Eric Sowl

1 week ago | alaskasnewssource.com | Eric Sowl

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - The Kenai Peninsula hasn’t always been connected to Alaska’s largest city by road. It’s hard to imagine since it’s a favorite recreation spot for many people from Anchorage and places further north, especially on summer weekends. The Seward Highway is filled with people hauling boats, visiting their cabins, or sightseeing. Then there are all of the out-of-state guests — the tourists. But it wasn’t until 1951 that the highway even existed.

1 week ago | alaskasnewssource.com | Eric Sowl

MOOSE PASS, Alaska (KTUU) - The Estes family in Moose Pass has owned the grocery store for four generations. At one time, the building also included a bar, dance hall and liquor store. Oh, and you can’t forget the ladies who lived upstairs. They entertained the men. But that ended after World War II. The building was moved to its current location in the winter of 1938. They rolled it on logs from the railroad tracks. The business has passed from generation to generation.

1 week ago | alaskasnewssource.com | Eric Sowl

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Come to Alaska. Build a house in the woods. Live in it for seven months. You are now the owner of up to 160 acres of land. That’s Homesteading. It’s how Soldotna, Alaska was made. A program offered to World War Two veterans. And you can visit that history at a local museum. The Soldonta Historical Society’s Homestead Museum is tucked away in the woods behind the Soldotna Little League Ballpark.

2 weeks ago | alaskasnewssource.com | Eric Sowl

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Some things change, some stay the same. I found an old Alaska Travel Guide full of sketches of places on the Kenai Peninsula from 1961. The Seward Highway from Anchorage to Hope was just 10 years old at the time. The artist of the sketches is Connie Silver. I wondered if Connie drove the Peninsula taking pictures and later drew the places, or if they were drawn at each stop along the way.

1 month ago | alaskasnewssource.com | Joey Klecka |Eric Sowl

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - The first king salmon of the summer fishing season in Ship Creek was reeled in Monday morning. The honor went to Anchorage fisherman Sacha Merkushev, who hooked a fish weighing in at 9.75 pounds and measuring at 29 inches exactly, according to the Bait Shack on Facebook.