The drive to Homer took us through Kenai peninsula … “Alaska's playground”. Parts of it reminded us of Switzerland … lush green mountains with snow on the top.
Lunch at a random lake along the way. Hope we find our way out !
The rivers and lakes take on great colors with so much glacial silt floating in the water.
In some areas, there were great sighting of small hanging glaciers.
Homer is a funky artsy town built on a spit of gravel and beach stretching 4.3 miles into Kachemak bay surrounded by glaciated mountains. There are over 100,000 glaciers in Alaska.
Katchemak is the Russian name for the bay, meaning “high cliffs on the water”. The town was established in 1895. In the 1964 earthquake, the already low land of Homer spit sunk another 6 feet. Buildings and boardwalks are built up on stilts. On July 4th weekend, campers and tents filled up Homer spit to the extent that there apparently was not another square inch for a tent.
Art galleries, interesting boats, and permanent motor homes are all over the place.
There is a very large deep water harbor that can accommodate ships up to 800 feet long. The climate is mild, the halibut fishing is especially good, and most of the hilly areas are covered in wildflowers from June to September.
The active art community includes potters, painters, sculptors, fabric, bead and glass artists, and an active theater. The local high school has a complete whale skeleton hanging from the ceiling in the entrance lobby.
We re-connected with friends that we have met at two other stops along the way, and did a guided nature walk with a naturalist who know all about the plants and flowers, including the traditional medicinal uses.
This one smelled strongly like a rose
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These are poisonous. Natives would put them on whale harpoons to kill whales, timing the hunting with the tides so that the incoming tide assisted in the recovery.  |
Cows Parsnip (the one that looks like queen anne's lace)
Algae and Fungus growing together
We spent a day with Juniper while Becky and John went off on their own adventures. It was a WONDERFUL day. We did not have a stroller, and there was not a stroller at the campground we were staying in, so we fabricated a travel device so that we could get around town. She LOVED it, and took a long nap along the way.
We had a waterfront site on the beach, uphill from the actual low lying spit area. We still observed 26 foot tides. At low tide, it is advisable NOT to walk on the dangerous mud flats as they are somewhat like quicksand. Walkers can get stuck and not be able get out before the tide comes in.
From our bedroom:
Kris walked down to the beach to fish and caught a nasty toad like inedible fish
An evening drive down a very steeply graded dirt road in the 4 wheel drive (thank goodness) rental car The dirt road was of very steep grade, highly switchbacked descending 1000 feet, and navigable with only 4 wheel drive vehicle. It was a white knuckle YIKES drive. The sun banging on the glaciers and mountains across the bay:
The road ends in Voznesenka, one of four 'Old Beleivers' Russian villages in the Homer area established in the 1980's. There are about 300 residents in the communities. They hold to orthodox religious beliefs, dress in colorful Russian traditional clothes, and have very large families, with 8-12 children. They earn their living by fishing and boat building
The mountain peaks pushing up through the glaciers are called 'Islands in the ice'
We are leaving Homer with Kris wanting to have seen more.
Night Night Homer
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