Twelve Mile Circle – An Appreciation of Unusual Places

Looking for Kenai Geo-Oddities

I’ll be on the Kenai Peninsula of southern Alaska in about two weeks. I have a pretty good handle on most of the tourist stuff: hiking, salmon fishing, bear watching, whale sighting and glacier hopping. What I’m hoping is that the vast select and discerning audience of the Twelve Mile Circle may have some advice on geo-oddities in the area.

I already have a couple of targets in mind in addition to the usual tourist activities:

Are you aware of any other “must see” sights on the Kenai, geo-oddity or otherwise? Your intrepid reporter is ready to head out into the wilderness in search of obscurities on your behalf.

Stay tuned for some very special editions of the Twelve Mile Circle in July 2010.

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5 responses to “Looking for Kenai Geo-Oddities”

  1. Greg Avatar
    Greg

    It looks like the southern tip of the peninsula might be one of those places where one can see both a sunrise and sunset over water. You could also drive up to Wasilla just to see what that place is like….

    Reply
    1. Twelve Mile Circle Avatar
      Twelve Mile Circle

      @Greg: You can absolutely count on my driving through Wasilla where the Twelve Mile Circle’s (theoretically possible but probably not) most famous reader lives. We do plan to take a couple of day-trips in that direction from Anchorage before we drive down to the Kenai. For sunrise/sunset — I’m not sure how much of that we’re going to see so far north and so close to the summer solstice, but if the opportunity arises…

      @All: I got an email mentioning a spot that’s within four miles of four active runways in Anchorage; I’m guessing Anchorage International, Elmendorf AFB, Merrill Field and Campbell Airstrip [further checking: the 4th field is probably the Lake Hood Seaplane Base located right next to Anchorage International] based on a quick check of Google Maps? See, this is exactly the crazy stuff that I love. Is anyone familiar with the spot before I print out a map and start drawing circles on it? 🙂

      Reply
  2. Mike Lowe Avatar
    Mike Lowe

    Keep county / borough lines in mind and maybe you can bag an extra one without much detour. It’s a long flight from VA so maximize the time. Sleep on the way back home. 🙂

    I’m jealous. I’m trying to maximize county crossings on the way from TX to CO, NM, & AZ during my summer trip. You get to bag AK stuff again.

    Have a great trip!

    Reply
    1. Twelve Mile Circle Avatar
      Twelve Mile Circle

      @Mike: Guess what happens when one crosses through the tunnel to Whittier?



      One enters the Valdez-Cordova Census Area (part of the Unorganized Borough). Yup, the thought had more than crossed my mind!

      Reply
  3. pfly Avatar
    pfly

    No geo-oddity thought, but I was surprised to recently learn how old some of the (non-indigenous) settlements on the Kenai Peninsula are. Russian fur traders first arrived at what is now Kenai, AK, in 1741. In 1791 they founded Fort St. Nicholas there. In 1793 a Russian post was established at or near Seward, where the first ship built by Russians in America was made–a three mast ship no less. The 18th century might not be “old” in Virginia, but in the Pacific Northwest & Alaska it’s ancient! Not sure if there is anything to see in these places. Perhaps some old Orthodox churches.

    Reply

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