Overlooking Homer, one can
see snowcapped volcanos that give credence that Alaska is in the midst of
massive change: Augustine (4,000+ft) last
erupted in 2006: Illiamna (10,000+ft) constant plumes of steam and gasses;
Redoubt (10,000+ft) erupted in 2009; and Spur (11,000+ft) erupted in 1992. This coupled with the great earthquake of
1964 justifies that Alaska is NOT a land at rest.
Johnson
Lake State Recreation Campground, Mile 110.5, Sterling Highway
Tenderfoot
Creek Campground, Mile 46, Steward Highway
WIFI
Being connected is now the
limiting factor in keeping the blog up-to-date.
When WIFI is available, there are time limits, data limits, and the
whole process is VERY SLOW!! This being
the case, blog updates, while sporadic, will include multiple sites of
interest.
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| Road leading to Homer |
Homer
One could spend a month on
the Kenai Peninsula and never see it all.
Nature abounds and there is always something more around the
corner. We are becoming “wilderness
snobs.” We pull into a town with more than
10 non-eclectic residents, we then feel that we have left the WILDERNESS and
anything that the community might have to offer is beneath us. As usual with such snap judgements we are
entirely wrong and show ourselves to be total “Cheechacos” (Northern rookies-newcomers)
that we really are. There is always something interesting! The ride, via the Sterling Hwy, to Homer was
no exception. Located in the Kenai
Peninsula on Kachemak Bay, the town was named after Homer Pennock (a local
prospector) in the late 1800’s and is renowned for its halibut fishing.
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| Nikolaevsk Chapel |
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| Nikolaevsk |
Johnson Lake Campground
was used as our home base and we used our Yaris dinghy to visit Homer. Along the way we stopped in Nikolaevsk, a
settlement of “Russian Old Believers.” Consisting mostly of Russian Orthodox,
family oriented residents who live a self-sufficient lifestyle, it is an
interesting and picturesque setting. Chatting
with one elder resident, we learned what it was like, from her perspective,
growing up in this community. Now 82, as
a child she remembered that the community was very tight-knit. The children, many from large families, would
go to school (near where their church stands today) that was on the hill
overlooking their community. At
lunchtime she and the other children would go down to their homes to eat and
climb back up to the school and in the winter it was “ever so cold.” The community worked together and helped one
another as needed but her family depended on trapping, fishing, and gardening
to supply their needs. Her father would
be gone for days on end checking his trap lines, sometimes on foot and
sometimes by dog team. When she grew up
she married within the community but her children left to pursue a life down in
the “48” with one becoming a physician and then returning to Alaska. Sadly, time has taken her husband, some of
her children, and the community is in decline.
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| Bald Eagles soaring above Homer |
Sterling Hwy descends
“Homer Hill” through a series of twists and turns that offer “expansive views”
of Homer Spit (a popular peninsula that juts into the bay), Kachemak Bay, and
snow-capped mountains that rise out of the bay with breathtaking sheerness. Bald eagles abound throughout the area as
they soar catching the updrafts of the surrounding cliffs. Once down this 6% grade the traveler is
greeted by this modern and “tourist oriented” community. It is here that many cruise ships dock so
that their passengers can get a feel for a “real Alaskan fishing
community.” Perhaps this is a stretch
but it is a fun town with adventures for all, a welcoming community, and beauty
without bounds. This area is famous for
halibut with some of the catch as large as 300+ pounds. That is a lot of Friday dinners for someone!
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| Near Homer |
Tenderfoot Creek
Campground, alongside Summit Lake, was to be our home for one night but due to
the beauty and good fishing, we ended up staying two days. Returning to Anchorage for groceries and a
tire repair, we then ventured on to Palmer and beyond on our way to Valdez,
Alaska.
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| Augustine?? Near Homer |
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| Andrea enjoying it all! |
Overlooking Homer, one can
see snowcapped volcanos that give credence that Alaska is in the midst of
massive change: Augustine (4,000+ft) last
erupted in 2006: Illiamna (10,000+ft) constant plumes of steam and gasses;
Redoubt (10,000+ft) erupted in 2009; and Spur (11,000+ft) erupted in 1992. This coupled with the great earthquake of
1964 justifies that Alaska is NOT a land at rest.
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