Can Kenai cut-it?

We left Seward behind, motoring up scenic Seward Highway towards Kenai City and wondering if it could match-up to our previous experiences of Alaska. Answer......'The hell yes!' We drove through majestic mountains and fabulous glacial lakes, now 'turquoise' where the ice has melted.

Mountains gradually retreated as we entered the Chugach Forest and passed through vast acres of fir trees......the mountains reappearing on the horizon as we neared Kenai and the Ocean. We stopped at the Visitor Centre where a really nice girl suggested an itinerary for the remainder of the day, but setting-out on a trail of the 'Historic Old Town District we were temporarily distracted by the 'Burger Bus'! This place has to be visited to be believed....its literally a burger bar in an old bus where orders are called-in or placed through a sliding window.

The range of burgers on-offer is amazing and the product mouth-watering...the free 'burger fixings' reads like an 'A to Z' of pickles and sauces! To say it was busy is an understatement, as people arrived from every corner of the City (and possibly Alaska!), including three cops in a squad car! The Burger Bus was taking more cash than the local bank!! Anyway, after lunch, we re-started our walk heading for a view of the river mouth and ocean....it was dazzling and no sooner had we taken it in when we met 'Miz Wanda' and her lovely travelling companions 'Penelope' and 'Robin(?)'

They'd just blown-in from Seattle (like a breath of fresh air)and are currently camping (in a tent!) as they home-in on Denali to work their second season 'waiting tables'....if there's any natural justice, they'll make a fortune in tips!! We so totally enjoyed the company of these three free-spirited nomadic ladies and their wicked sense of humour. (It was an honour to 'sign the babies arm'!) We also owe the the girls a debt of thanks for letting-us-in on 'FM93.3', a decent proxy for Sirius-XM! Returning to our trek, we saw the amazing historic Russian Church of St. Nicholas and the quaint 'Veronica's Coffee House'.

Next, we set our sights on Captain Cook State Park; noting that the sign 'Road Ends' should be suffixed with 'Abruptly'! We parked-up and walked to the beach and were wowed by the spectacle before us.....with the beach to ourselves, we walked along the ocean picking up the occasional Agate stones which are unique to Kenai.

(Having experienced the Burger Bus we decided to source a light dinner from a local supermarket.....we picked-out a Caesar Salad and eating it with plastic forks was not dissimilar to a trial in the Krypton Factor'!!) As for a piece of music for the day, this is easy.....we learned that the 'Wailers' (of Bob Marley fame) are to play Talkeetna and the girl from the Visitor Center (and probably 'Miz W and Co') will be there, so.....