We fixed breakfast and rolled out of our camp site at Lower Skilak Lake this morning around 10:30. The bad news is that we have a brisk wind this morning. The good news is that the mosquitoes don't like the wind! We didn't see any mosquitoes this morning! We finished the 19-mile gravel Skilak Road, and our only wildlife sighting was a snow hare transitioning from white fur to brown fur. We had hoped for wildlife and scenery, and instead we got burned trees and pot holes. 
We rejoined Sterling Highway, heading west until we pulled off at Izaak Walton State Recreation Area. Their log cabin is roofed in grass,
and the Moose and Kenai Rivers come together here. Alaska is filled with rivers, lakes, and streams! No wonder they have mosquitoes!
Built in 1895, this church is a National Historic Landmark, but they still hold regular services here. Those blue onion-shaped domes on the rooftop are beautiful against the blue sky in Kenai.
Not far away is the St. Nicholas Chapel with its smaller onion-shaped dome.
It was on this walk that we saw the line forming for the Burger Bus. After cooking out of the van for a week, we decided it was time to try some local cuisine. Denisa stood in line for 15 minutes to place our order, so she had plenty of time to get advice from the locals on what to eat here. She was told by her fellow customers that they have stood in line here in a blizzard, it's that good! It took another 20 minutes to get our halibut and shrimp and chips combo, and we ate every scrap!
We continued to drive west until we hit the western border of the Kenai Peninsula. We can look across the Cook inlet to the volcanic mountains on the other side of the water--about 50 miles away. It was hazy, but we could see the top of Mt. Redoubt, which last erupted in 2009.
When we got to the coast, we took the highway that heads north through the little-known town of Nikiski, Alaska. Much of the economy along this road is driven by the oil industry. We could see oil refineries and off-shore drilling platforms as we headed north.
This highway ends in Captain Cook State Recreation Area. We are beach combing on the most northwesterly beach in the Kenai Peninsula. We were a little surprised to find a dead moose on the beach, so we decided not to stay in that area long.
It's low tide here, so there are more beaches to comb on this cold afternoon.
No sea shells on this beach, but we found an interesting assortment of colored rocks.
As we left the state park, we spotted a couple moose on the side of the road. This one close to the road . . .
and another hiding in the shadows behind.
On our drive today, we also found a flock of sand hill cranes. These birds stand about five feet tall, and have a six-foot wing span. Even thought they're not yellow, that's a big bird! They're nesting and raising their babies here in Alaska. Those babies must grow quickly, as this flock will fly thousands of mile south this fall to winter where it's warm.
The other animal that we are searching for are caribou. We have seen these signs around Kenai, and the visitor center receptionist assured us that she saw one this morning, and another at noon. There are 32 herds of caribou in Alaska, and this area around Kenai hosts one of them. We drove all the roads she recommended, but we are still caribou-less.
There's one other animal that we are learning about while we are visiting Kenai. Soldotna and Kenai are famous for their salmon fishing, and fishermen will arrive by the thousands later this summer. We learned that there are several different salmon runs, and different types will swim up the Kenai and surrounding rivers. For example, the Coho (or Silver) salmon will show up in these rivers in August and then again in September. When they first appear from the ocean, they look like a handsome silver fish.
As they swim upstream, their skin starts to turn pink, and their mouths start to curl.
By the time they have made it to their breeding grounds, these Silver salmon have turned bright red to attract a mate, and developed vice grip jaws to defend against other suitors. It's an amazing transformation! By the time they turn red, their meat is no longer good to eat.
The Humpy (Pink) Salmon will actually change shape as they go from the ocean . . .
upstream to the breeding grounds where they began life several years before. The Humpy Salmon actually develops a hump while it travels up river.
We also learned about Sockeye (Red) salmon, and Chinook (King) salmon. They make runs at different times and head upstream to the place where they were hatched that is imprinted in their brain. Many of them will be on the Kenai River that comes in at Kenai and flows through the town of Soldotna. Tonight we parked at the visitor center, and walked down the long stair case to the Kenai River.
We walked a mile along the fish walk that lines the river. Because fishermen were tearing up the river bank when they climbed down into the water, the most popular areas have built these walkways with occasional stairs down into the water. If we returned in a month, we would expect to see fishermen shoulder to shoulder as they try to snag salmon on their way up the river to spawn. They call it "combat fishing" when the crowds get so big and a spot on the river is a precious commodity.
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