Homer, AK

Wednesday, July 15^th, we left Soldotna and drove 75-miles to Homer, Alaska. It was a cloudy day so we could not see the snow-covered volcanoes across Cook Inlet. We had to stop suddenly on the highway as a baby moose was running down the grassy area next to the shoulder on our side of the road. Vince & Lisa were right behind us and also stopped just as the baby moose ran across the road in front of their truck.  

The weather was cloudy, rainy and cool on Thursday and Friday. We did go down to the Homer Spit for lunch on Thursday. The Homer Spit is a narrow, 4.5 mile long peninsula extending out into Kachemak Bay. The Homer boat harbor is also located there.

The Homer Spit has several campgrounds and boardwalks with many shops and restaurants. After lunch, we walked around and browsed in the shops. We saw a motorhome that looked like its owners were also full-timers, like us, living in their motorhome. However, they might have to remove their flower boxes before they hit the road again.

 

On Saturday, we took the Rainbow Connection from Homer across Kachemak Bay to the little village of Seldovia, accessible only by boat or plane. On the way over we visited several bird rookeries where we saw Common Murre, Cormorant, and Tufted Puffins. We also saw a few Bald Eagles and Sea Otters on the way over.

After arriving at Seldovia, we had lunch and then headed out for a hike on a trail through the woods to a local beach. We wandered around town after the hike and went back to the harbor where we spotted two sea otters.

 

On the boat ride back to Homer, the crew spotted a pod of 2-3 Fin Whales, which they said were very rare to see in Kachemak Bay. Fin whales are normally 60-85 feet in length and weigh about 80 tons, the 2^nd biggest whale on earth (only blue whales are bigger). We also spotted a couple of humpback whales on the way back to Homer.

 

We got back to the dock around 6:15PM and headed to the Salty Dog, then across the street to Captain Pattie’s Fish House for dinner where we enjoyed some Alaskan seafood.

 

After dinner we drove out east of Homer to see several glaciers that are just on the edge of the Harding Icefields. On the way back to Homer, Julie and Lisa spotted a moose cow and her baby and we were able to get a few photos.

 

 

We left Homer on Sunday and had plans to boondock in a pullout along the highway, but there were so many cars and RVs parked in the pullouts, we decide to head on into Anchorage.      

Steve & Julie Cornelius