Day 41 - Homer, Alaska

Marvin and Dee Curb #5                                       Monday, July 19, 2010         Homer, Alaska

We awoke in Homer to a rainy, foggy very cool day. We are told that Homer is having a cooler than usual summer, but who’s complaining – better than 102° in Texas.

Today is a free day. We started with a late and leisurely breakfast at Sourdough Express Bakery – very good. The story of the bakery is interesting. The owners, Donna and Kevin Maita, arrived in Homer in 1982 in an old panel truck equipped with a propane oven that would bake six loaves of bread. With $42.00 in their pocket, they set up shop out on the Spit. Within l6 weeks they had established themselves and become part of Homer. The rest is history. The little truck they arrived in now sits in front of the bakery for children to play in.

Next stop was the Homer Airport Terminal. Inside was a comprehensive pictorial narrative history of Homer and the settlement of this area. People who came here to homestead were a tough and hardy breed with an independent and make-do spirit. They gathered coal off the beach and did whatever was necessary to survive. This display covered every aspect of life – getting here, getting food, building a house, “proving” your claim, building schools – an excellent, easy to follow story of Homer.

The Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center was next on our agenda. The films and displays were so well done. Certainly we got a better understanding of the land, the water, and the animals of coastal Alaska.

Fireweed Gallery rounded out our day of prowling. It is more than just a gift shop. It is a gallery of unique, handmade art by Alaskan artists, some of them local. Two unusual pieces were life-size motorcycles made from forks, strainers and assorted other pieces of hardware.

Later in the afternoon, we decided to go to Anchor Point – farthest westerly drivable point. On the way we saw our best moose yet – a large bull with velvet on his rack about 30 yards from the road. We stopped and watched for quite a while. He turned and came toward us, seemingly undisturbed by the traffic. He was so close. It was a real Kodak moment!

At the Anchor Point State Park, we watched the boats being pulled out by a tractor. Boaters and commercial fishermen pay $58 to be put in and the pulled out. Each boat trailer has a number assigned. Captains radio in when they are ready to come out of the water. The tractor then finds their trailer and backs into the surf – (water up to the motor) and hauls them out. The tires on the tractor were almost as tall as we were. It was quite an operation.

Before we knew it, it was time for our staff bar-b-que and travel briefing – time to say good-bye to charming Homer, Kachemack Bay and glacier views. Tomorrow it’s on to Palmer and more adventures.

Day 40 - Homer, Alaska (free day - optional trip)

Larry and Ada Beavers #4                                                                    Sunday, July 18, 2010

We got up at 5:00 a.m. which should be the crack of dawn. But in Alaska there is no dawn.

We met Ken and Carole, Gary and Sally, Jenks, and Jeff for the drive to the Homer spit and the “Sea Witch” which was our halibut fishing boat. Four others joined us and off we went. We motored southwest for two hours and about fifty miles in rough seas of about seven feet.

Ada could not take the odor of the cabin and proceeded to take advantage of the rail. She evidently was not seasick and that is her story.

Our first “drop and fish” was pure torture. It was a rough sea and slipping and sliding on a pitching boat. It was a miracle no one was hurt or went overboard. There was also NO FISH.

The Captain realized the mistake after about a half an hour. We motored back for an hour toward calmer water. On our second “drop and fish” we hit a bonanza. Everyone excitedly limited out. We were even catching fish and throwing them back in favor of larger fish.

THE FISHING GOD SMILED!

Wet, cold and happy we lived through another adventure.

Day 40 - Homer, Alaska (free day - optional trip)

Sunday, July 18, 2010  Day 40 – Cruise To Seldovia

Ivan & Shirley Yurtin – Rig #12

Sunday morning was a beautiful rainy morning and our scheduled caravan left the RV Park and drove to downtown Homer.

We boarded the M/V Discovery Charter at 11 am, which is owned by Captain Tim Cashman. His cruise took us past Gull Island, Bird Rookery and through Eldred Passage. In spite of the rain, the water was actually smooth as glass as we started out on our voyage. Along the way, we saw numerous birds i.e., murre, black legged kittiwakes and of course puffins. We also saw rafts of Otter swimming on their backs. Tim mentioned that the fur of the otter is very dense, which helps them with buoyancy. We also observed a Solar panel perched on the rocks which allows the Pratt Museum to operate a remote controlled camera to watch the birds on the island.

We passed Peterson Bay where oyster farming takes place, Barabra Creek where eagles were all lined up in a row waiting for lunch. Tim pointed out Elephant Rock and Camel Rock. The cruise then took us through Eldred Passage.

We landed in Seldovia around 1 pm. Seldovia is an island city in Kenai Peninsula Borough with a population of 286. There is no road system connecting the town to other communities, so planes and boats are used for transportation. Most of us headed to the "Mad Fish Restaurant" for lunch. The smoked Salmon chowder was very good. After lunch we headed in various directions to check out the town. Seldovia is somewhat secluded and off the beaten path. However, there are numerous things to do. We only had a little over two hours to spend exploring.

We walked up the hill to St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, which was built in 1891. The name Seldovia is derived from the Russian word 'seldevoy' meaning 'herring bay.' The church was locked so we could not go inside and it appeared to be run down from lack of maintenance. Next we walked down the main street of Seldovia, which parallels the waterfront. There are no traffic lights in Seldovia. The town has a school that was built August 30, 1972 for grades 1-12 named after Susan B. English. 

