It was Sunday, so we looked for a local church to attend. We did not have to look very hard, Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church was about a block from our camp. This building had stained glass windows along the sides but the glass behind the alter was two large picture windows overlooking Kachemek Bay and the snow-capped mountains in Kachemak Bay State Park. What a view!
The sun came out for a half day so we took a ride up to Skyline Road to grab a couple of photos of the mountains, the glaciers, and the spit.
Returning from Skyline, we stopped at the Center for Alaskan Studies. There were many nature trails here so we took a walk on a couple. Cathy is posing by a set of Moose Antlers at one of the cabins along the trail.
Yes, this a moose heaven. I was surprised that we did not see any, but we were here midday.
Cathy in moose country, enjoying the scenery and the walk.
Cathy walking down a wooden boardwalk constructed over some wetlands. There were points along this trail that used a soft plastic type of boardwalk, very comfortable to walk on.
The entire walk was filled with scenery like this, always beautiful and very Alaska.
This was an Eagle project from a local Boy Scout. What we found interesting as that the pieces were put together using two-inch dowels. This showed a lot of craftsmanship as they are still in use after years of exposure.
I took a sniff of Cow’s Parsnip. (I had previously hiked through this on Mt. Marathon in Seward, these are FULL of thorns, kind of like cactus). Pretty gutsy!
Here are tiny trees and plants growing out of a stump from an old tree, like a miniature garden!
I took a couple of photos of the fog coming in over the water from our campsite.
This is the first time in four trips to the Kenai that we actually were able to see all five of the volcanos that line Cook Inlet. Starting from the south:
Mount Douglas, 7,005 feet in elevation with a 525 feet wide acidic crater.
Mount Ausustine, 4,025 feet in elevation and 70 miles from Homer. 13 explosions occurred in 2006, covering Homer with ash.
Mount Iliamna, 10,013 feet in elevation, no explosions but numerous earthquakes. This mountain has four seperate peaks.
Mount Redoubt, 11,000 feet in elevation recently erupted in 2009 with 19 seperate explosions. Ash reached 62,000 feet and closed the airport in Anchorage.
Mount Spur, 11,070 feet in elevation, located 80 miles west of Anchorage is the highest in the Aleutian Arc. Recent seismic activity has cause to Alaska Volcano Observatory to raise the alert level to Yellow.
Travelling with the Schinglers 