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Cook Inlet & Kenai Peninsula
Cook Inlet & Kenai Peninsula
This month we did a lot of exploring around Cook Inlet and the Kenai Peninsula. We returned to Whittier from Cordova on Sunday, 8/3. We made our way to Hope, AK, which is a very small town. Its history is based on gold panning, much like other areas in the state. We found a dispersed camping area outside of Hope, and in the evening we had a moose walk right through our campsite! It was neat to see one so close, and they are huge!
On the way to Homer we found a neat boondocking area on the west side of Kenai Lake, off of Snug Harbor Rd. It was a peaceful area right on the water. We spent several nights here and even returned for a couple of nights after we left Homer. Homer had a lot of persona. The city classifies itself as "a quaint drinking village with a fishing problem." We found the town to be split into two distinct sections - a central area with grocery stores, hardware shops, and some restaurants, and then the spit. The spit is four miles away from the central area. The spit is where the marina is as well as tons of small trinket shops. There were multiple campgrounds along the spit as well, and we stayed at the northernmost one (Mariner Park). It was dry camping but we enjoyed being close to the water and found it to be a restful place. While checking out the sites we stopped at Salty Dawg Saloon. We didn't find it particularly note-worthy, especially since they don't have beers on tap (it's only cans, and cash only). However, everyone says travelers have to make a stop at this bar. Salty Dawg does have live music on occasion, and we're sure that would've made for an entertaining evening, but unfortunately we missed it.
Aside from the small shops along the spit, other attractions in Homer include Grace Ridge Brewing (which is a Harvest Host), Homer Brewing Company, and the Homer's Farmers Market. The market had a nice assortment of homemade crafts and consumables. Hailey bought a beanie while Josh bought a loaf of sourdough bread and a bag of coffee. We also liked Ulmer's Drug & Ace Hardware. They had a great selection of hardware, apparel, pharmacy items, and stationery. One morning we got in line early and picked up pastries from Two Sisters Bakery. The baked goods lasted us for two breakfasts and a lunch!
The next area we explored was Seward. In total we spent about a week and a half in the town. Hailey's parents flew up to Anchorage and rented a car so they could meet us in Seward. We checked out the aquarium, went on a dogsled ride by visiting Turning Heads Kennel, and went on a boating excursion of the Kenai Fjords through Major Marine Tours. Stores we really enjoyed were Forests, Tides & Treasures and Dreamland Books & Yarn. We appreciated that there was a large and beautiful dispersed camping area just ten minutes outside of town at Exit Glacier Road Designated Special Use Area. This location provided ample space for hundreds of vehicles (not that we saw that many; at most there were maybe three dozen vehicles), and the scenery was gorgeous. We never got tired of staying here, and were grateful it was free.
The moose that came through our campsite in Hope, AK.
Lucky at Exit Glacier Designated Use Area outside Seward, AK.
Two of the dogs at Turning Heads Kennel in Seward, AK.
Josh with a puppy at Turning Heads Kennel in Seward, Ak.
Exit Glacier at Kenai Fjords National Park.
Family photo in front of one of the glaciers at Kenai Fjords National Park.
Puffins at Kenai Fjords National Park.
J Dock fishing store in Seward, AK.
Fun fish sign in Seward, AK.
Some puppies at Turning Heads Kennel.
One of the sled dogs at Turning Heads Kennel.
Our van at Exit Glacier Designated Use Area.
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