WANDERING WITH THE WRIGHTS

July 14, 2024       Week #6

Last week we had just pulled into Homer, Alaska - we were there four nights and had a great time.  We stayed at an Elks lodge that had a beautiful view of Kachemak Bay.

Monday July 8th

The tide is way out in the Bay 

View as we drove to Homer Spit -7 miles south of Homer

The Salty Dog - was originally one of the first cabins built on the Spit in 1897.  It has also been the post office, railroad station, grocery store and a coal mining office.  In 1909 a second building was added. 

Today it is a bar known for the thousands of dollar bills signed by visitors and tacked to the walls.

A place every tourist has to see

At the end of the year all the money is taken down and donated to charity

I believe this is called Lupin - it is everywhere and so beautiful along the roads

We drove up to Skyline Drive.  You can see the town of Homer and the Spit jetting out into the water

On the drive back to Homer we stumbled across the Arts Center

All of these plastic floats were on display

We were parked next to a very nice couple Sue and Gary (we have good friends back in IL with the same name) so we knew they were good people.  We spent a lot of time with them the next few days.

Enjoyed getting to know them over dinner the first night we were there

Tuesday July 9th

The next morning Jerry and I drove back to the Spit and boarded the boat Discovery for a wildlife tour and trip to Seldovia -  the only way to get there is by boat or plane

As we left the dock we saw this ship - our friend Steve served in the Coast Guard, I believe in AK so we took a picture for him.  Thank you for your service Steve

The captain slowly took us around Gull Island a bird rookery where 15,000 sea birds call home.

And it was covered in birds - many different kinds

There were several large numbers of birds just floating 

And here there were sea otters enjoying the water - the otters wrap their babies in kelp so that they can go out and feed and the babies will be where they left them when they return.  If the tide or wind is strong they also will wrap themselves in kelp.  

And Puffins

Birds everywhere, in nooks and crannies

An Eagle

This rock formation resembles an elephant with his trunk down

and as we cruised by it was like he was lifting his trunk to wave

A few of the shops that line the banks of Seldovia.

The island is about 384 acres and is the home to around 240 people

They get to enjoy gorgeous views of majestic mountains sitting over sparkling water and long stretches of sandy shoreline

The ramp we had to climb to get into town - the tide was low so ramp was steep

There is a school on this tiny island

The carvings at the local park were beautiful

The floor in the grocery store

The Seldovia port

A fisherman cleaning his catch

As we sailed out of the harbor another eagle

                                                                                 

                                       We were blessed to see a half dozen wales on the way back to the Spit

a unique place for cigarette butts

Wednesday July 10th

Went to Anchor Point just to see them pull the boats out of the water with a huge tractor during low tide

Tractor going down to get the boat

He turns around and backs way in

                                        

Boat comes up

Keeps coming

People stay on the boat while the tractor pulls them in

They pull a ramp up so the people can get off the boat

Also stopped at North America's most westerly highway point

Went a bit up the road to the town of Ninilchik to see the Holy Transfiguration of our Lord Russian Orthodox Church.  Built in 1901 and the home of a Russian Orthodox Cemetery

The cemetery was covered in beautiful wild flowers

There is a tiny moose on this grave site

and had a beautiful view

From the church we could see a lot of buildings down below so drove down to what we learned is old town Ninilchik - did not know what to expect and saw so many eagles - it was wonderful.

They were in the stream

In the trees

flying overhead

And although hard to see there are 7 or 8 baby eagles - they haven't changed color yet and are very well camouflaged in the tree.

Neither Jerry or I are fish lovers but we had promised ourselves we would try Halibut while in Homer - the Halibut Capital of the World.  We had it for dinner and it was delicious!!

We also visited the Homer Museum which was extremely nice for such a small town and very informative and I got to face-time with three of my friends - we have been "meeting" once a week since covid but I hadn't been able to "meet" with them since we left in June.  It was great to see them.

                                                  
That night 6 of us that were camping at the Elks Lodge when to Alice's Champagne Palace to see a play.

We sat with a couple that have lived in Homer for over 30 years and had such a fun evening.

