Kenai to Homer . . .camping on the Homer Spit!

Our campsite for the last few nights was at Beluga Lookout. As I mentioned before, it should be known as “Tern Terrace.” We saw no whale while we were there, but the terns are EVERYWHERE as evidenced by this picture. Terry went out and took several pictures last evening. These were taken at about 11:00 p.m. And while it is really light outside, it is actually getting darker at night. For several weeks, it has been light the entire night. It hasn't been a problem. . . it's quite interesting to be outside at midnight and it still be light. One woman said it was “energizing.” It really is. . .you don't really think about going to bed because it is still light outside. But then you just fall asleep when you sit down or start working on the computer. Plunk. . . I'm out like a light! LOL

We left Kenai this morning and headed south toward Homer. There are four mountains off to the northwest across the Cook Inlet, two of which have erupted in recent history. We saw them from our camp last night and we were able to see them better on the trip down. They are all snow covered and beautiful.

We made a stop at Ninilchik. This is a village which still maintains some of its Russian heritage as many of these villages do. There is a Russian Orthodox church that sits on a bluff above the community. The graveyard around the church is still in use. It was an interesting stop and very picturesque. We could see people out on the shore who were “clamming.” Razor clams are popular here and digging them is a big event. Entire families get involved in gathering the clams. I may have to buy some and figure out why people like them so much.

We arrived in Homer and drove out on the spit where we wanted to spend the night. The spit is similar to other fishing villages we have visited. There are some shops lining parts of the road and many business. . .charters, tours, fishing businesses, seafood processors, harbors, city parks, and RV parks. We are parked at the most southern park we could find at the edge of the spit. It is expensive for just electric, but it is cheaper than other camps down here. (I refused to pay $68 for full hookups.) We also have a fantastic view of the ocean, so we are enjoying that.

Soon after we got here, we walked back up to some shops so we could grab a bite to eat. We are a bit mystified as to the price of seafood here. One would think that right here where the boats bring the seafood in, you could buy seafood fairly cheaply But that is not the case. It is very expensive here. It's the same here as it is in the grocery stores in the bigger towns. It's a mystery to me. When we go to southern Louisiana, we can buy seafood much cheaper. Not sure what's up with that.

The eagles roost on top of towers here on the Homer Spit.

Tomorrow we may take a boat ride over to Seldovia. It's a 45 minute ride and it's a small fishing village with Russian heritage.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Around Kenai and Soldotna. . .

Today we left in the morning and went to get an oil change for the motorhome. This was the first one we have had since we left on our trip. Terry had them use synthetic oil in it this time as it is supposed to be able to go longer between oil changes and he wouldn't have to worry about going over the mileage on the trip home.

Afterwards, we did some exploring in the town of  Soldotna. Actually that is where we had the oil changed. . . it's just a few steps from Soldotna to Kenai. This entire area is known as the Kenai

Peninsula and it is lovely here. It is kind of a sportsman's paradise. We drove back to the Wildlife Refuge but found out it would require a lot of travel on dirt roads to "maybe" see some animals, so we decided not to go. We went to the Visitor's Bureau and took a stroll down their walkway to the Kenai River. The water is very fast and in just a few weeks, the area will be teaming with fishermen. When we drove down from Anchorage yesterday, the area around Cooper Landing was so busy and fishermen were standing in the river. The ladies told us that there was a lot of fishing down on the Kasilov River about 12 miles south so we went down there to see if we could watch the fishing. But there weren't too many people there and we were told that they will arrive around 5 p.m. The best fishing today will be from about 9 p.m. till midnight. We did see this fish wheel. This is a device used for centuries by the Indians.

On the way back to the camp, we stopped along the way on the other side of the river from our camp. The mountains in the background are really pretty and we can see mountains from our camp as well. Sitting outside at camp we see the ocean, but we also see mountains along the shore.

We stopped at a fish market on the way back as well. We got some halibut and some cod. Yum yum.

Once we got back, Tab told us about an eagle that had been flying around the cliffs. I got some pictures, but they aren't as good as I had hoped. It's hard to a good picture of a fast flying bird!

There is an airport nearby and a lot of different planes fly out of it. Today we saw this Coast Guard plane.

Till next time. . .

Dale