It has been a sunshiny day and but as I look out the window from my office it appears that we are going to have some rain this evening. Oh well, I hope it is nice as we are having Industry Appreciation Days and the Governor Sarah Palin is coming to town.....besides there is free food and music.

I would like to write about my town. I live about 15 miles from my town called Kenai, Alaska.As you are coming into Kenai you will notice a sign that says "Village with a Past, city with a Future".As I reflect on that sign, this is really true....Kenai really has an interesting past and I see it as having a wonderful future. Kenai is the largest city in the Kenai Peninsula Borough. (We don't have counties, we have Boroughs in Alaska. and is home to 7,125 people and has a numerous wealth of natural resources. Kenai was settled in 1791 by the Russian fur traders and only a few years later after the United States purchased Alaska in 1867 the first canneries were build.Kenai overlooks the mouth of the Kenai River and from the bluffs of Kenai you can have a spectacular view of the Cook Inlet and the canneries. You can also see Mt Redoubt and Mt Illiama.

Kenai has 28.5 square miles of incorporated city land, which is located between Kenai Mountains and the Alaska Range. Kenai is the largest city on the Kenai Peninsula. We are famous for the world record 97 pound 4ounce king salmon caught in the Kenai River. As of today, no one has ever beaten that record.

Tourism and outdoor recreation brings a tremendous influx of temporaty residents to the city during the months of May through September. A lot of retired people keep their homes and residency and become "Snowbirds" , living outside in the winter, living here May through September. Besides that, who wants to give up their Permanent Fund. This year I understand it is to be $1500 per person and us older people also get to take advantage of the free fishing license and the free property taxes on our residences.

 The Kenai River Property has increased tremendously in the last few years. It use to be 45 to 60 thousand an acre.....now it is 200 to 300,000 an acre (Wished I had kept my acre on the River). Instead of fishing from the bank of the river this year I had to go dipnetting for my fish to can. But what an experience. If you are an alaskan resident you are allowed to dipnet 30 salmon as head of the household and 10 more for each person in your family. My husband and I managed to get our 30 and yes it went into the canner. But the experience of wadeing out into the water, seeing the hundreds of seagulls, and dipnetting a salmon (around 8 to 10 pounds) is wonderful. The dipnet season is usually from July 10 through July 31. There are over 15,000 permits issued annually with a harvest of 110,000 salmon. Four different species of salmon return to the Kenai River each year and the lakes and streams surrounding Kenai are filled with trout, grayling and many other sports fish.

I am going to sign off now and more in my next Blog on the "Ring of Fire" and other towns on the Kenai Peninsula.