One the way to and in Seward

July 28-31   Day 50-53

As we left Homer, in the rain, we stopped at the Homer Overlook on the edge of town.  The Spit can be seen protruding out into the water between the green hillside in the foreground towards the rain covered, snow capped mountains in the background. 

We stopped for the night ~40 miles from Homer because it was raining and we did not want to miss the scenery along the Sterling Highway.  Our plan worked well because the next morning it had stopped raining and the sky cleared.  On the way back up the Sterling Highway, the Cook Inlet was to the northwest (our left), and the Chigmit Mountains in the Aleutian Range was on the other side of the inlet.  Mt. Iliamna (pronounce Ill-e-AHM-na) was displayed nicely.

We decided to stop at the Russian River Access where you can stay for 24 hours.  It was a well groomed area that is managed by the Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G).  The Russian River is famously popular for its fishing because it is at the confluence of the Russian and Kenai Rivers with the Russian to the right and the Kenai to the left in the picture below.  A simple rope tethered ferry takes passengers across to the other side where they can walk on further up the Russian River.  If you look at the far bank you can see many people fishing.

This is on downstream a little ways from the ferry just to show that if you do not catch any fish, the scenery is wonderful.

Or if you go upstream from the ferry on the Kenai River, the view is equally awesome.

We drove on down the road ~5 miles where the Kenai River pools in a real wide area to form Kenai Lake.  This picture is on the north side of the road,

and this is on the south side.

Continuing on for another ~10 miles, we stopped at Turn Lake, a destination of death for the salmon returning to spawn.   

We continued on towards Seward, then stopped about eight miles later to hike a strenuous four mile trail to Carter Lake, then on to Crescent Lake.  This is along the shore line of Carter Lake, looking across the lake.

After stopping briefly we continued on to Crescent Lake.

When we completed that hike, we stopped ~4 miles later at Lily Pad Lake.  In the foreground you see lily pads, then some type of water grass all the way over to the tree line.  This is really a pretty setting.

Shortly before Seward, we turned off the main road to hike ~2 miles to Exit Glacier.  Glaciers are prettier from a distance.

Then, we selected our parking spot for the night; staring at Exit Glacier.

We drove on in to Seward this morning and found a camping spot at one of the municipal campgrounds.  The campsite is right on the water facing Resurrection Bay.

OBSERVATIONS (and other unscientific data):

• We have noticed that all over Alaska at the state recreation areas, they have this life jacket loaner system to help protect kids around the water.  I figured people would steal them, but so far, all the life jackets have been on the hooks.  Many places also have a storage bin with extra life jackets in it. See picture below.

•  They get real serious about fishing here.  I walked in to a True Value hardware store with a large inventory of fishing gear.  This is my hand and I can palm a basketball.  The shank diameter of this one was about 1/4".