Day 47 & 48 - Soldotna, AK

At the start of the adventure I told myself and the others that I am not booking campsites in advance. I don't want to be rushed if we decide we want to stay someplace a little longer. It has not been a problem so far. Well, now that we are on the Kenai Peninsula it is getting harder to find campsites with at least W/E. Here on the Kenai it's all about fishing. I asked a lady what they do for fun. Her answer was...fish. And when your not fishing...her answer was fish. The Kenai River is world famous and is the #1 fishing destination in all Alaska. 

So, I booked three campsites at the Best Western Motel and RV Park not knowing what to expect. It turned out to be one of the best places so far. It's in Soldotna but away from the hassles and noise of the city. Another good one. 

Soldotna is located 140 south of Anchorage on the Kenai Peninsula at the junction of the Sterling Highway and the Kenai Spur Highway. Homesteading started occurring in Soldotna in the 1940's but the Native Alaska Athabascan's had lived and used the area around the Kenai River for thousands of years. WWII veterans were the first to be  granted a 90 day preference over non-veterans in choosing and filing for land under the Homestead Act.

We started our adventure at the visitor center which is on the banks of the Kenai River in Soldotna. After picking up information about the area we took the steps down to the Classic Fishwalk.

The world record for the largest King Salmon is held by Les Anderson. He caught it in the Kenai River in 1985, it weighed in at 97.25 lbs. The fish is on display at the visitors center but I rather like this one.

Later we drove to Captain Cooks State Recreation Area which is 30 miles north of Soldotna on the North Kenai Spur Highway. For the most part, the roads were fantastic. The last 7 miles were a little on the rough side. We arrived at Discovery Beach and the view of Cook Inlet, the mountains, the beach, and forest was absolutely stunning. Even if it was cloudy.

We then drove back to the town of Nikiski were we stopped to do some beach combing. Agate Beach is well known for the  agates that come ashore. In 1992 Mt Redoubt erupted spewing rock and ash for miles. As silicone oxide hit the water it formed beautiful agates. Unfortunately, we found...none.

Before calling it a day I wanted to go to the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge located in Soldotna. KNWR was first established as the Kenai National Moose Range in 1941 to protect the moose. In 1980 the name and purpose of the refuge was changed. The refuge now exists to protect wildlife populations and the variety of habitat they need to survive. The nearly 2 million acres is home to 200 species of fish and wildlife.

We watched a really good film on Salmon Sharks but unfortunately it was way too long. Someone fell asleep, not to mention any names. 

Old fishing cabin from the 1930's