From Seward to Hidden Lake--July 20-21, 2010

Tuesday was moving day....time to leave Seward and move to a new area on the Kenai Peninsula. Our original thought was to go non-stop to Homer. Of course, we were sidetracked as it was a beautiful day...we didn't want to spend the entire day driving. So, we stopped just east of Soldotna in Skilak Wildlife Recreation Area of Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.

We chose Hidden Lake Campground as our base for 2 nights. We had a great site! Chris and DeAnna would have loved camping here.Not far from the campground was Hidden Creek which was filled with salmon. Double click on the picture and you will be able to see them. When we first arrived, the gulls and were feasting on salmon left by the creek side. The gulls were camera shy.We drove to a hiking area about a mile from the campground. The trail meandered through the woods to Kenai River and then to Hidden Creek. Near the river we spotted this windbreak--looks almost as if someone wanted a cabin on the riverfront.When we returned to our campground, the gulls were still feasting.

Later that evening we drove to Fred Meyer's in Soldotna to pick up milk, bread, and coffee. On our return, we saw a bear ambling down the road toward the creek--it was a grizzly! We watched him from a safe distance, but he soon spied us and ran into the woods.The next morning we left to hike Lower Kenai River Trail. As we were leaving, we spotted the neighborhood grizzly near the creek.

We hiked the Lower Kenai River Trail and part of Upper Kenai River Trail. We had a great view of Kenai River. Later in the evening, we drove to the creek to see if the bear was eating and sure enough, he was splashing in the creek trying to get a salmon. He was just out of sight of the camera lens or there would be a movie.

Thursday morning we stowed our stuff and moved on to Homer.