Kenai Peninsula (part 1). We departed Valdez on our continuing mystery tour – since it is generally a mystery where we will end up next. We ended up on the Glenn Highway and headed towards the Kenai Peninsula, which if you are not familiar is home to places like Hope, Seward, Homer, Soldatna and more.

We camped one night on the Glenn Highway on our way to get through Anchorage and on to the Kenai Peninsula at a side pullout off the road with amazing views.

We entered civilization by driving through Anchorage – oh the horror! Multiple lanes of traffic – and other drivers! No pictures of traffic – you pretty much know what that looks like.

Finally back onto a mostly two-lane road, we followed the Seward Highway along the coast of the Turnagain Arm, a tidal bay that practically drains when the tide is out; a beautiful ride, though.

Our first stop on the Kenai was the Williwaw Campground, a US Forest Service campground close to the Spencer Glacier in Portage Valley.   I know I keep using superlatives, but once again we were in a gorgeous setting, beautiful views, a nice hiking trail (Moose Flats Trail) and quiet, private campsites. Booyeah.

Our next stop took us to Hope, on the northeast side of the Kenai. Hope is not just a strategy anymore – it is like the cutest town in America. We stayed in the Porcupine Campground, another US Forest Service campground in the Chugach National Forest. Way to go US Forest Service – nicely done – again!

And Hope? How cute! Located right on the Turnagain Arm, the views are tremendous. This is a town with perhaps all of about 100 residents (max), so don’t expect a big town.

We departed Hope (but not hope) to head towards Seward, on the southeastern part of the Kenai. We pulled over to the side of the road for lunch. The views were awesome so I walked to the other side of the road to take a few pictures.

From behind me, while I am standing on the side of the road, I hear this awful scraping sound – like metal is dragging on asphalt. A motor coach was coming down the road towing (or should have been towing) a boat on a trailer. Somehow the hitch to their boat trailer had come unattached, the towing arm was dragging on the ground, the front of the boat trailer was riding on the road, and like a scene out of some Chevy Chase movie, the boat and trailer were following the motor coach, on its own trajectory, screaming right past me, past our trailer and truck, and into a ditch just past us! I believe the term is, Holy Crap! Five feet to the right and we would have had a new boat and trailer impaled on us.

Fortunately for us and everyone else, the boat did not cross the roadway into oncoming traffic or me. Yowsa!! Every once in a while you catch a break. By the way, the motor coach continued on down the road like nothing had happened. It must have been a nice surprise when they got to their destination.  “Oh honey, have you seen our boat and trailer?”

There’s nothing like a little adventure on the road. More from Seward – later!