Homer

4 Comments / Alaska / By

On Wednesday morning (7/12), we stayed in Seward long enough to do laundry and to enjoy a surprisingly tasty lunch at The Highliner Restaurant, where we had some of the best Halibut so far on this trip.  We headed out of town early afternoon and drove across the top of the Kenai Peninsula to the Soldotna / Kenai area.  We spent the night at a Harvest Host location on Wednesday night at Alaska Blue Harvest Seafood, which is located at the mouth of the Kenai River.  On Thursday (7/13) we drove down AK-1 along the west side of the Kenai Peninsula toward Homer. This section of the drive had multiple scenic overlooks that offered spectacular views of the mountains that make up Lake Clark National Park.  The Dipnetting season had just recently opened, allowing Alaskan residents to catch salmon by wading into rivers and using large nets to gather their catch.  Thousands of Alaskans flock to the Kenai Peninsula for the dipnetting season.  We stopped at Kasilof Beach to take in the views.  

Homer is a top tourist destination on the Kenai Peninsula.
Alaska residents dipnetting in the Kasilof River, with a clear view of the Iliamna Volcano in the background.

The weather was unusually clear, offering spectacular views of the Iliamna Volcano and  Mount Redoubt from across the Cook Inlet as we drove down the Sterling Highway toward Homer.  We stopped at the bluff overlooking the town for some photos of the Homer Spit, which is the thin piece of land that juts 4 miles out into the Kachemak Bay.  Our campground was at the very end of the Spit.

Another view of the Iliamna Volcano from a scenic overlook along AK-1, looking across the Cook Inlet
Mount Redoubt, located in the Lake Clark National Park, was also in clear view.
You can see the Homer Spit from the bluff overlooking town, with the Kenai Mountain range behind.
The tide in Homer can reach up to 28.5 feet difference between low and high tide in the Homer Spit harbor.

We had a beachfront campsite at the Homer Spit Campground for Thursday (7/13) and Friday (7/14) nights.  The small site was expensive, all gravel, not level, and with no electric/water/sewer hookups, but the views were outstanding.  Lucy loved playing in the water on the beach in front of the campsite.  Thursday evening, we treated ourselves to another fresh Halibut Dinner at The Kannery, a local favorite in Homer.  However, we felt our lunch in Seward the day before was much better.  We still enjoyed sitting outside on their patio overlooking the Cook Inlet, though.    

That log next to Lucy is the edge of our campsite, so I took this photo from the middle of the site next to us!
Lucy was able to put her paws in the North Pacific Ocean, just in front of our campsite.
I was more focused on the beer than the landscape for this photo, but you get the idea. Sorry, I was thirsty!
In the evening, I sat down by the beach to watch the fishing boats come back to harbor.

Friday (7/14) we got up early to drive to Anchor Point for our Bear Viewing excursion.  This was one of the activities that I thought we’d really enjoy.  Boy, was I wrong!  Life Pro Tip: do NOT book a bear viewing trip or fishing charter in Alaska if you or your spouse has ANY inclination toward seasickness.  Laurie took extra Dramamine before we left.  The weather looked fine, although there were some slight winds.  The sea was a bit choppy as we launched and started the 1.5 hour ride across the Cook Inlet.   Little did we realize there were 8-10 foot swells throughout the middle of the Inlet.  I overheard on the radio one captain saying to another “That was the worst waves I’ve been in for a long, long time!”.  Needless to say, Laurie became violently seasick for the whole rest of the trip.  She was so weak by the time we got across the inlet to Lake Clark National Park that she could not get off the boat.  I stayed with her while the rest of the group went ashore for the bear viewing.  Unfortunately, the waves kept pounding us the whole time we remained with the boat, making things even worse for Laurie.  The waves were so strong that the boat lost its anchor while we were waiting for the group to come back.  The ride back to Anchor Point was long and miserable.  Laurie was sick for more than 24 hours after the charter ended.  It was a terrible experience. I’ve promised Laurie that I will never again book her on a charter boat!

This was our last happy moment, just before boarding our Bear Viewing Charter. The next 5 hours were not pleasant.
Lucy's day care while we were on the charter was stressful for her. Laurie and Lucy spent the rest of the day resting.

A new weather front moved into the area on Saturday (7/15), bringing constant rain.  We decided to move inland so that Laurie wouldn’t have to look at any more waves.  We drove back up the Kenai Peninsula to the Cooper Landing area.  We took the day off from sightseeing, and allowed the rain to move through.  This also gave Laurie and Lucy a chance to fully recuperate.  Thank goodness for Starlink!

Sign up to be notified by email of all new posts on funwithaview.com.  We promise to never sell or misuse your personal information.  We wouldn’t do that to you.  Besides, we have no idea how to do that anyway!

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.
Name

4 thoughts on “Homer”

  1. Sue

    As always, awesome pics! So sorry Laurie got sick
    Love seeing the pics and reading about your adventures!

  3. Larry Carlson

    Super pics of the mountains! I will remember! Sorry to hear about Laurie’s seasickness….I too got sick in the Captain Cook Sound while fishing for halibut. A lot of it is the movement of the tides, especially when an opposite direction from the wind.

    1. Steve

      Thanks, Larry. You are correct, the waves were suddenly high because of the south wind while the tide was going out of the Cook Inlet.

Comments are closed.