A Handful of Knowledge!

Day 58 – Friday, August 9

Open your hand flat, and point your thumb to the floor.  Imagine that your hand is Alaska.   Where the thumb meets your hand is Anchorage, and the Turnagain Arm.  Your thumb is the Kenai peninsula.  The area between your thumb and the index finger is Cook Inlet, which opens into the Gulf of Alaska.  Kenai is at the knuckle of your thumb. Now that you know where things are, I can tell you about our drive today!!

The drive today is listed in the “Most Scenic Drives in America” book, and we ooohed and aaahed as we drove from Anchorage to Kenai along one of the prettiest areas we’ve seen.  

The Turnagain Arm was named by one of the early explorers (Captain Cook) who thought he had discovered an inside passage, but found it ended, and had to “turn again” when he realized the passage did not lead farther inland.  It is a narrow channel that creates a “bore tide”—a wall of water that forms when the high tide comes in.  We thought we saw the bore tide this morning, but it was drizzling and hazy, so we may have been  just imagining it.  Even with the haze, the views were spectacular.  The road follows the coastline, and the Alaska Railroad paralells the highway.  So, as you drive, you see a mountain on one side, and water and a railroad track on the other, and it creates a wonderful scenic view.  A train followed us on the route, and it was fun to see the passengers with their cameras poised, just as ours were ready to take in the beautiful scenery.

There were mountain hillsides full of waterfalls from the melting snow.  As we passed the lakes and rivers, we could see fishermen with their gear in motion.  It is Trout and Salmon season right now.

 

 

 

We stopped at a chainsaw wood carver’s shop and saw some very interesting work, including a wooden carousel! His shop was open, but he was busy with customers, so we didn’t get to see him in action. 

We arrived in the city of Kenai at the Beluga Lookout RV Park—one of the prettiest RV Park views I’ve ever seen.  It overlooks Cook’s Inlet, and you can watch the tide come in and out.  We’ve also been watching for Beluga whales which are supposed to show up two hours before and after high tide.  There is even a little beach with someone tent-camping.     We did see an eagle fly in to greet us shortly after we arrived. 

 

Spot was happy to enjoy some beach time, but is a little perturbed -–he thought he was done watching for those darn Arizona owls, and now he’s heard he has to watch for the eagles in Alaska!

I think there may have been some bears on the beach too!!

We are  right by the airport, and we’ve seen quite a few planes—both coast guard and small commercial planes come in for a landing right over our heads! 

Kenai is as far west as Hawaii, and the same latitude as Oslo or Stockholm.  The Russians had trading outposts here, and their influence can still be seen in the old Russian Orthodox church from 1895, which is a short walk from the campground.  The Parish House Rectory built in 1881 right next to the church is believed to be the oldest building on the Kenai Peninsula,

 

 

What an interesting and beautiful place.  We are only here for one night, but managed to find time to celebrate the halfway point of our caravan.  We are on day 24 of the 48 day caravan—hard to believe we’re only halfway done!