossing” for sockeye. At the end of my first day fishing with him, he filleted and gave me one of the 2 fish he caught.
Kenai River from the Sterling highway bridge.
It’s a ruff life.
Nice spot for a family photo while we walled to the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center to buy a pass to all the federal campgrounds. You only have to pay half once you pay $80 for a lifetime pass.
Tustumena Lake was the next stop for 5 days. Ruckus is like a kid at a hotel with a pool. Once he sees the water feature, he is relentless until he gets in.
We went out on a walk and met Miss Moose. Ruckus walked right past her like she wasn’t even there. Miss Moose did not mind and just kept browsing. We got Captain Oblivious back with us and decided to go the other way.
We tried to walk the shoreline of the river up to the lake, but ran out of passable ground and shallow water.
Give me strawberries and I’ll make you a Daquiri!!
Fresh Sockey, strawberries, and Kale. Mz Dazy’s kitchen can do it all!
About a mile up the hill from camp, we found “cellphone hill”. It was nice to be out of range, but we always managed to get up here to check in.
Here we are on June 22 at Johnson Lake State Recreation area. Ruckus can see the “pool”.
Grouse roosting in the trees.
Contemplating where to go next……….