Sunday, July 19, 2009 – Seward to Kenai
The rain from Saturday continued through the night and into Sunday morning. The gentle rain on the roof of the RV made it difficult to get up and out of bed, but eventually we all got moving. We left Seward and went to Exit Glacier. After landing on a glacier in a plane and sailing up to a glacier in a boat, this time we walked the 1.5 mile trail right up to the face of the glacier. The temperature drop as we approached that massive chunk of ice was remarkable (obviously, since I just made a remark about it). It was a nice walk and a great experience to stand right in front of the glacier’s face.
The RVs split up again after Exit Glacier. Dad’s RV took the highway to Moose Pass for lunch and then on to Kenai. I have written before about my propensity to seek out dirt roads in rental cars. I’ve never taken one truly “off-road”, but if there’s a dirt or gravel road on the map that’s where I’m headed. So when I saw a 20 mile detour on a gravel road that parallels the Sterling Highway I was off. It was a beautiful drive. We hiked a short trail to an overlook of the Kenai River Canyon where we saw lots of bear scat but no bears. The beauty was worth the drive, but I thought we were going to shake the RV apart. It was 20 miles at 20-30 miles per hour with cabinet doors popping open, dishes falling out, and the deafening noise of everything rattling. It really did sound like it was coming apart. But we made it back to the Sterling Highway and nothing fell off, at least not that we know of. The dirt road adventure box was checked for this trip!
We regrouped with the other RV in Kenai at Beluga Lookout RV Park, which is high on a bluff overlooking the mouth of the Kenai River and Cook Inlet. It was dip-netting season and the banks of the river were full of Alaskans netting sockeye salmon. Every year during the sockeye run Alaska residents (and only residents) can get a permit to dip-net. They can take 25 fish for the head of household and 10 more fish for each additional member of the family. Many Alaskans come to the mouth of the Kenai in July and stock their freezer for the winter. The beach was full, the campground was full, and it was amazing to watch.
Where Are We Going Now? 
Glad to know there are still locations where salmon are that plentiful.
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