Johnson's bus stops: Skilak Lake and Russian River

We got up early this morning for a drive to look at more of the Kenai. Specifically we took the Skilak Lake Road Loop. We had been informed that this was a good area to for seeing wildlife, especially bears. The best times, of course, are around dawn and dusk (which would be something like midnight and 3 a.m. We aren't that dedicated but we left about 7. We saw a lot of pretty scenery, but not much wildlife (one moose which stood and looked at us while we took pictures, many rabbits, and a chipmunk). Above and below are pictures of lakes we passed.

Another reason for the drive this morning was to check on Salmon fishing in the Russian River. Although we are staying at Soldotna which is said to have some of the best Salmon fishing in the world, they are between Salmon runs. There is a limited period when the fish are running and the fishing is excellent, then it stops. We got here just after the first run and the second is likely to start in a couple of weeks. People here have been driving about 45 miles to the Russian River as a run of "red" salmon is going on there. We have talked of giving it a try but didn't get around to it until today. We went to a place called Gwins which we were told would help us get set up with what we need for a reasonable rate. We had planned to go after the holiday weekend, but found that the run is ending quickly with fewer fish each day. So we will probably not be able to go, as it is a bit expensive and we don't want to fish if the fishing is not good, so we will have to try another time or another place. Below are what are left of much larger crowds that were fishing this area just 2 or 3 days ago.