{"id":4547,"date":"2026-08-04T18:16:55","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T01:16:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/?p=4547"},"modified":"2026-10-22T11:02:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T18:02:08","slug":"leaving-kenai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/2026\/08\/04\/leaving-kenai","title":{"rendered":"Leaving Kenai"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today we departed Homer and headed back across the peninsula to Seward. But first, some final souvenir shopping in town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After packing up and leaving Seaside Farm, we headed back to the spit. Got coffee and delicious crepes at Wild Honey cafe, and I panicked for a bit when I couldn&#8217;t find my wallet. After thirty minutes of searching, I thought it was lost to the bears. But it turned out it was just in my underwear bag. We celebrated by going to a book store.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_1243-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4559\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_1243-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_1243-480x640.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_1243-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Cool Bookstore<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We had to return to the <a href=\"https:\/\/aksalmonsisters.com\/collections\/apparel\">Salmon Sisters<\/a> for more merch. Hannah got some XtraTuf boots to commemorate the trip and keep her feet warm and dry on days when she teaches crew on the river, and I got Ruth a cool water bottle encrusted with shrimp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then we turned North and headed out of town. We took a detour up to Nikolaevsk to see the Old Believers, a sect of Russian emigrants who fled religious persecution in 1660, and haven&#8217;t updated their traditions since. Lonely Planet recommended <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tripadvisor.com\/Restaurant_Review-g31072-d664336-Reviews-Samovar_Art_Ethnic_Cafe_library-Nikolaevsk_Alaska.html\">Samovar Cafe<\/a>, where Nina Felsova made us good borscht and fireweed toast with tea, but with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eater.com\/23204115\/alaska-history-russia-old-believer-samovar\">very specific instructions<\/a> to follow on how to eat it. A friend who produced a <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/71713780\">documentary short<\/a> on the community said she may not be a real representative of their practices, but it was definitely an interesting experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_1253-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_1253-scaled.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_1253-480x640.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nina at the Samovar Cafe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_1260-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4561\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_1260-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_1260-480x640.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_1260-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Enjoying our tray in the car<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We drove back across the peninsula, stopping to try to see a native K\u2019Beq interpretive site along Kenai river, but it was still closed. Finally arrived in Seward pretty late at our campsite, but the bus is warm and dry with a good surface to cook on. Hannah made cheesy broccoli pasta, and I slept under the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_1264-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4563\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_1264-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_1264-640x480.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_1264-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_1264-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_1264-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_1264-900x675.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_1264-1280x960.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This Bus Doesn&#8217;t Move Much Anymore<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"769\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2540-769x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4562\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2540-769x1024.jpeg 769w, https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2540-481x640.jpeg 481w, https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2540-768x1023.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2540-900x1199.jpeg 900w, https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2540.jpeg 961w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 769px) 100vw, 769px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Our School Bus Cabin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today we departed Homer and headed back across the peninsula to Seward. But first, some final souvenir shopping in town.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[176],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alaska-again"],"geo":{"latitude":60.1594963,"longitude":-149.3979187,"description":null},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4547"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4547\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4565,"href":"https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4547\/revisions\/4565"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.levinger.net\/josh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}