The musical was written by two local people from Homer and all the actors are from Homer. It tells the story of Alaska becoming a state as well as the history of Homer.  

It was so well done and we just had a great evening with new friends.

We left Homer, which we really enjoyed on the 12th and headed for Whittier

It is the rainy time of year along the coast so lots of overcast but only occasionally did we have much rain.  This was a travel day and we did have rain

I wish these pictures really showed the beautiful color of the Kenai River

This was the view where we boon-docked that night before entering Whittier the next morning - because you have to go through a tunnel that is shared with a train we chose to leave the motorhome at the Visitors Center and drive in the Jeep.  The motorhome would have fit we just didn't want to take it.

There is $13 toll for going through the tunnel for a car - not sure what the motorhome would have run

Entering the tunnel

Inside - 2 1/2 miles long

Exiting into Whittier

The tracks inside the tunnel go off to the right when you exit

and the cars to the left

Whittier if a town of 214 people and the cost of living is $44,914 per year.

It is the gateway to the wilderness of the Prince William Sound.  The town is only accessible by boat or the single lane tunnel that is shared by cars & railroad

In 1973 the residents voted in favor of purchasing the military facilities that included the entire main area of Whittier. The 214 residents, 180 live in one building.  The balance live in Whittier Manor that has 80 apartments.  We were told that by living in just 2 buildings it is much easier during the harsh winter months - where temps fluctuate from 0 to 10 degrees.  Also the railroad owns the land and won't allow individual homes to be built. 

Even though it was a  drizzly - low cloud cover day we enjoyed driving around the town - no doubt the views would have been beautiful on a nicer day.

Many things are brought in by rail

We had to wait a little longer to leave back through the tunnel as trains have the right away.

And waiting for the train wasn't bad as we got to sit and enjoy another beautiful waterfall

We then had a short drive of about 100 miles to the Wasilla/Palmer Elks lodge - our home for 3 nights.
Our first night there Friday the 14th was a real treat as they were having a pulled pork dinner that we elected to participate in - the servings were so large we actually finished it up for dinner tonight
                                                                                  

We are very close to an area we spent 4 nights in earlier this month.  There were several more things we wanted to do so came back after being on the Kanai Peninsula.

Saturday morning we slept in and relaxed and then headed down toward Anchorage to visit 

                                               

The Alaska Native Heritage Center - we took a very interesting tour and only 4 of us were on our tour

Totem poles normally tell a story and this one was dedicated to all the native children that did not return from the boarding school that Americans forced them to go to.  They wanted to change their way of thinking to be more American as opposed to their ancestors traditions.  It was not a proud time for America

We learned a lot about the homes they built and why they were built the way they were.  Also depending on what part of Alaska they lived in how they used the wildlife furs to keep them warm, etc.

A game they like to play - they raise and lower the ball and have to jump up and touch it with one foot.  

They also showed some native dance which I was very disappointed in, the two ladies in pink were good but the lady off to the white in a sweatshirt was not the least bit interested in what she was doing and it was obvious as she chomped on her gum as she danced.

We then had dinner with a couple we met when we first entered Alaska - we have stayed in touch and were back in this area together.

This morning Sunday we drove Hatcher Pass - it is a pass through the southwest part of the Talkeetna Mountains and the home to Independence Mine State Historical Park.  The drive through the pass is about 49 miles and about 14 miles of it are gravel.  It is about 4,00 feet hight.  

Waterfalls no matter where you go

It was amazing how they were so self sufficient so far from any large cities - a lot of what they needed had to come from Seattle, Washington.  It was very interesting to learn how the start of WW II interrupted the mining operation as gold mining was declared a nonessential wartime activity - the mine did resume briefly after the war until it closed for good in 1951.  Many of the building are turning to ruin - as the weather is so hard on them.

The road is steep and winding with lots of potholes.  

We took the Jeep.  

When we left for Alaska there were several animals I wanted to see in the wild - have seen them all except a moose!  Not giving up though

Well that's the end of week 6 - we head out tomorrow morning for more adventures?