Kenai Peninsula ~ Ring of Fire ~ Alaska

We followed the Sterling Hwy and saw the volcanoes in the Ring of Fire 

We left Hope, AK on a nice summer morning after a short tour of the village and headed back out to Highway 1 to Sterling Highway Junction at Hwy 9.  We will continue to follow #1 to take us across the Peninsula on the Sterling Hwy down to Homer for our next stop.

Highway 1 on the Kenai Peninsula

We are now on the Kenai (kee-nye) Peninsula where most tourists will visit when they head to Alaska.  There has been some great scenery we got to enjoy on our travels this summer and the Kenai Peninsula has definitely got some more of that.

Kenai Peninsula scenery

The lush green mountains on this drive continue all morning of our day.  The summer blooms are out and the Fireweed lines the roads, adding more to the beauty of the area.  

Fishermen line the shores of the Russian River

We are here during the peak fishing season so have been seeing many fishermen in the rivers as we pass by.  Boatloads of them plus shorelines with dozens of fishermen lined up to catch some salmon. 

Sterling Highway

There is over 23,000 square kilometres (9,000 sq mi) on the Peninsula all filled with glaciers, the Kenai Mountains, rivers, lakes and great seasonal fishing. There are several towns and we pass through some of those today on our travels following Hwy 1 and so many lodges that accommodate the hunters and fishermen and those here for adventures like the white water rafting .

Kenai River

This peninsula is known as “Alaska’s Playground” and tourism is a major industry.  Alaska does  not have areas called a county as in the other states, but is called a borough, instead.  There are over 58,000 people living in the Kenai Peninsula Borough, which is quite a lot compared to other boroughs in the sparsely populated state of Alaska.  The cities of Fairbanks and Anchorage are the only more populated boroughs.

Mt. Redoubt

The glacier covered Mt. Redoubt is part of the Aleutian Range and has erupted several times over the years.  This is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, which encircles the Pacific Ocean.  It covers 40,000 kilometres (25,000 miles) in a horseshoe shape.  There are a total of 452 volcanoes on the Ring of Fire, which is more than 75% of the worlds’ total number of volcanoes.  Thankful for a sunny day to be able to see these beauties.

Mt. Iliamna

We are now viewing Mt. Iliamna of the Pacific Ring of Fire.  It is actually 84 km (52 mi) away but with an elevation of over 3100 metres (10,197’) is a sight to see.  This mountain frequently spits out some steam but has no record of eruption.  Imagine living across this field of color looking at that beautiful mountain every day!

View of the Kenai Mountains

We are now approaching Homer which is graced with this view of these Kenai Mountains across the Kachemak Bay.  We are enjoying the sights from the Homer viewpoint which included flower and vegetable gardens grown and maintained by the Homer Garden Club.  The flowers may be expected at a viewpoint but surely not a vegetable garden.  Great idea! I looked for a sign to explain but none was found.  I wondered if the mature veggies were shared with whomever needed them.

Homer Spit, Alaska

We have arrived in Homer and are able to see the Homer Spit which we will follow to find ourselves an RV spot to camp in.  We had nothing booked but we do manage to find a spot, more on that next time.  The temperature is almost 21 C (69F), which is higher than the average, when we arrive so great weather to enjoy.