On the Way to Anchorage

From Homer to Anchorage is 226 miles, much to far for us to travel in one day! Because of our trip to Homer we knew there was a lot of road construction with delays on the way back to Anchorage. We decided to take our time and spend a day or two or four in Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. Bob and I wanted to stop at Hidden Lake Campground where we stayed in 2010. The campground was nice, but the 3.6 mile gravel  road to get to the campground was quite the washboard. We made it before Larry and Connie so we unhooked our car to try to get them to detour to Petersen Lake about 11 miles south of the turn-off for Hidden Lake. We finally got in touch with them--cell phones were iffy--and they were able to get to Petersen Lake. It turns out two other Boomer couples were also camped there for the night. After they got settled, we went back to Hidden Lake.

That afternoon, Bob and I hiked around the campground, then drove Skilak Lake Road looking for wildlife. We didn't see any, but we did find Engineer Lake and the trail head for Seven Lakes Trail. It looked like a great trail so we planned to do it one way the next day--a little over 4 miles. The end of the trail was at Petersen Lake and we would have Larry and Connie drive us back to our campground.

The next morning, we drove to Engineer Lake and began our hike. The lake waters were still and the sky was cloudy.

 The trail follows the lake for the first mile, then it splits.

 One part of the trail goes to a cabin about a quarter of a mile away and the main trail continues to the other lakes.

 At about the time that the trail split, it was time to model the new and every protective green mosquito net head coverings. The mosquitoes were terrible even though we were wearing plenty of  'eau de deet.'

 This grouse shooed her chicks to the other side of the trail and proceeded to walk ahead of us.

 Once she thought we were far enough away from her chicks, she scooted off to the opposite side from her chicks. She stood and watched to make sure we weren't coming her way or following her chicks. She was the only animal we saw on the trail. We did see evidence of a bear in the area, but we never saw a bear.

 When we neared Kelly Lake, we found this cabin. It was complete with bunk beds, picnic table, outhouse, woodshed and boat. It is one of the cabins that can be rented from the wildlife refuge.

 At Kelly Lake, we spotted the sign about the trail and the cabin. We were almost to Petersen Lake....we hoped Larry and Connie would be there!

 Whew, they were there and they took us to our rig at Hidden Lake so we could pack up and move to Petersen Lake. It was a nice area to spend a few days.

Each morning when we woke up, we watched this moose eating lily pads in the lake.

 The next day we all went hiking at Russian River Falls. It was a beautiful day for a hike. Connie and I are on the bridge over the Russian River where the trail splits and goes to another of those cabins and to some other lakes.

 We continued on the falls trail and finally arrived. There were salmon at the bottom of the falls trying to make their way up the falls!

 One or two would try to jump up a level, but would get tired and rest in the pool at the bottom of the falls.

 We all enjoyed watching the salmon from the observation deck.

 The next day we took a drive to Captain Cook Recreation Area on Cook Inlet. We saw quite a few oil rigs in Cook Inlet.

 Since the sky was clear, we also had a good view of Mt. Spurr, one of the volcanoes across the inlet.

 At Nikiski, we saw Spann Dock which is built on World War II Liberty ships.

 From Nikiski, we went back to Kenai and toured the visitor center. This log with fishing tackle attached was pulled from the inlet by two fishermen. When it was wet, it weighed over 600 pounds! The colorful items in the case are floats and lures. And yes, there was an entire fishing rod attached, too!

 From the visitor center we toured the historic old town of Kenai. This church is still in use today.

 

 This is one of the original homesteader's cabins. It was interesting to see all the items that were used when Kenai was settled. The cabins were small and most had sleeping lofts.

 Then we had to take a look at the Kenai River. Dipnetting season opened the day before we arrived. Somehow standing in the water waiting for a fish to swim into your net is not very sportsman like. It seemed to me that the way these fishermen were lined up that the first one in line would be the only one to catch something. We stood and watched for quite a while, but we never saw anyone catch a salmon....or anything else for that matter.

 

 Sunday, Bob and I went for another hike, this time we hiked Hidden Creek Trail. The trail led from Skilak Lake Road to Skilak Lake, following Hidden Creek.

It was a cloudy day, but we didn't get any rain. We enjoyed the hike, but were concerned by the amount of fresh bear scat on the trail. To keep safe, we sang songs, talked, and clicked our sticks together. We never saw any animals, but we did see several other hikers. This is a view of Skilak Lake.

Once back at the RV, Connie and Larry wanted to know if we got wet. It had poured at the campground while we were out hiking!  That afternoon, it was time to think about moving to our next stop, Anchorage. We wanted to stock the pantry, do laundry, and get haircuts. Monday would be a moving day.