Kenai, AK 6/22 - 6/26

Today, Thursday the 26^th, is turning out to be a rainy day so we are at home in the RV.  We have had a lot of rain most days over the past three weeks or so.  Most days we have sunshine, then rain for a little while, and then sunshine again.  Today it looks like an all-day(er).

Well, I finally got the front of the trailer waxed on Wednesday.  I actually used something called "Rejex" which is supposed to help in getting the bugs off when you try to wash them off.  

Before we left TX last April, we looked at buying a small chest freezer so that we could bring the fish we catch up here in it and not have to pay shipping costs.  Well, I guess I couldn’t decide what to get so we didn’t get one.

Yesterday we were in Home Depot and there was a freezer for us – only $202.  It was a 5 cu. ft. model and didn’t seem too heavy.  We got the dimensions and came back to the trailer to make sure it would fit.  Well, wouldn’t you know, it is too big!!  Bummer.  So then we went to every store around to see if we could find something smaller (like a 3 cu. ft.) but no one has one.  So I guess we are out of luck on that.

Went to the Kenai beach and saw a guy fishing and had sea gulls everywhere as a result.  Not sure what he was fishing for, but he did show some other people a small halibut that he had caught.

Interesting how this shell got up on the big rock.

It was a beautiful pinkish shell.

Mountains to the south of the beach.

Mountains again across Cook Inlet.

A couple of beach bums!

On Monday we drove over to the old cannery area.  In 2011 there wasn’t much there – the Libby cannery had been closed for several years.  But today it looks like some canning is going on again, not only here but further down the intlet.

New building on the site.

Went to church again on Sunday.  This is a picture of the altar area at the church we have been attending (Grace Lutheran Church in Soldotna).  I keep expecting to see a moose or elk or bear pop in those trees, but nothing so far!

Pine trees near our site at the school.

Nice view of the mountains to the south of Kenai, on the way to Soldotna.

Went to the Pizza Boys Restaurant for pizza again and they served beer in a glass jar from the Kenai River Brewing Company.  So, of course, we had to find this brewery as well.  Here is the sign.

Didn’t get a picture of the building but it is very small.  We went inside and they had a bar setup.  The young lady asked us what kind of beer we liked and she gave us samples of a couple of each.  We made our choices and bought two quarts – don’t remember the names but Judy’s is the darkest you can buy and mine is a lighter variety.

The bottles are the same, but they initial the type of beer on the cap.

You can buy their beer in 10 oz. cans, 32 oz. bottles, 64 oz. growlers, and a couple of kegs sizes.

Found this cute little pond - has a couple of picnic tables here and on the other side.

Speaking of the other side, that is the Walmart Store in the background so I guess this is called the Walmart lake!

Judy thought we should put this picture in the blog and say that this is what the Alaskan roads look like!

Daisies along the road by Walmart lake.

When we went to the Kassiks Brewery in Nikiski, we picked up four bottles of beer - two for me and two for Judy.  I got 2 "Beaver Tail Blonde Ale" and Judy got two flavors - "Chocolate Cherry" and "Roughneck Stout."  They sell their beer in 22 oz. bottles.

Here is a little BREWERY HISTORY:

Kassik's Brewery is housed in a small warehouse, nestled in a clearing in the

woods, adjacent to the Kassik’s home in Nikiski.  Frank's passion for brewing

began when his wife Debara, bought him a home brew kit for Christmas. Frank

was hooked and soon became a proficient home brewer.  They built a 36 X 50

shop in hopes to someday have a brewery.  In May of 2005 Kassik's purchased a used seven barrel system, and then remodeled their building to accommodate the equipment with the help of family and friends.  The brewery opened Memorial Weekend 2006 with their first brew Beaver Tail Blonde, their Moose Point Porter was on tap a few weeks later.

Check out these names:

On Tap
Kenai Chamber Winner:  BLACK JACK STOUT
Brewed with Licorice Root & Black Strap Molasses

Big Nutz (Imperial Brown)
Caribou Kilt Scotch
Whaler's Wheat
Beaver Tail Blonde
Dolly Varden Nut Brown
Moose Point Porter
Orion's Red Ale
Roughneck Stout
Pale Moon Ale
Morning Wood IPA

22 ounce Bottles
Kenai Chamber Winner:  BLACK JACK STOUT
Brewed with Licorice Root & Black Strap Molasses
Chocolate Cherry Stout
Buffalo Head Barley Wine
Smoked Russian Imperial Stout
Roughneck Stout
Orion's Quest Red Ale
Caribou Kilt Wee Heavy Scotch
Big Nutz - Imperial Brown
Beaver Tail Blonde
Dolly Varden Nut Brown
Moose Point Porter
Morning Wood IPA

And, one final note, you can't have a view of mountains without one of Mt. Redoubt (again) on the Kenai Spur Highway.

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It's there every day - some days are just better than others!!