Moose - Alaska's Red Meat

The favorite red meat of many Alaskans, moose is healthy and full of nutrients!  Here is Ranch owner Carrol Martin, barbecue-chef extraordinaire, preparing some cuts. 

Kenai Performers: Great Hometown Theater!

Drama, music, dancing, and stage-crafting.  It's all here, and the long winter makes for a perfect time to practice, practice, practice.  Come February, the yearly "big" performance opens to the community and just about everybody finds a way to catch the show.  Rave reviews are accompanying this year's play, Peter Pan, not surprising, with all the time and effort put into it!  Great job, everyone. 

Enjoy learning more, below:

About the Kenai Performers


Review of the Peter Pan Play - Spring 2011


Kenai Performers Find New Location



"Contest at Cowlick" Grade School Summer Drama Camp 2009

 Kenai Performers also puts on smaller shows through-out the year, and a smash-bang summer drama camp for children and teens.  Definitely a group to contact if you are coming up to Alaska, just to see if you might be able to catch an amazing 'home-town' performance while you are visiting, or, if you are here for a little while, to audition for a part, yourself!

Great New Online Resource for Visitors to Alaska

Be sure and visit our friends over on KPTMC's new blog.  Lots of good stuff for Alaskan visitors there!

Visiting Alaska - Go Ski and Snowshoe!

Alaska offers so much by way of outdoor winter sports.  For those interested in learning to snowshoe, here are some helpful links to help you make the most of your trail time!

Alaska's Master Snowshoe Maker (with pictures and video clips).

Snowshoe Guided Hikes (this is in Girdwood, a beautiful drive up from our Resort).

Tsalteshi Trails (we love this trail and ski it regularly, since it's right nearby, which means free guided snowshoe or cross-country skiing trips are very likely, should you stay with us during the winter time. Just ask).   PDF Trail Map Here

Kenai National Wildlife Center Trails (beautiful trails, right nearby)

Oldest daughter D.Anne Skiing on Tsalteshi Trail.   Photo by Clark Fair

RV with Harvest Hosts - Great Way for a FREE Night's Stay!

Sweet deal for RV enthusiasts!  The Diamond M Ranch Resort just affiliated with Harvest Hosts, a membership program in the United States that provides RV owners with a free self-contained (no hook ups) night's stay at wineries, farms and ranches across the country.  Nice! 

Planning Your 2011 Alaskan Vacation - Which Month is Best? (Part 4 - JULY)

July in Alaska. 

Swollen runs of salmon crackling the rivers with their electric arrival, excitement rippling through the banks and boats and beaches, those fishing lowering their nets and poles for the catch and, elsewhere, bald eagles and bears doing much the same.

Robert Jansen, one of our Work Camper Extraordinaires, on the Kenai River Bank

Long stalks of fireweed exploding with bursts of pink's brightest hues, birch leaves thick, wild ferns unfurled into tall kingly fans, moss carpeting the forest in its fairy-tale way, wild blue geraniums shyly emerging out from the green, bushes laden with flowers-now-turning-into-berries.

Lakes fed by mountain streams and underground springs now warmed by summer's touch, perfect for wading into, for catching frogs and minnows, or for taking a canoe or kayak out, right into the very middle and then setting down the oars, shutting eyes to breathe, to listen to the loons, to bask in the deliciousness of the moment.

July in Alaska.  What does it mean to you?

To be continued...

Planning Your 2011 Alaskan Vacation - Which Month is Best? (Part 3 - JUNE)

June is the month where Alaska explodes in green.  The cow moose have had their babies, and the little calves are always a treat to spot, hiding behind mother's legs, tripping along beside her as she walks, often with a twin brother or sister for company. 

Bear peeking his head up, just below Diamond M Ranch Resort

This bear (and his two brothers) came to visit the Kenai River estuary, just below our Viewing Deck, last May and early June.  The bears wake up hungry after a winter's sleep.  Omniverous animals, they often don't really mind what they eat, as long as they eat.  Sometimes the handiest meal available, especially before the salmon come in, is the newborn moose calf, many of which succumb to the bear shortly after their birth.

  Bears are usually not a problem for human beings, preferring to keep to themselves.  As the saying goes, "they are more afraid of us than we are of them."  It is always a treat to get to watch one of these amazing creatures moving, in that slow ambling way that bears do, through their natural environment.

In June, King Salmon begin heading up the rivers, many fishing enthusiasts delighting in the hunt for the "big one," barbeques sizzling with sumptuous the first fresh salmon steaks of the year.  Out in the bountiful waters of the Cook Inlet, halibut guides aid their clients as they pull in the large flat fish, the ocean and the surrounding mountains looking on.  And fishing for trout in a local lake or stream can almost be a magical experience during the month of June, the canoe floating silently along next to loons, lilly pads, and dragonflies, perhaps startling a family of ducks just around the bend.  The water everywhere is teeming with life, the surrouding forests as well, and it all combines to produce a feeling of wonder and awe. 

Kenai River, just below Diamond M Ranch Resort

Visiting Alaska during the month of June is a treat for the senses.  Whether you love to hike, fish, explore or take in the scenery, the wonders of the Far North are everywhere.   

Feel free to leave comments, thoughts, tips and suggestions in the comments box below.  Tell us what you know about visiting Alaska in June!  We look forward to hearing from you.