Retreat time

Arriving here yesterday afternoon certainly helped ease the memory of Tuesday's exhausting hours on the road. What a gem, embedded in 2000 acres of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. The Kenai Backcountry Lodge sleeps 16 guests in several electricity-free cabins and platform tents. Our tour before supper included test-lighting the propane wall lantern in, Aurora, our cabin. I managed not to blow anything up, achieving success on first try. But, since it doesn't get really dark, I don't think I'll have to light it out of necessity.

The limited electricity the lodge does have comes from glacial run-off put through a small turbine which charges six batteries. Water for all uses is glacial run-off as well, stored in several large tanks with 1/4 C of Clorox added to each 550 gallons as a precaution. That same run-off provides "refrigeration" for soft drinks and beer in the stream. Being demonstrated here is one of several alarm horns -- one long blast for fire and three short for a bear in camp.

I suppose things could get pretty exciting were that horn to be needed. But, today was not exciting. Today was simply the best. The absolute best. Water activities on the lake, which is about 15 miles long and 4 miles wide in places, were on the docket this morning -- guided kayaking and a tour of the lake in one of the larger boats, as the weather was good and threatened to change by afternoon. Tal's cold has worsened and we both decided to spend the day quietly, reading and taking time to be mindful of where we are. Tal's reading sort of morphed into a nap here in the loft library.

He's finding the bed in our cabin to be pretty comfortable, too. The Aurora is charming, overlooking the lake and made that much more inviting with a porch and two rockers. Sadly, it's a bit cool for porch sitting, but the romantic in me doesn't care. I'll always remember the potential and wonder who's getting to sit there on the more comfortable days on July and August.

Though I participated in a hike along the Cottonwood Trail during the afternoon, identifying wildflowers and noting the transition between boreal and rain forest, and saw in some detail the workings of the electrical system just before supper, mostly I walked, sat and took pictures, even hauling out the tripod for part of the day. So, no more words ...

A wet leaf among the rocks on the lake's shore.

A view of the stairs in the main building.

The lake after sunset.

The sun didn't go down until 11:45 and I stayed with it until it did -- and then some. I so hated to go inside. Not wanting the day to be over.

A float on the Kenai River

But first ... breakfast, bags outside the door, check out ... the usual drill. So far all six of us have been ready early for every rendezvous. Nancy seems pleased and impressed.

Our first of two stops along the Seward Highway as we made our way to Cooper Landing to begin the rafting trip was a stunning spot called Bird Point, overlooking a tributary of Cook Inlet known as Turnagain Arm. We'd had an early start, so sun was at a lively and dramatic angle. And, as you already know, I am drawn to mountains. Plenty of those here.


How this body of water earned its name is interesting. During James Cook's expedition into this part of the world he was hopeful that this opening on the bay would prove to be the long-sought northwest passage. When he came to the dead end, he had to turn around again. His disappointment is our delight, both in the beauty of the place and the catchy name.

The second spot at Tern Lake very near Cooper Landing was equally dramatic. This spot is named for the birds that made a migratory round trip of some 25,000 miles -- the arctic tern. They're delicate-looking, with pointed wings and a forked tail. They hover until, spotting their prey, they plunge unto the water, a feature which foiled my hasty photography attempts.

At Cooper Landing and AWA's Riverside Lodge we proceeded to put on everything we owned! For me that meant long underwear, a heavy shirt and jeans, my down vest, rain gear and gloves. The staff added knee high rubber boots and a knit hat to the ensemble. So very attractive ... fashion plates all. Pictured here is Connie helping Peter get his binocular strap and rain gear hood in order.

The section of the Kenai River between Cooper Landing and Skilak Lake is relatively calm, mostly class I with three canyons along the way providing class II water. Our guide for the trip narrated, helped us spot wildlife and, aside from a period of driving rain and a couple class 2 splashes, kept us pretty dry. A major item of interest this time of year was the first run of sockeye salmon -- and the fishermen, particularly where the Russian River joins the Kenai. The anglers stood in the water along the bank, literally shoulder-to-shoulder in spots, and cleaning fish right on the shore caused drifts of carcasses downstream to the delight of very well-fed gulls and eagles. This photograph doesn't do justice to the sight, but does show two of the three rafts in our group, our group of six being in the first.



We stopped for lunch along the way, a lunch prepared by the three raft guides while we stood on shore watching the drift boats go by, our cold hands wrapped around cups of steaming tea, coffee or hot chocolate. When the guides called us over, the spread was a very pretty sight, well worth the wait.

When we reached Skilak Lake our guide dropped the motor in the water (no, not the entire motor) and took us to the Backcountry Lodge on the lake's far side where we were reunited with our shoes, all liked up on the beach waiting for us.