Cooper Landing

Hello everyone! Casey and I figured that it was time for a second post. This time we figured we would cover what we know so far about Cooper Landing, which is mainly the walk from the lodge to the local "convenience" store, and our first visit to the local cemetery. I know that sounds morbid, but thats one of the things that everyone says you have to do while you are here, and after going I completely agree. 

So the first major landmark is the sign marking the cemetery. Note that the sign says "Inquire at Post Office".   

As we were driving to the lodge for the first time the driver informed us that a casket or box is not required at this cemetery and that the graves are all home made. One of the only requirements is if you are buried in a sleeping bag it must be zipped shut. So this is an example of one of the many types of graves that are there. 

This is a picture of Cecil E. Rhode's headstone. The mountain that Casey and look at everyday was named after him. He was a nature photographer that lived in the area. According to a story one of the locals told me Cecil's favorite thing to take pictures of was mountains goats.

Helen Rhodes, Cecil's wife. The mountain next to Cecil's is named after her.

So as I'm sure you have guessed this is not your normal cemetery. There are no rows of graves or any order for that matter. The graves are all scattered through a relatively large chunk of woods. This altar could not have been easy to make, I was only carrying my camera and it was still quite a hike to get to it.

Tacky grave.

Extremely home made headstone.

The rifle range we almost walked into while looking at the cemetery.

Cooper Landing Library and community center.

The playground and school.  There are 8 students and 1 teacher.   Grades range from k-8.

Crazy cool house.

They sell reindeer dogs here, very tasty!

This is Wildman's.  This is where most employees spend their pay checks.  It's like a small 7-11 with a liquor store, espresso machine, ice cream parlor, laundromat and more.  It's about 2.2 miles from the lodge and pretty pricey, but the only real option.

The bottom of the Kenai river.  The water is so clear!