The Fabulous Kenai Peninsula...

We arrived in Soldotna without incident. We had to stop in to take care of some business, and to let Craig try for a king salmon. Alas, he had fun but no salmon bake for me.

I, on the other hand, was off to the Kenai, Alaska to tour the old town. Another church and lots of historic buildings, some being used as homes and businesses. It was a nice place and since it was Saturday, the Kenai Saturday Market was going. Lots of cool things, but I digress.

St. Nicholas Memorial Chapel

Of course, I decided on the walking tour, since it was a beautiful day. There was a lovely park, historic cabins, and The Chapel of St. Nicholas.

Erik Hansen Scout park was a lovely spot overlooking the bay, named for the son of a local doctor who died of brain cancer.

I had lunch in one of the history buildings that now houses Veronica's Cafe. Coffee and a piece of coffee cake so big I had to eat it in stages, and still couldn't' eat all the lovely, crumbly topping. I needed the walking tour after that.

On to the the Kenai Historic Cabin Park, mentioned by the young man in the visitor center. When I arrived, he was the docent; and since it was a slow day, I had a private tour. The cabins were set up to represent how they would serve in the community. There was a school, a general store, a trapper cabin and a cabin that actually belonged to a local woman, who acted as doctor, midwife and counsellor to the community. The young man had met a few of the people he mentioned and has some interesting stories. There were artifacts, some of which I had never seen. 


Like Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound, "for relieving hot flashes and certain other symptoms..." My ears perked up and I read the ingredients and instructions: 13 1/2 % alcohol, used solely as a solvent and preservative, Hmmmmm. And how to take this elixir? One tablespoon, four times a day. Again, Hmmmmm. How do you keep track? 

And after the "cure", should you really use this appliance? A Coleman brand iron that runs on white gas, a camp fuel that is a flammable as gasoline. The irons were manufactured from the 1920's til the 1970's. You filled the tank with gas, turned on the flow and lit it with a match. They improved with time, but I imagine there were more than a few mishaps. Notice the burn marks on the handle?








These kind of things always make me glad to live in the present time.

The blue color is nice, though.






South of Kenai, along the coast, they launch their boats with tractors. No docks, just a temporary building with 4 tractors out front. These people are ingenious and won't allow a little thing like a lack of a dock slow down the fishing. This picture was taken from another waterfront state campground with magnificent views of several mountains that make up part of the Ring of Fire. 

These Alaskans are really spoiled.