Category: Alaska Yukon 2017

Our time in Homer was dull with light rain and low clouds most of the time. We found a camping site out on the “spit”. Most camping in Homer is either expensive, privately owned campgrounds that are basically in a gravel parking lot with hydro and water or city-owned in a gravel parking lot with no services except central water and dump station. Although we arrived in early afternoon after a stop in Soldotna for groceries and a visit to the “Moose is Loose” bakery, any chance of a waterfront site was long gone. We backed into a site and set up, drove back into Homer to check out one other city-owned site, and came back to where we had set up the trailer. The campground in town had very small back-in campsites and most wouldn’t accommodate our trailer. There were also a few sites along the beach, but they were for tents only.

There are lots of little shops out on the Spit. You walk along from section to section on a boardwalk and everything from trinket shops to restaurants to charters are set up. The wharf is right in that area so there is lots of activity around. We walked out along the beach (the tide was in so we couldn’t walk out very far) and then came back along the boardwalk and took a peek into some of the shops. We stopped to talk with one company taking flights over across the bay to one of the two national parks to do bear viewing – some of them land of the beach and then you walk into the meadow with your pilot/guide and sit as a group to watch the grizzly (brown) bears as they come grazing through on the sedge grasses. Although tempting, the $700 a person for between 5 and 7 hours of a trip was a bit much we decided.

Friday was mostly drizzling, so we took the opportunity to head in and do our laundry and get caught up around the trailer. When we got back to the trailer just before supper time, we decided to check out the little theatre that was doing “Chicago” this month. It was their second last night and they were sold out but had told me the night before that there would likely be last minute tickets available as people would likely turn some back in. Sure enough, I got first in line and we were able to spend the evening watching a very well done, amateur production of the musical. Looking at the building from the outside, it was hard to believe they could have any room for a stage, much less a 12 person orchestra (very professional too).

Saturday the rain lifted for a bit; it was market day in Homer so we stopped in and checked out the stalls. We picked up another bunch of rhubarb but unfortunately both my fridge and freezer are quite full and we didn’t have room for much at all. There were a lot of fresh veggies for sale – a lot of people advertising pestiside-free. Many people have some type of greenhouse in order to extend their growing season. In the afternoon, we took a drive high overlooking the bay. The fog had lifted as we drove out and we saw some neat landscapes.

On our way back however, the fog had started to roll back in and you could actually see the line where it was advancing. Our campsite was a bit foggy out on the spit.

There is a salt-water fish pond right beside where we are camping. It is busy most of the time. It is stocked with salmon – right now king salmon that are averaging 20-40 pounds and soon they will stock it with silver salmon. We’ve seen some of the catches people have had – there is a fish-cleaning area right beside so we see people coming back from a day on the boat with halibut and also those fishing in the pond beside that have salmon. Joyce is tempted, but it means another licence and then also adding in a “king salmon stamp” so for just a day, it ends up costing $40. If our freezer wasn’t full, Joyce would be seriously considering it.

We’ve decided tomorrow we will leave Homer and head back up the Kenai in search of some streams with large pools of salmon spawning. We’re also tired of camping in a parking lot and are going to look for a “real campground” for a couple of days before heading back through Anchorage.

 

 

Wednesday was a beautiful day – a few clouds in the morning made way for a clear blue sky for most of the day. We left the pier just about 10 am on a double-decker tour boat.

The water was calm and we had incredible sea life views. We saw several pods of orcas (killer whales). Generally there were 2 together, but in one case, we saw 6 in the pod of varying sizes (including a young one born this season). The naturalists here study them and know by various markings which ones are native to this area and which ones are “passing through”. The group of 6 is native here, known as the A6 pod. We also saw 2 humpback whales, a sea lion colony on a protected area, numerous seals and sea otters. Many of them have their babies as well. We also had an opportunity to see many of the native birds including puffins and 2 bald eagles in their nests.

The captain of the ship also was our guide. He had a wealth of knowledge about the wildlife as well as the environment around us – including the rocks, trees and glaciers. When he got word from his colleagues out on other boats of sea life, he would alter his course if possible to go check it out. If someone on the boat saw sea life, he would turn the boat around while we checked it out.

We saw several glaciers throughout the day and one very large glacier where pieces of it were calving off. We saw a few pieces come off, but it wasn’t as active as some we have seen in the past. However, the clear blue sky with the white glacier below it made for some beautiful pictures.

On the way back to port, we stopped at Fox Island for a salmon and prime rib buffet dinner. It was a private island and only this particular cruise line uses it for dinners. It was a nice way to end the day – after our meal we had a short cruise back to the pier and a quiet evening sitting outside, enjoying the nice weather.

Tomorrow morning we’ll head out for Homer and see if we can find a campsite before it gets too busy for the weekend!