The Kenai Peninsula

Hello and greetings once again from Alaska.

Well we made it to the Kenai Peninsula and the port city of Homer and the rains came and the rains stayed ! The cold weather also rolled in and it was a tough week weather wise but we had fun and survived. Most days the high only got into the mid 50’s and the rain and or drizzle rarely stopped. This can happen in Alaska and we made the best of it.

Our campground was right on a bluff overlooking Cook Inlet and we watched the big tide changes; second largest in the world after the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia. We were right in downtown Homer and only minutes to the infamous Homer Spit and all the fishing boats.

A view from our c/g in Homer

A visitor at low tide.


Low tide at 10.30 am in Homer.

Pretty imposing for a little one !

High tide at 5.30 pm....some change !


Homer is the halibut fishing capital of the world and there are literally hundreds of charter boats available and of course the locals launch their own boats so the harbor is crowded. Tour boats operate to the Glaciers, the nearby out islands, including Soldovia and the Alaska Marine Highway Ferry system runs from here out to the Aleutian Chain and Dutch Harbor. In short, there are a large number of people on the “spit” at any given time and parking is always at a premium. There is also a large lagoon or fishing hole that traps salmon and other fish at the tide changes and is packed with folks trying their luck.

We took a day ferry over to Soldovia, a cut little Russian founded town with neat shops and restaurants and a great little museum. The town was originally built with wooden walkways throughout because of the tide changes but the 1964 earthquake changed the land level and now many of the streets are use able for cars and ATVs’. There is still a 16’ tide change in the harbor and some of the old walkways remain.

Homes in the old section of town.

Boat / sea plane harbor in Soldovia

Sea otters on the boat ride to Soldovia.

Russian Orthodox church

Guess who caught a big fish !


Of course the biggest attraction is deep sea fishing and off I went with my buddy Gene and his girlfriend on a charter. Laurie opted to stay on land. Perhaps a good idea since we had 3+ foot seas with 20 knot winds at times and rain most of the day. We were in about 150’ water. Oh the temps were around 50 degrees. Just perfect fishing weather for a 25 mile ride in a 30’ boat.

Oh and yes, we caught halibut. There is a 2 fish limit per person and there were 6 of us + the skipper (no mate) and we each got our limit. I was fortunate and got the largest fish and it weighed in at 60 lbs (NOTE to Jack McGinn, that’s 350 lbs) and another about 30 lbs. It was cut up and frozen and we have some with us and some was sent to relatives.

Just for Jack McGinn: My 350 lb fish !


Our fishing group with our catch !



On the hook.




Getting on the scale

Our charter boat, the "Big Easy"

We tried our hand at salmon fishing in the lagoon but came up empty. We had fun and Laurie got in some sketch time on the shore, flew her kite and we actually had a break from the rain.

We moved on to the city of Kenai, up the peninsula where the Kenai River meets the Cook Inlet and guess what: the rain followed us. Yep, we had 4 more days of the liquid sunshine but we got to watch the local “circus” called dip netting. Only residents can use these big (maybe 5’ in diameter) nets that are attached to long metal poles and they wade out chest deep in cold , no frigid water and stand shoulder to shoulder and hope that the salmon swim into their net.

Dip-netting mid week, Kenai River

Our neighbors with a king salmon

And do they get them. They are allowed up to 35 fish per family member and it’s considered subsistence fishing. They net a silver salmon maybe 6-7 lbs each, drag it to the shore, kill it with a billy club, cut the head off and gut the fish on the shore and leave the carcass right there, throw the fish in the cooler and get back in the water. An amazing spectacle.

It’s almost impossible to find a spot to fish using a pole and hook and it is strongly discouraged; hooks and nets don’t mix well. But we made friends with the family camped next door and 2 very nice silvers ended up in our freezer !

We moved over to Seward and guess what: the sun found us ! Yea! We camped at Waterfront Park which overlooked Resurrection Bay and had a steady stream of boats, including cruise ships parade by us daily.

The view from our coach in Seward

Waterfront Park. Our coach is right behind the small car in the center of the picture.

Resurrection Bay

Downtown Seward.

Seward is a fun little port city which bustles with activity. Major cruise lines start and end their Inside Passage trips here; the Kenai Fjords National Park is here as is Exit Glacier and the Sea Life Rescue Center.

A stellar sea lion: Woody at the Sea Life Center


We took the Fjords trip and saw whales, sea lions, dolphins and lots of birds. Actually, several eagles would buzz the campground each evening as they searched for food in the Bay. The boat took us to within 100 yards of Aialik Glacier and we watched and marveled at the beauty and majesty of this wonder of ice and snow. We hiked out to Exit Glacier too. The weather cooperated and we had a great 3 days in Seward.

Stellar Sea Lions, a bull with his mates.

The longer they are out of the water, the more brown they get. Dark grey, just came out of the water.

A Beluga whale diving.


Standing in front of Exit Glacier.

On the Glacier cruise.

The Aialik Glacier: calving

Up close to the Glacier

Oh, and I met a retired engineer from the LIRR, Bill Cloonan who lives in East Northport and whose son is stationed in Homer with the Coast Guard and is getting married next week. Congrats Bill & family !

Were up in Palmer now and will see some Anchorage sites and then at the end of the week move onto Valdez.

Enjoy the pics.

Gene & Laurie