Day 37
Thursday, July 14
Scenic Drives around Homer

Sunshine and partly cloudy skies greeted us this morning. It was 50 degrees with pretty stout winds off the Cook Inlet, so it was a little cool. Free days mean we don't have to get around so early and this allowed us to sleep a little later. We had agreed with Robert and Bet to leave about 9:30, but we didn't get away until almost 10:00. The first item on our agenda was to go back toward Anchor Point, about 15 miles north of Homer, to the to the North Fork Loop. After driving about 5-6 miles I was about ready to call this scenic drive a bust, but we continued on. Shortly after we saw a sign pointing to the village of Nikolaevsk. Nikolaevsk is a community of Russian immigrants. We had noticed several women around town wearing long satin dresses and some sort of hat on their heads. It turns out that these women are from Nikolaevsk.

 

The town was quite small but it did have a post office, grocery store, school and church.
  The church is a Russian Orthodox church complete with onion domes. We stopped to take pictures and ended up talking to a man who was helping to build a new church because their congregation was growing. He immigrated with his parents when he was a child and has lived in this village since 1968. He told us that their school currently has about 60 students, but has had as many as 150. We noticed several greenhouses in the town and he explained that they grow their own vegetables to eat and to sell. He told us that many Russians like to move a lot, and that people might stay in this village for only 10 years. His parents have moved twice since they came to this village, but he has stayed here most of his life. It was an interesting little village.

When we left this village the road changed from a paved road to a well maintained gravel road. It was quite winding and very steep in places. From the road we had excellent view of two volcanoes - Mt. Redoubt and  Mt. Iliamna - and terrific view of the Cook Inlet and the mountains on its western shore. Homes along this road ranged from shacks that look barely inhabitable to beautiful modern homes with soaring windows facing the northwest and the inlet and mountains. The wildflowers - particularly Lupine and Cow's Parsnip - were blooming abundantly. Another 8 miles and we were back to the Sterling Highway and the road back to Homer.

We had taken a picnic lunch but couldn't find a place to stop and picnic, so we came back to the campground and picnicked by the Cook Inlet at the campground overlook. Our next destination was to find Skyline Drive and the Wynn Nature Center. I checked the map and found a shortcut to Skyline Drive close to our campground. West Hill Road took us up a steep incline that wound among many beautiful homes with unbelievable views of the Inlet and the mountains. The wildflowers here were also thicker than any we've seen up to now.

 

They reminded me of the fields of bluebonnets we have back in Texas down in the Hill Country.

 

Before long we came to a turnout that provided a dramatic view of all of Homer, the Cook Inlet, the glaciers and mountains. It was spectacular!!

Shortly we found the Wynn Nature Center. We arrived at 1:55 and the guided tour began at 2:00 - talk about timing!

 

Rae, a high school intern from Washington D.C., took us on a 1/2 mile nature hike through the Wildflower Meadow. She pointed out many different wildflowers and told us of their medicinal powers.
 
 

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The Chocolate Lily smelled like rotten moose meat. It attracts flies that spread its pollen helping it to reproduce.

 any were very poinsonous, but others were truly medicinal. The willow leaf, a favorite of the moose, tasted like aspirin because it contains acidemenifin. Another contains properties that relieve anxiety and nervousness. Still oathers were highly poisonous. One was used to make a paste that was rubbed on harpoons. When it struck the whale, the medication caused the whale's heart to slowly stop.    Cow's Parsnip is sort of like poison ivy. Rubbing it on your skin causes blisters and inhaling the smoke of burning stalks cause internal blistering.
 

 

 
We also learned how to distinguish between the three types of ferns: wood, oak, and diamond. It was an interesting and informative tour.

After the first 1/2 mile Jenna and Bet decided to return with the guide to the starting point.

 

Robert and I went on for another mile through the Moose Bog and on to a viewing platform that gave us a good view of the mountains and glaciers.

 

There really wasn't much to look at on this part, so Jenna and Bet might have made a good decision.

Our day on the road was completed with a spin buy the
 

Salty Dog Tavern on the Homer Spit. The Salty Dog Tavern is a landmark on the Spit and a must for all tourists. The tavern, topped by a lighthouse, has been used in the past as a school and an office for a coal company. The lighthouse was originally a water tower for Homer. It has operated as a tavern for close to 100 years.

 

Visitors to the tavern are encouraged to write a message on a $1 bill and tack it somewhere inside the bar. Thousands of dollars are tacked everywhere.

 

We had an obligitory beer - coke for Bett - but kept our dollars in our pockets.

After returning to the campground, Roni and Bruce invited us down for a Social. Fourteen or so brougt their chairs, wine, beer, tea or whatever and we all sat around and discussed our day. Cindy said she had made a movie of our rafting trip and invited everyone to their motorhome to watch. She used Smilebox to post her pictures in a slideshow program. It was excellent and we all laughed at the captions she had put on the pictures.

We finally got back to our trailer about 8:40 and found something to eat for dinner. This time zone difference and the sunlight until 11:00 or later makes it difficult to end your day at a good time. It's 10:30 now and I'm far from ready for bed.