The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: May eighteenth, on a Kenai adventure.

When it comes to big country, Alaska is it, a land of prodigious proportion and wilderness without end. First time visitors often find the state overwhelming, if only for the enormous range of experiences it offers. To sample a bite-size chunk of Alaska, consider the Kenai.

One hour's drive south of Anchorage, the Kenai Peninsula is a slightly abridged, more user-friendly version of Alaska. A riffle of snow-dusted peaks, four of which are volcanically active, are packed with postcard panoramas. It's all capped by the huge Harding icefield, which spawns rushing, salmon-rich rivers that roil through forests abundant with moose and bear.

In high season, Kenai arguably becomes the fishing capital of the world. With anglers standing shoulder to shoulder, the banks of its rivers are an easy place to get hooked. All along Kenai's coastline, house-huge hunks of ancient ice fall from the lips of great glaciers, plunging into the deep, cold Pacific, where sea lions, orcas and kyakers cavort under the gaze of eagles.

Kenai also has two towns of touristic attraction. Homer, on the west coast, is its artsy-craftsy hub, with a whale of a museum, cute houses, lots of galleries and a long harbor spit where one can sip espresso or charter a halibut boat. The east coast town of Seward bills itself as the real Alaska, though yachts fill the 500 slips of its marina and jumbo cruise ships now come to call. For more easy-to-access Alaskan wonders, take the ferry to Kodiak Island. While there, you can catch The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL on station KMXT.

FMI For information on the Kenai Peninsula call Kenai Peninsula Marketing Council 800-535-3624 or www.travelalaska.com

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