Kenai Peninsula

When planning a mere ten days in Alaska we knew we would be only barely touching the ground. Five states of Alaska make up the entire lower 48. That is a serious fact to ponder when taking in how much land there is here. So much to see and do. In an effort to see some highlights we opted to do Denali and then the Kenai Peninsula. I thought that would allow us to see some of our top choices; Denali, wildlife and glaciers. Not that original in ideas (millions of tourists do the same thing each year) but to witness those would be pretty darn awesome. The Kenai Peninsula, on the south central coast would give us access to two out of three of those. We knew the land and seascape would be pretty spectacular but we had no idea just how auspicious the sights would be or just how lucky we'd get with all the wildlife.

Our trip on the peninsula allowed not only for grizzlies but we saw salmon in the river, flying fish, jellyfish pods out on the ocean, a mama eagle and her two young in a nest right in front of our RV site (where we stayed three nights) and two out on the water, two moose (from the air), puffin and five orcas.We have played in lakes and rivers. Hiked up to the glacier and trekked through some woods. We have smelled the deep woods and breathed in the frigid cool glacier air.  We visited sled dogs who partake in the famous Iditarod Alaska race. We came upon ice cold, crystal clear lakes and met some of the friendliest people. We have seen and learned so much in a short time. But most important we have witnessed the magnificence of the Great Creator.

The days are long here, darkness falls just before 11 pm. The girls are going to bed late and waking up a tad too early. They are, at times, as grumpy as a hungry grizzly but overall the wonder and awe of the natural world here has feed our hearts and souls. We love this part of Alaska and are most grateful to be here.

There were many salmon in this river; they were bright red; which was a sign that they were at the end of their life.