More Kenai Peninsula - June, 2004 (Re-run)

 Having reached the southern tip of the peninsula, we turned back north and stopped at various places we had breezed by on the way to Homer.  In Nikolaevsk, we admired another Russian Orthodox church.

Ninilchik is another old Russian settlement where we found a few immature eagles on the shore, and other images that reflect the culture there.  The Russian Orthodox church is very old and has a scenic  cemetery.  I was impressed that so many Russian descendants gave their lives for the U.S. in WWII.  The priest very graciously invited us in and allowed us to take photos, although the was a sign prohibiting photography.

Soldotna is known for its wood-carving business, a family tradition dating back many generations.

The village of Kenai showed us yet another Russian Orthodox church, with a much younger priest but no less hospitable.

I had heard that salmon swimming upstream in the Russian River was an impressive sight.  I walked through chest high weeds for several miles in grizzly territory, bear spray at the ready, for the chance to get photos of that action.  I did see salmon jumping the little falls, but with the gear I had then, no photos worth sharing.  I did get shots of some common mergansers in the river

Finally, an uphill hike just over a mile each way gave us a good view of Thunderbird Falls.

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