Photo by The Joneses Gisela prepares for a "summer" sled ride. — — — E-mail Gisela — — — SLIDE SHOW: Beautiful sights to see in Alaska
ARCHIVES: You wouldn't believe how beautiful Canada is! Wouldn't change a thing Who knew there was so much to see in South Dakota? Time is flying by — but at least we're having fun! I (heart) Hart Ranch, South Dakota Rallyin' in Goshen, Indiana A special day From friends to work to warmer temps, we're still having fun in Florida Traveling to Texas Finally, we're in Alaska! On the way to Canada Boise sure has changed a lot Escapees Rally in Wyoming Bittersweet trip through the southeast From Boy Scouts to ‘Stars on Ice’ Michigan is full of treasures Arriving in Florida Earning our ears Celebrating Christmas and New Year's in Florida and the Disney Parks Down in the Lowcountry Making our way through Minn., Wisc. and Ill. The holidays in Florida Our time in Lakeland has come to an end Couldn't have had a better time in Omaha! Arriving in Charleston A day with friends from Frederick 'Life is good' in Lakeland, Fla. Leaving Florida, and heading north Our final days in Kentucky Into the Keys Out of Charleston and off to Indiana Dreams come true in Vermont You never know what you'll see or who you'll meet in Alaska Leaving Indiana, but not before taking some of the state's best sites Idaho is full of natural treasures — and moon-like craters, too It's all about the theme parks From prairie country to beautiful views to grand 'ol Yellowstone Thunderstorms, flooding, tornados and a visit with the 'Duke' And so it begins ... Moving days for Greg and his family The gang's all here! Happy to be in Florida again Strawberries, and more strawberries 'The RV Capital of the World' From the beautiful Maine coastline down to southern Connecticut Training for our jobs at Disney World Chillin' out at 'Camp Monaco' Under the weather Back in Florida At long last, back in the area Lots to see in the 'Show Me' state With family and spectacular sights in Hailey, Idaho Look back, look ahead Back in the Lower 48 The cold weather is hitting Florida From Dallas to devastation Back on the road again Leaving Idaho and heading east Beautiful Alaska A memorable visit to Alaska's Kenai Peninsula Watch out for flying dinner rolls

The Kenai Peninsula is called the “playground of Alaska’ because of its many opportunities for outdoor activities. There is something for everybody (I sound like a commercial but it is true: fishing, whitewater rafting, kayaking, glacier cruises, hiking, historic areas, etc. And for the not-so-active person just riding around in the car and looking at the spectacular scenery is an experience.

We stayed at Ninilchick, a small town on the Cook Inlet with a view of the three Volcanoes. The closest was Mt. Redoubt — that is the one that was active earlier this year. The other two are Mt. Iliamna and Mt. Augustine. Unfortunately most of the time it was very hazy and we didn’t get any good pictures of the mountains.

We drove down to Homer on southwestern point all the way to the end of what is called the Homer Spit. It is a very narrow 4.3-mile strip of land with lots of little stores displaying Alaskan and Native Alaskan arts and craft. We have seen so many beautiful and unusual jewelry, pictures, paintings and artworks. I had to hold on tight to my handbag or I would have bought and bought and then had no place to put it in RV.

In Homer we found a winery! I guess we can really scout out wineries. The wines were excellent and all made from local berries. Of course we bought several bottles.They don’t take up much room in the RV — at least not for long!

?One day the guys went out on a fishing boat catching Halibut — two each that was the limit. Our freezer is full so this batch was shipped to my son in Florida; of course frozen and shipped overnight. I know we will enjoy these Halibut steaks in the winter in Florida.

Soldotna is another town we visited, mostly for shopping, but we also spent some time at a homestead museum. I found it interesting that the time for homesteading in Alaska was in the 1940s after WWII when the veterans were offered land for homesteading. Usually, when I think of homesteading, it is of something that happened long ago.

These homesteaders had to clear a certain part of the property given to them, build a cabin and live in it for six months. That is how many people from the "lower 48" (Alaskans' name for the other states) came to Alaska. We saw several of the original cabins and they sure were rustic.

In the City of Kenai we visited a small Russian Orthodox Church. Before Alaska was sold to the USA the Kenai area was settled by Russians. This is still evident by names of some towns, buildings, and shops selling Russian items.

Before coming to the Kenai Peninsula we stayed several days in Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska (Fairbanks being the second largest).

Anchorage was great for shopping, they had a Costco and a Sam’s Club — we stocked up on a lot of groceries and other essentials. We also went to the Earthquake Park, an area where 60 feet of land plunged into the Knik Arm of Cook Inlet during the large earthquake in 1964. And we visited the Zoo, a small but very nicely laid out Zoo with mostly animals native to Alaska. Many of the animals were rescues that could no longer live in the wild because of broken wing, hurt leg or other injuries.

From Seward we took another glacier cruise. This one was through the Resurrection Bay into the Gulf of Alaska. Again we saw a lot of wildlife, awesome scenery and glaciers. Seward also has a wonderful Arctic Sea Life Center where we saw and learned a lot about the sea animals. My favorite ones are the Puffins — they are so cute — they can swim, dive and fly.

Carolin and I visited a sled dog kennel and took a "summer" sled ride. This kennel is owned by Mitch Seavey the 2004 Iditarod champion. We had a good behind-the scene look of what it takes to train and race sled dogs. Carolin who is a big dog lover really enjoyed this visit.

We are on our way to Palmer and from there we are starting heading south, but have a few more nice stops planned e.g. Juneau and Hyder.