Alaska 2008: Keani, AK 1


Alaska 2008
Kenai, AK
19 July 2008
General Information Local Map
Photographs and Commentary Click on pictures to enlarge
Yesterday was about bears and today we focus on humans. In Alaska, humans also have a need to feed on salmon and they emulate the bears at Brooks Falls. They don't crowd around water falls and try to catch them in their mouths (or hands), they use fishing rods and dipnets. The campground is located on a bluff overlooking the mouth of the Kenai River. When you look out from the bluff all you see on both sides of the river are humans with dipnets trying to catch salmons heading up the river to spawn. Up the river you will also find dipnetters working from boats. Only residents of Alaska are permitted to use dipnets and there are limits to how much an individual can catch, as well as catch limits per household. We walked down a path from the bluff to the beach and the resemblance to Brooks Falls was uncanny. People wearing hip waders were standing in the water holding their nets out and hoping to catch a salmon. We saw quite a few successes, but I suspect that for every success there are a number of failures. Based on the remains of salmons that had been filleted, the people here have been catching quite a number of fish. As we walked the beach, I was approached by a young boy who asked what I assumed is a standard question on the beach, "how many did you catch?" I told him that I was not allowed to dipnet since I was not an Alaskan resident. His reply was telling, "bummer." The campground is located in an area of Kenai that is called Old Town Kenai. We walked around the area and looked at some of the older buildings, including one that is a National Historic Landmark. We also explored an area across the river where a defunct cannery has been converted to new uses and is now called Kenai Landing. Some of the buildings are now part of a hotel. There is a restaurant in another of the older buildings and boutique shops in the old warehouse. Many of the stores in the warehouse were vacant and the place doesn't quite meet up with the image portrayed in the web page.
Dipnetting for Salmon
View of the mouth of the Kenai River lined with dipnetters	I noticed a variety of nets from ovals, rounds and "sort of square" like this one.
Salmon caught in a dipnet	Remains of filleted salmon litter the beach
Young children who are not yet fishing have their own beach activities
Old Town Kenai
Saint Nicholas Memorial Chapel	Remains of one of the oldest houses in Kenai
Holy Assumption of the Virgin Mary Russian Orthodox Church	Holy Assumption of the Virgin Mary Russian Orthodox Church Rectory
Veronica's Coffee House	1926 Model T truck equipped for travel in the snow. The wheels drive tracks and skis have replaced the front wheels.

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Yesterday was about bears and today we focus on humans. In Alaska, humans also have a need to feed on salmon and they emulate the bears at Brooks Falls. They don't crowd around water falls and try to catch them in their mouths (or hands), they use fishing rods and dipnets.

The campground is located on a bluff overlooking the mouth of the Kenai River. When you look out from the bluff all you see on both sides of the river are humans with dipnets trying to catch salmons heading up the river to spawn. Up the river you will also find dipnetters working from boats. Only residents of Alaska are permitted to use dipnets and there are limits to how much an individual can catch, as well as catch limits per household. We walked down a path from the bluff to the beach and the resemblance to Brooks Falls was uncanny. People wearing hip waders were standing in the water holding their nets out and hoping to catch a salmon. We saw quite a few successes, but I suspect that for every success there are a number of failures. Based on the remains of salmons that had been filleted, the people here have been catching quite a number of fish. As we walked the beach, I was approached by a young boy who asked what I assumed is a standard question on the beach, "how many did you catch?" I told him that I was not allowed to dipnet since I was not an Alaskan resident. His reply was telling, "bummer."

The campground is located in an area of Kenai that is called Old Town Kenai. We walked around the area and looked at some of the older buildings, including one that is a National Historic Landmark. We also explored an area across the river where a defunct cannery has been converted to new uses and is now called Kenai Landing. Some of the buildings are now part of a hotel. There is a restaurant in another of the older buildings and boutique shops in the old warehouse. Many of the stores in the warehouse were vacant and the place doesn't quite meet up with the image portrayed in the web page.