Alaska/Canada 2017-10: Kenai Peninsula 1

September 12, 2017

Alaska/Canada 2017-10: Kenai Peninsula 1 - Hope & Friends

How many ways can one say "spectacular" and "reluctant"? Everywhere we've been in Alaska has been the former and leaving is the latter, so pardon us if we seem redundant.

Having gotten ourselves and the van cleaned and rested at JBER Family Camp in Anchorage, we headed south to the Kenai Peninsula.

Denali National Park to Homer.

Alaska Railroad runs along Turnagain Arm to Seward on the Kenai Peninsula.

If we’d had a real inkling of the Kenai, we might have gone there straight off the ferry. But then again, when we arrived in Alaska it was the July 4 weekend, and the Kenai, already very popular in summer, was a zoo—witness the bumper-to-bumper traffic going south we watched from our Bird Creek campsite.

Main Street, Hope.

Once on the Kenai Peninsula, driving Hwy 1, here the Sterling Hwy, we decided to go to Hope, 17 miles off the highway on Turnagain Arm. Hope boomed with 3,000 residents during the Turnagain Arm Gold Rush of 1896-'98, then like all gold rush towns lost most of its population. The town was flooded during the 1964 earthquake, when Turnagain Arm dropped 6 feet. Today's 200 residents are joined by fly fishers, campers, birders, hikers, and rafters.

Home in historic Hope.

Hope consists of the small historic old town, a lodge, an RV park, a couple of cafes, a gift shop, a library, and the post office. It’s rumored—as is Talkeetna—to be the inspiration for the fictional town of Cicely, Alaska, in the wonderful and quirky 1990s TV series Northern Exposure, with Joel Fleischman, MD, a New York transplant; his First Nation nurse, Marilyn (!?); bush pilot, Maggie; and the resident moose.

A little something for everyone in "Hopelandia."

Sign on the porch rafter says "Social Hall 1902."

Seaview Cafe.

Some of the old homes in Hope are occupied.

Red salmon season had begun, and the fly fishers were lined up in the streams and on the banks near old town Hope.

Fly fishing in Resurrection Stream, Hope.

We camped up the hill from town US Forest Service Porcupine Campground. For only $9, thanks to our federal senior pass, it came with a view of Turnagain Arm.

Campsite overlooking Turnagain Arm.

We’d spent our first 2 nights in Alaska at Bird Creek, 2-plus weeks & 1,600 miles ago, on the other side of Turnagain Arm.

I reported to Doug that the couple next to us had a VW Westy, and he and Bill were soon trading Westy stories.

Bill & Westy next to us.

Rain arrived again during the night. Ann and Bill emailed us later to say the rain plus bear scat behind their bus in the morning sent them home to Anchorage 2 days early.

Chef Doug cooking breakfast in the rain.

Whatcha doin'? Stellar Jay on van hood.

What with the rain and bears in the campground, we thought it best to head out, too. The tide was out on Turnagain Arm. Its tides vary by as much as 30 feet. Surfers watch the calendar for a bore tide, which can be ridden for as long as an hour!

Turnagain Arm at low tide. Tides vary by as much as 30 feet.

Wouldn't want to be stuck out in the water when the tide goes out!

We stopped at Soldotna back on the main highway. We found a quilt shop. Amazingly I didn't buy anything, but I did take pictures of some quilts depicting Alaska Native traditions.

Quilt depicting traditional Alaska Native Blanket Toss.

Women performing traditional dance wearing traditional kuspuk.

We also stopped at Fred Meyers. Alaskans are thrilled the store has reached them, for it has everything: groceries, clothing, household, garden, gas, etc. We first experienced it years ago in Bellingham, WA.

In the town of Kenai, we stopped where we thought a friend of Doug’s and his fishing buddies would be arriving in a few days, as we planned to camp at their place. There being no sign of them, we went literally round in circles—in pouring rain—until we figured out our true intent: to drive north on Kenai Spur Hwy to Discovery Camp.

Driving north on Kenai Spur Hwy to Discovery Camp on Cook Inlet.

The area was mapped for the first time by Captain James Cook in his boat the HMS Discovery in 1778. Not too many tourists make the 30-mile trip from Kenai—especially in the pouring rain—so finding a campsite was easy. Finding a dry spot was not—our outdoor mat essentially floated on the puddle outside our door.

During the night, the rain quit and the puddle disappeared, so we walked to the overlook to see what we could see of Cook Inlet.

Were it clear, we would have seen mountains on the other side of Cook Inlet.

Back at Kenai, we took Kalifornsky Beach Road to stay along the coast.

We wondered what the sign read on June 30, & does the vehicle ever win.

Moose along the roadside.

We ended up in Kasilof, where Rocky’s is conveniently located. Since it's the only restaurant around for miles in all directions it was great that breakfast was fresh and delicious—and well worth the stop.

We had breakfast at Rocky's on the way to & from Homer.

Then it was time to find Chuck at his home in Nilnilchik. We'd met him and his traveling friend, Diane, on the ferry before the first stop at Ketchican. There they invited us to go to breakfast and see the town with them and said to look them up when we got to Nilnilchik. Chuck hadn't responded to our phone calls, but we found his house at the milepost he’d told us, knocked, and were warmly greeted.

Doug at Chuck's front door.

Mt. Illiamna, across Cook Inlet from our friend Chuck's home in Ninilchik. It's one of several volcanoes in the Aleutian Range, 10,016 feet, no recent eruptions, but near constant steam plumes. Nearby Mt. Redoubt erupted in 2009.

Chuck’s parents homesteaded the land when he was a boy, and he now lives part-time in the house in which he grew up.
We had a great visit with Chuck, his granddaughter, and her teeny, prancy, feisty dog and left with plans for dinner on our way back through.

Chuck's back yard. His brother & family live nearby on the same land.

Doug & Chuck just naturally hit it off.

I love these Golden Queen Globeflowers in Chuck's window box.

Granddaughter, Doug, & the teeny dog.

After 3 days in Homer, we headed back to Ninilchik for dinner at Chuck's. But first we stopped at Deep Creek at the south end of Ninilchik where we found Diane at her home waiting for us with drinks and snacks. She gave us a tour of her amazing property, including her smokehouse. After too short a visit, we departed, with delicious salmon she'd caught and dried herself. We dearly hope to spend more time together down the road.

Not only had Chuck insisted we come to his home for dinner, but he invited his good friends, Ann and Stewart, as well. Also there were Chuck’s daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter, visiting from New York. It was such an honor to dine with all of them. The highlight had to be Ann’s blueberry cobbler with whipped cream. She had picked the small berries from the local low blueberry bushes. It required a lot of effort to find and harvest them!

Flora on the Kenai: