Homer AK

On the way from Seward to Homer we stopped at Exit Glacier. It drips out of the vast Harding Icefield. The front of the glacier is no longer visible from the viewpoint.

On the road from the visitor center we passed date signs which locate the end of the glacier back to 1815.

On the Sterling Highway we stopped to view Mt Redoubt, one of the nearby volcanoes that tower over Cook Inlet.

Volcano, Mt Redoubt

Mt Redoubt overlooks Cook Inlet

Welcome to Homer Alaska as we overlooked Kachemak Bay.

We drove out to the spit to look for the location of the boat William will go fishing from on Wednesday.

For lunch we stopped at the Harbor Grill.

After lunch we went to visit a real Alaskan pioneer. Milli moved here in 1979. She and her husband and two boys 10 and 12 felled the logs for their house and built a large log house on their 100+ acres. They bought the land from the original homesteaders. It is a large and quite amazing house that a family built essentially by themselves. The house is high on the hill overlooking Homer. Milli now has just one horse and a dog and most of the land other than the yard and garden is natural. Cow parsnips have over run the pastures. The alder have been heavily browsed by moose and show witchy broom tops. Spruce have grown tall over the years.

Milli and Pepper

A huge field of mostly cow parsnips. You can see the barn roof  in the spruce.

Pepper might smell a rabbit.

A Nootka Lupine getting ready to bloom.

View of the Homer Spit from just below Milli's.

Tuesday we began touring around Homer at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center. Really nice interactive displays here. Lunch was at the Sourdough Express. Reindeer sausage sandwich. Very good.

We checked out a number of campgrounds on the spit and decided on one close to the small boat harbor. William will go out Wednesday on the Optimist to catch some fish. I made him a very nice lunch, all five pounds of it. Lunch, check, water, check, high rubber boots, check, water repellant clothes, check, warm layers underneath, check, fishing license, check, fishing derby ticket, check. I think he is ready.

This morning we heard some bumping then a crash bang right before the alarm went off at 6AM. I thought it was a garbage truck, but William looked outside and saw that the electric plug in post next to us was smashed flat. We thought that the vehicle next to us had backed over it and left. They had left alright, right down to the row of campsites below and in front of us. They had careened over the bank, bounced off a vehicle next to a tent trailer and come to a stop on a picnic table. William asked what had happened and they said the accelerator had stuck. The police have come and gone wishing them good luck. I guess they are waiting for a tow truck.

The Yellowstone rental RV was the culprit.

Came pretty close to us.

Smashed the power box flat.

Smashed our fire pit.

Landed in a picnic table.

A man from the RV rental place has showed up. The accident is being explained to him. Looks like he came from Anchorage.  No tow truck. But according to the campground manager the drivers of the rental RV are too spooked to drive it.  I could see everything better if it were not for the fog, light rain, mist on our front window.  

This is supposed to be good fishing weather.  Hope William has good luck on the Optimist.  They will fish for halibut and whatever else they can catch.