July 6, 2018
On the 4th of July we drove from Porcupine Campground, near the town of Hope, AK, to Captain Cook State Recreation Area north of the towns of Soldotna, Kenai, and Nikilski. The Rec Area is on the northern side of the Kenai Peninsula, that piece of land that juts out into the Gulf of Alaska, creating the Cook Inlet to its north. Captain Cook Rec Area sits above the Cook Inlet. On the opposite side of the Inlet three major mountains rise - Mt. Surr, directly across from the campground stands at 11,100 ft. It last erupted in 1992. Mt. Iliamna, elevation 10,016 feet, is identified by the 3 smaller peaks on its left. Mt. Redoubt, which erupted in 1989 and again in 2009, tops out at 10,197 feet. All three mountains are snow covered, looking surreal sitting across the inlet of water in the morning and evening haze or fog.
On our way to Captain Cook, before turning north at Soldotna, we took a detour off the Sterling
 |
| Skilak Lake Road |
Highway (Highway 1) and drove the 19 mile Skilak Lake Road. It's a pretty good gravel road that travels through the Skilak Wildlife Recreation Area of wooded hills, campgrounds and beautiful lake overlooks. Supposedly it's also prime area for brown bears, but we saw none.
The further north we drove out of Soldotna toward Captain Cook on the Kenai Spur Highway, the more sparse the traffic became. North of the town of Kenai there is much oil field related industry or, I should say,
was. The big oil refinery and oil storage buildings still stand but they have been closed for several years.
The vegetation in Captain Cook State Recreation Area is LUSH! (AKA -
 |
| wild geraniums |
 |
| cow parsnips |
mosquito-y!) Spruce trees, aspens, birch and a cottonwood or two cover the bluff above the Inlet. Cow parsnips as tall as me grew in the sunny areas along with pink wild roses and thousands of purple cranes bill (wild geranium.) The beach was rocky with a large expanse of mucky mud when the tide was out.
We camped two nights at Captain Cook. On our way back to the Sterling Highway, we stopped in the town of Kenai at the Holy Assumption of the Virgin Mary Russian Orthodox Church built in 1895. Nearby was St. Nicholas Chapel dating from 1906.
 |
| Beach at Captain Cook |
 |
| Russian Orthodox Church |
 |
| Veronica's Coffee Shop across the street. |
 |
| St. Nicholas chapel |
The further north we drove out of Soldotna toward Captain Cook on the Kenai Spur Highway, the more sparse the traffic became. North of the town of Kenai there is much oil field related industry or, I should say, was. The big oil refinery and oil storage buildings still stand but they have been closed for several years.
No comments:
Post a Comment