Tuesday, July 12
On the road to Homer
7:20 came too fast. After a quick breakfast we got dressed and started getting things ready for our trip to Homer. For some reason I wasn't too excited about this leg of the trip. I pictured Homer as a barren fishing village with little to do or see. Oh, how wrong could I be? First off, we drove out of Anchorage and followed the Seward Highway also known as the National Forest Scenic Byway (highways in this part of Alaska go by names, not numbers) as it passed by the Cook Inlet and Turnagain Arm. This stretch of road was extremely scenic.
The highway lay at the foot of the Chugach Mountain chain. Next to the highway was the Alaska Railroad track and then the Cook Inlet. Across the inlet was the Kenai Mountain Range. Mountains in the Chugach range were extremely steep and vividly green with waterfalls coming down in many places. The Kenai Mountains were all snow-capped with glaciers visible in many places. The views in this area were breathtaking. The area was at low tide so wide mudflats were visible all along the route. We hoped to arrive at the Bore tide which is a rapid rising of the tide just after low tide. The Bore tide surges into the constricted inlet coming in about 10-15 miles per hour and can reach heights of 6 feet or higher. Unfortunately, we were a little early - perhaps when we go back that way next week.
After passing the Cook Inlet we entered the Kenai Mountain range. This was a magnificent ride! We rode for miles in a valley surrounded on both sides by soaring snow-capped mountains. After many miles we left the Seward Highway and followed the Sterling Highway toward Homer. As we got deeper into the Kenai range we passed over the Russian River and glided by miles and miles of placid mountain lakes. It was beautiful!! Shortly after passing the town of Soldotna we began to see the Cook Inlet once again with yet another snow-capped moutain range west of the Kenai Peninsula on the Alaska Peninsula. The 3 tallest mountains in this range are all volcanoes. The tallest, Mt. Redoubt can be seen easily from the Sterling Highway and Soldoatna.
This volcano was active two years ago slowing down air traffic into Anchorage. This stretch of highway is noted for the high number of animal crossings. Signs warned us to give animals the right of way and indicated that over 250 moose had been killed on the highway since January. We did see one moose cow just before we arrived in Homer. Many cars were stopped along the narrow highway as tourists flocked to see the moose.The Ocean View RV park sits on a hillside just above the waters of Cook Inlet. Below all rigs is a large park area that overlooks the rocky beach, Cook Inlet and the beautiful snow-capped mountains.
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We held our social in that area this afternoon, and everyone was mesmerized by the view and the bald eagles that flew overhead. Just down from the park is a tree topped with a bald eagle nest. Several professional photographers with camera lenses at least 36" long were taking pictures of the nest. I asked one what was special about this nest. She said that it was relatively low to the ground and located in a place that was easy to access. She indicated that eagles don't often nest in a town by a busy highway. While we were looking at the nest, the mother eagle returned with food for her brood.The male eagle sat quietly in a nearby tree keeping an eye on things. After feeding her babies the mother flew to another nearby tree. Shortly, one of the "babies" climbed to the top of the nest and began flapping its wings.
The "baby" appeared to be almost as large as his mother. We'll keep an eye on this nest during our time here.I truly misjudged Homer.
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