Homer & Kenai (July 1-4)

First view of Katchemak Bay near Homer

Our drive from Seward to Homer on the Kenai Peninsula was less than 170 miles, but we enjoyed taking most of the day to do it.

Fire season was starting in Alaska. Heading south Alaska Route 1, smoky haze blocked our view of Mt. Redoubt across the Cook Inlet. But we had at least learned to pronounce its name correctly! We were keenly interested in Redoubt as at the time it was a very active volcano with a major eruption just 4 months before. We enjoyed stopping at various overlooks on the coast of the Cook Inlet, often hiking down to the pebbly beaches used by many people for fishing and clamming.

Haze from wildfires obscured our view across the Cook Inlet towards Mt Redoubt

Leaving clam diggers behind, we headed to our next accommodation -- Land's Inn Resort, located at the southernmost tip of Homer Spit. How cool! Katchemak Bay views were fantastic, even in the haze. We drove out East End Road to where it ended at a small Russian Orthodox cemetery.

View across Katchemak Bay from East End Road

Beluga Slough Trail at low tide turned out to be a fantastic viewing opportunity for Sandhill Cranes and their colts and the birdwatching seed was firmly planted in both of us.

Sandhill Crane and colts

Thursday we took the short boat trip to Seldovia - no highways lead to the quaint fishing village. Though this was mostly just a water taxi it turned out to be a rich trip for observing sea life, including a large group of sea otters with their young, more pelagic birds, and more orcas. 

Family of sea otters and their young on the way to Seldovia

During lunch at Mad Fish Restaurant we bought two chances at their big July 4th Fireworks fundraiser. (We won a prize which covered the cost of our boat trip!)

The harbor at Seldovia

Around Town

That evening we hit the Salty Dawg Saloon, a must-do from my grade school friend who used to live in Alaska. Thanks, Nena! We had a blast drinking (well, one beer) with some overly friendly folks from Anchorage who were considerably more advanced in the art of inebriation.

Susan at the famous Salty Dawg Saloon

Friday it was time to head north again, but with the town of Kenai only a couple hours north we had plenty of time to explore along the road. Highlights were the Transfiguration of Our Lord Russian Orthodox Church in Ninilchik and finally getting a glimpse at Mt. Redoubt along the Kalifornsky Road.

Transfiguration of Our Lord Russian Orthodox Church in Ninilchik

Mt Redoubt (stratovolcano in the Aleutian Range) viewed across the Cook Inlet

That evening we had a delicious pizza dinner at the St. Elias Brewery in Soldotna, just a stone's throw from where we were staying in Kenai.

July 4th we drove from Kenai to Palmer, stopping to do a 4.6 mile hike to a waterfall on the Russian River. It felt good to stretch our legs and watching the salmon jumping was amazing. The river teemed with fish.

Salmon swimming up a waterfall on the Russian River

Somewhere on the Kenai we learned this little finger mnemonic to remember the names of all 5 species of Salmon in Alaska. You'll probably never need to know this but here goes:

• Thumb - rhymes with Chum (aka Dog Salmon because sled dogs eat it)
• Index Finger - Sockeye, as in you might poke someones eye (aka Red Salmon)
• Middle Finger - King Salmon - the biggest (aka Chinook Salmon)
• Ring Finger - Silver Salmon - thinking jewelry (aka Coho Salmon)
• Pinkie Finger - Pink Salmon (aka Humpies because of the hump on their back)

Spruce Grouse chick

On the way out we saw what we thought was a mama Ptarmigan and chick, but other hikers were calling it, generically, a Pine Hen. After some research, we now believe that they were Spruce Grouse.


If we have the opportunity to return to the Kenai Peninsula, we hope to visit Katmai National Park and Kodiak Island.

Here's a map showing this part of the trip.

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