We took a walk on the last of the "boardwalk" which was the town’s “original” main street along the waterfront. The waterfront was rebuilt after the Good Friday Earthquake March 27, 1964. The earthquake registered 9.2 and caused the land mass to drop 6 ft. After the earthquake the town would never be the center of commercial fishing in Kachemak Bay. As a result a new road connecting Homer to Anchorage made Homer the new hub of the bay’s fishing fleet.

Our next stop was the Visitor Center. As you walk up to the front door a beautiful stained glass window catches your attention. The logo represents the traditional animals, fish and birds that are important to the people of Seldovia.

Before boarding for our trip back, we received word that the caravan group that opted to go halibut fishing, had bagged their limit of fish. Great day was had by all!

Day 39 - Homer, Alaska

Homer, Alaska-Adventure 3 - Saturday, July 17, 2010

the Atteburys

We are in Homer and our RV park is right on the bluff overlooking the beach. The view is fantastic. We can see the mountains on the other side of the wide bay. The mountains are snow capped and one has a glacier on it. I know they must have names, but I don’t know them. And it’s not important; they are just beautiful to look at. Erv can walk Holly, our dog, down to the beach. She had a great time digging in the sand looking for critters. The only bad thing was she tracked sand into our rig.

Today was a free day in Homer to do what we wanted or needed to get done. We started our day doing all the mundane things one has to do in life like cleaning the bathroom and laundry. The interesting thing was the Laundromat we choose was way out at the east end of town. It is run by a Russian lady complete with a babushka and all. A lot of the customers were in traditional costumes as well. All were in bright colors.


We did our chores and then went to explore Homer. The town has an eclectic variety of houses. Some look right out of a ghost town, others are log structures, and some look like they are modular homes. We even saw an old boat on the spit that was being rehabbed and it looks like someone was living in it.

We stopped at a unique yarn shop. It is housed in a yurt. That is a round tent that I think the Mongolians use. The ladies that own it have day jobs, so it is only open on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. I got it on a good day. We had a nice visit and of course I spent money. But I did get some nice sock yarn. I figured I owe it to myself because I lost a sock somewhere between our rig and the laundry and back again.

After my shopping trip we went to lunch at a place called the Crooked Hook on Homer Spit. The spit is a finger of sand out in the Gulf of Alaska. It had tons of people out there. They were all in and out of shops and restaurants along the way. We saw the Salty Dawg Saloon. It has a working lighthouse right with the bar. You could see people in it drinking their beer. I think we’ll go back on Monday on our free day here to explore some of the gift shops.

We drove back out of town to the Bear Creek winery. They make their wines with wild berries and rhubarb. It was very different. But I did buy some of the better wines. I had a good time there talking with a bunch of other tasters. We returned to the RV park and walked to the Jelly Bean for ice cream.

Tonight we had a LEO (let’s eat out) at Don Jose’s. And because it was Ada’s and Sheryl’s birthday celebration, we all had cake supplied by Larry, Ada’s husband. We all sang Happy Birthday and the wait staff brought out big hats and we sang again. It was fun. Mexican food in Alaska is different than we are use to, but it was good.

Day 38 - Seward, AK to Homer, AK

Spence and Madi Schaaf #2 - Tailgunners                                                    Friday, July 16, 2010


One more travel day today. It started out cool this morning and I think a lot of us were tired. Many left later than usual today. After the last rig left, we were just biding our time until it was our moment to leave. Gazing out the window I realized there was a Bald Eagle perched in a tree right in the campground. Spence said he saw a youngster nearby; probably under the watchful eye of this larger bird, either momma or papa eagle. Great way to start out the morning.

However, as we readied our RV for the trip ahead, we discovered that our main slide motor was broken and our big slide would not come in! Can’t travel that way! Well, with a lot of shoving and pushing and gnashing of teeth, Spence was able to get the slide to close. A lot of noise, grinding and groaning, screeching and scraping, and it was finally in. It seems a screw broke off, causing some teeth on the gears inside the motor to break as well.

We finally got out of the campground in Seward about an hour later than scheduled. Spence had said yesterday that he wouldn’t mind spending the summer in Seward. He almost got his wish!

It was not the bright, sunny day we experienced yesterday. However, it was pleasant and the surrounds were beautiful.

We stopped in Soldotna at the very large Fred Meyers store to see if anyone was still there. We saw Karen, Nelson and Marlene, Jeff and Noreene and Bob and Peri. We are only guessing that many, many more of our group had already stopped there. It was very crowded and nerve-racking trying to negotiate in that parking lot, which also contains an RV dump site, adding to the congestion. We were glad to pull out of there!

We passed by the village of Ninilchik where the Russian Orthodox Church, ca 1900 sits atop the hillside and is visible from the road. We would have had to unhook our tow in order to go down there so we will save that for tomorrow. Additionally, along this route is Anchor Point, where you can drive to the most westerly drivable point in North America. That is another trip we will save for tomorrow.

As we approached Homer, the panorama was spectacular. We arrived at the Oceanview RV Park and took our space among the ocean vista sights. Because it is on a downhill slope, affording magnificent views of the ocean and surrounding glacial mountains, it is difficult to get level quickly. It took us quite a while to do so, but finally we called it good enough and settled in. Oh, wait……we had to hand crank our slide out with two wrenches. I can’t wait till 4 days from now when we will have to hand crank it back in!

 

Social hour was lightly attended, as most folks had taken off for the Homer Spit area to see what there is to see, check out the Salty Dog Saloon, or have dinner.

Or all of the above.