August 15 - 16, 2013... Kenai Peninsula, Alaska

I smell rain!  I peered through the crack of the "black out" curtains in Iceworm 1, and saw a light misty rain.  I will keep my fingers crossed that by the time we pack up this drizzle will have not developed into anything more.  We got lucky and within the hour the drizzle cleared and the only item that packed up wet was our bike covers.  I'm looking forward to this ride down to Anchorage today!  Soon we were on our way and well into the groove.  We only encountered one section of gravel road construction that was nicely packed…no issues.  We passed by many Alaskan towns that once again probably would have looked pretty cute covered in 10 feet of snow!…ha ha ha  As we approached the Anchorage outer city limits the area quickly transformed from an open wooded peaceful beauty into the tense rigidness of a bustling city that just happened to be surrounded by these dramatic lush, dark green vegetated protruding peaks.  We switched into our city riding mode, by trying to remain visible in the side mirrors of everyones truck.  Everyone drives a truck up here and the bigger the truck the better!…lol  It did not take us long to move through downtown Anchorage.  I could hear the peaceful calm return to Kev's radio voice, and feel my grip loosen up on the bike once we had cleared the concrete and buildings that surrounded us and were back making our tracks through nature.  The ride into the Kenai Peninsula area was spectacular.  The roadway swept by Cook Inlet that was surrounded by many mountain peaks, some still lightly iced, then headed into the lush Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.  This area absolutely took my breath away.  I continuously fought to keep my eyes facing forward on the curving road ahead. The icy rugged mountains smoothed into lush green valleys that were covered by the delicate pinks and mauves of the Alaskan fireweed.  When the milky turquoise waters of the Kenai River appeared…mwaahh…it will definitely be a ride that will be locked in my mind forever.  Tonight we are staying in a small rustic cabin at Cooper Landing by the Kenai River.

We woke to light rain today and decided to hang out in the cabin, in hopes that it may let up. It was down time well spent as I have been trying to catch up with my blogging. By 3 pm the rain had somewhat subsided, and we decided to get out and enjoy the ride down to Homer, about 2 hours away. Remember it is light until after 10pm, so taking off at 3pm is totally fine.  We didn't actually make it to Homer.  After hitting heavier rains at the 3/4 mark we called it, and turned around, something that is almost out of my mindset!  It was the right thing to do…now fairly wet and beginning to feel the cold we still had a 1 1/2 hour return ride!  Visibility was foggy and limited, but, my heated vest kept me warm and toasty and must say that I really enjoyed the day!

  

Creek view Iceworm 1

Creek view Iceworm 1

Iceworm 1

Iceworm 1

Interesting giant igloo along the way

Interesting giant igloo along the way

Through Anchorage and heading to the Kenai Peninsula.

Through Anchorage and heading to the Kenai Peninsula.

Picture time at  a pullout along Cook Inlet.

Picture time at  a pullout along Cook Inlet.

Turquoise waters of the Kenai River

Turquoise waters of the Kenai River

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Cooper Landing Cabins

Cooper Landing Cabins

Weather is changing on the Kenai.  You can actually see the salmon jump out of the water, but do you think that they could hold a pose for me?? 

Weather is changing on the Kenai.  You can actually see the salmon jump out of the water, but do you think that they could hold a pose for me?? 

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