Alaska: Kenai Peninsula

I spent the last week of my June 2010 trip in the Kenai Peninsula, which juts out from the southern coast of Alaska just south of Anchorage and is known for its wildlife and fishing. If you missed it, check out the first Alaska blog post for images of the Chugach Mountains, Alaska Range, Denali National Park and Mount McKinley.

Two brown bears wrestle at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in Portage, an organization that takes in injured and orphaned animals from throughout the state:

A Black-billed Magpie at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (not injured, just enjoying the view!)

The Alaska SeaLife Center, a research facility and public aquarium in Seward, had an amazing native sea bird exhibit that included colorful species like the King Eider…

…and Tufted Puffin!

I spotted this sea otter relaxing in Seward’s Resurrection Bay:

Part of Exit Glacier, a rapidly receding glacier near Seward:

Fishermen hoping to catch sockeye during the first of two annual salmon runs on the Kenai River:

Homer’s Kachemak Bay and the Kenai Mountain Range:

Flowers along Homer Spit:

The Bald Eagle, until recently considered a threatened species in the continental U.S., can be found in abundance in Alaska, especially in Homer:

A paraglider floats down from Mount Alyeska: