Alaska's Kenai Peninsula offers natural beauty

I recently was privileged to spend a week on the Kenai Peninsula in the great state of Alaska. What a treat! The beauty of the mountains, water and wildlife would impress anyone.

We flew into Anchorage via TWA's direct flight from St. Louis on its new 757 aircraft. The 757 had video screens every four or five rows that dropped down from overhead and offered two movies on a six-hour flight

Anchorage was just an overnight. The next morning our destination was Seward, just 125 miles south of Anchorage. This is a beautiful drive in itself, but take your time getting there, as there is much to see in between.

We enjoyed a stop at Alyeska, Alaska's largest alpine ski area. It is only 40 miles from Anchorage in the town of Girdwood. The mountain is 4,000 feet in elevation, has 55 trails and temperatures that are surprisingly moderate because of warm currents from the Pacific.

It was upon leaving Girdwood that we saw our first moose grazing along the highway. He was totally unfazed by tourists, who were creating a traffic hazard and snapping pictures.

A stop at Portage Glacier was interesting. The Forest Service Visitor Center features exhibits on the geological dynamics of glaciers and how they have shaped Alaska. The Portage Glacier has actually receded quite a bit, so we decided to hold off on up-close glacier viewing until we reached Seward.

A great stop for lunch before arriving in Seward was the Summit Lodge. It is right on the highway and can't be missed. Good food, clean air and snow-capped mountains make you think Jeremiah Johnson thoughts about staying there forever.

Seward is set along the protected waters of Resurrection Bay and contact point for the Kenai Fjords National Park. While there, we booked an all-day wildlife tour which covered a considerable area and made it possible to see an incredible amount of wildlife. We joined approximately 30 other passengers on the Misty for an eight- to nine-hour boat ride, which included lunch.

In one day's time we saw orca, gray and humpback whales, mountain goats, black bears, sea lions, seals, otters, puffins and bald eagles. The Misty was also able to get very close to the Northwestern Glacier, where we were surrounded by floating ice that had broken off just that day. Even when the sun is shining, it's a good idea to dress warmly for this trip, as the temperature is always colder on the water.

We thought two nights at the Windsong Lodge was an excellent choice. Dinner at the Chinook restaurant on the waterfront was also great.

A side trip worth taking is a visit to Exit Glacier. It is in the Kenai Fjords National Park, and you can walk right up it.

The next few nights were spent in Homer, only 180 miles away.

On the way to Homer, we stopped in Cooper Landing at the Princess Lodge for brunch. The service was good and the scenery beautiful. It was well worth the search for the poorly marked, two-mile gravel road which takes you there.

Homer is a unique village, with the Homer Spit (a long gravel bar area which is home to the marina) being the hub of activity. It was very interesting to observe the life of the commercial fisherman. I had never experienced living in an area where so much commuting was done by water. Tides had to be read, or you could be stuck in a cove at low tide, waiting for high tide to come back in.Late May to early June is a good time for halibut fishing. You are allowed two halibut per person per day with no restrictions on size or weight. Halibut do get up to 200 to 300 pounds, so don't quit too soon.

There are facilities right at the marina for filleting, freezing and packing, so you can ship your catch home or check the containers on your flight home if you've packed lightly.

A great trip for the day is boarding the Danny J to Halibut Cove. It is a short distance to an artists' colony that could easily pass for a Swiss village. Boardwalks take you to the artists' galleries, which are open to the public. One of the potters works on an honor system if you buy something, you take it with you and leave money in a jar.

There is only one restaurant on the island, so make reservations when you book the passage so that they will plan enough food for everyone.

Another unique thing about Alaska this time of year is the long hours of daylight. I was told that it actually did get dark between 2 and 4 a.m., although I never was able to stay awake to verify that. Because it is always light, you have more energy and pack much more into a day. When I finally did call it a day, I had no trouble falling asleep, even in daylight.

This is just a small area in a great land. There still is so much more to see, but when traveling to Alaska, don't forget the Kenai Peninsula.

(Linda Strait is president of House of Travel Inc., a full-service travel agency in Springfield.)

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