Homer- The End of the Road

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Friday morning we left Ninilchik View Campground for Homer. The clouds lifted a bit and we could see the volcanoes again. Driving south on the Sterling Highway we continued along the coast until we made the final turn towards the southeast and descended to Homer, with the Kachemak Bay and surrounding mountains revealed in their hazy glory. We stopped at Safeway and did only a small amount of stocking up, once we saw the big increase in prices from Anchorage. The rest of the groceries will have to wait until we arrive back in Anchorage.

Our Ninilchik camp

The pond between the bluff and beach at Ninilchik

Spider web with cottonwood seed fluff caught in it.

Mt. Illiamna

Heading down Sterling Highway to Homer. First view of Kachemak Bay

Driving out on the Spit

We hurried through the store because it was now after 11 am and we knew that there would only be a few spots left for camping on the Homer Spit. The Spit is a narrow gravel bar that stretches out about four miles into Kachemak Bay. The fishing industry is centered here, especially the charter boats going out to fish halibut, or butt fish, as Alaskans like to call these huge fish. The heaviest fish caught so far this summer for the halibut derby weighs over 277 pounds!

Seafarer's Memorial

Small boat harbor

Small boat ramp. Docks slide up and down posts with the big tides.

Tourist business on the Spit

Most of the activity is centered on about the third mile until the end of the road and the Spit. Shops and restaurants are built on pilings over the water, and a large marina has been carved out on the protected northeastern side of the Spit. The Alaska ferries dock at the end as well. There are several private campgrounds, and the city of Homer has established four campgrounds, two just for tents, on the Spit. We were heading to the Fishing Hole Campground for $15 a night. No hookups, of course, and only a gravel lot. Hoping for something similar to the Seward set up, we were disappointed to find a poorly organized space. We took the last uneven waterfront site that looked north up Kachemak Bay. We were lucky to get it. Lots of campers arrived later and into the night and were unable to find a Friday night spot. The beautiful views were on the other side of the Spit where the tenters were. The tide was way down when we arrived, but we soon discovered that a few eagles frequented this area, so that made up for the poor view.

Our campsite at the Fishing Hole

Bald Eagles on the flats below our camp at low tide

View of Kachemak Bay on the south side of the Spit.

Tent site with view over Kachemak Bay

We walked over to a restaurant for lunch, Captain Pattie's. Greg broke with tradition and got a fried oyster sandwich and clam chowder. The restaurant was loud with the chatter of tourists talking about their fishing trips. After lunch we wandered around the shops, and over to the marina. Boats were coming in and the fisherpeople, (mostly men), were cleaning their catch at the fish station. Then we went back to the campground, because, if you weren't fishing there wasn't much more to do! We sat outside in the sun and watched the tide rapidly creep up behind the rig. Our neighbors returned from their day of fishing, fired up their wok and fried up a nice batch of halibut. Suddenly we had two plates of fish, tartar sauce, and potato salad thrust into our laps by the smiling captain. What a treat! Halibut fresh out of Kachemak Bay, so fresh that it didn't taste or smell fishy!

Fishing boat deckhouses removed and stored for the summer.

"Chicken" halibut - under 20 lbs

Professional fish cleaners

Amateur fish cleaners

Originally we planned to spend two nights at Homer, but the weather was turning, the wind kicking up, and a chance of rain, so we decided to leave this morning. There really wasn't anything else we wanted to do there, and the campground wasn't appealing enough to stay longer. This morning we gave up our campsite, a risky business on a busy summer weekend, and began the drive north again. The wind blew out the clouds, and the first part of the trip we followed the coast with snow covered volcanic peaks across Cook Inlet to our west. As we took the turn away from the coast and back into the interior of the Kenai Peninsula, the clouds came in again. We retraced our tracks through Sterling, Soldotna, and Cooper Landing, with its crowds of salmon fisherpeople.

Clouds coming in as we leave the Spit

Our plan was to go for the night, to the little gold rush town of Hope, a detour from the highway down to Turnagain Arm, before leaving the Kenai Peninsula. About 3 pm we passed Summit Lake and remembered a forest service campground across the lake we'd seen on the drive down. We made an impulsive turn off the road to check it out. When we arrived we discovered there were only four campsites left. We knew the closer we got to Anchorage, the fuller the campgrounds would be, especially on a Saturday night, so we took the first site we came to, a beautiful spot right on Summit Lake. My senior discount got it for us for $9.

Moose along the road. It was hard to get the camera out in time at 55 mph.

Native selling whale baleen on a Soldotna street corner

Drift boats on the Kenai River

Greg built a fire before the rain started this evening. We sat outside for a while, looked at the fire, the lake, and unfortunately listened to the traffic across the lake. After the Homer Spit and the gravel lot, we appreciated the lake and trees anyway. Sometimes where we land for the night is a tradeoff. But, unlike in a house, the next day we can just move on!

Camp on Upper Summit lake

We have five more nights until we travel 30 miles into Denali National Park for our 3 night reservation at Teklanika Campground. The extended forecast calls for lots of rain. Praying that we get some clearing weather so we will get to see Mount McKinley!