Starts and Stops and Starts

The lulling patter of rain on the roof had Ronni and I both contentedly sleeping late this morning. It was such a relaxing sound and we were in no hurry – check-out isn’t until noon.

Once we were both dressed for the weather and I’d started water heating for coffee, we took advantage of a lessening of the rain and made quick work of Ronni’s morning toilet.

Even with the clouds obscuring the mountains and rain dripping from branches, the beauty of Kenai Lake remains breathtaking. Maybe if I was a family with active children, or a fisherman, I’d feel differently, but this was just a stopover for us. Rain added a visual and audible change to our scenery from yesterday, and on a serious note, we need the rain.

After a relaxing late breakfast, it was time to hit the road again. I doubted we’d out-run the light rain, since it was forecast to continue throughout the area until this evening.

Driving along the Kenai River, we passed a group of rafters, laughing and splashing their way down stream. Dressed in dry-suits and helmets against the glacial-cold river, they either didn’t notice the rain or didn’t care.

Between Coopers Landing and Sterling, there is no way to ignore the devastation caused by the summer 2019 Swan Lake fire. The [approx] 170,000 acre wildfire, ignited by lightning, raged on both sides of the Sterling Highway, burning up entire mountainsides and closing roads. The fire brought traffic to a complete stop numerous times on the only road connecting the Kenai Peninsula to the rest of south central Alaska.

Five years later, the damage wrought by this wildfire remains, a mute testament to the power of Mother Nature.

So, May rains are welcome, if inconvenient for early tourists. Certainly a change already from last year, when we had literally no rainfall at all throughout May and June.

Rhonda and I are headed to a three-day, indoor Barn Hunt trial that starts tomorrow, so our only inconvenience, IF it keeps raining, will be Rhonda’s dislike of rainy potty walks. Poor dear. ☔️😉

Only one more stop before I head to the trial site. Sitting in a Fred Meyer parking lot in Soldotna may not be scenic, but by offering a single stop for gas, propane and last-minute shopping, along with RV-friendly parking – it gets ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.