Posts Tagged With: Homer Alaska

2019 Trip 5: Alaska: Sept.4-5

Posted on September 6, 2019 by Ed Heimel and Chris Klejbuk, MN travel bloggers; ckeh72@comcast.net

On the hills above Homer AK

Seward, Alaska, Sept. 4-5

Wednesday and Thursday were two relaxing days seeing the sights bookended by the exciting air flight on Tuesday and Friday’s upcoming water cruise.

Fishing boat design varies by the type of fishing being done

The day started at the Pratt Museum, the local historical society in Homer. While small, it had good displays unique to the Kachemak Bay Area. Coal mining was an early driver of settlement from the Lower 48. Fishing has historically been important, changes and overfishing have made full time commercial fishing a difficult occupation. That is one reason for the growth of fishing tourism.

The area covered by the oil spill from the Exxon Valdez

One display section focused on the Exxon Valdez oil spill. This was an oil tanker which after leaving the oil terminal in Valdez, ran aground in Prince William Sound on Good Friday 1989. 11 million gallons of crude oil were released, creating a monumental environmental crisis.

The display in the Pratt showed the extent of the spill. To help one visualize the extent of the oil spill, they have a U.S.map with a portable outline of the spill area. I placed the spill along the Mississippi River. The spill would have stretched from the headwaters at Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota almost to St. Louis. This gave me a better realization of the spill and its consequences.

Hiking around Homer

Homer offers numerous hiking options from full day hikes across the bay at Kachhemak State Park to strolls around town. Wednesday we selected more leisurely options. While mountains line the south side of the bay, Homer itself has steep hills behind it on the north. To us, it resembled Duluth MN with its hills and view of Lake Superior.

Hiking around Homer

While deciduous trees are not abundant, there are some. Our expectations of a colorful scene of orange, and red, and yellow is not to be seen. Most of the deciduous trees have brown, falling leaves. The underbrush, however, has been colorful. Fireweed is a common plant here and can carpet a field completely or line the roadside with its 4-6 foot tall stalks. It is coming to the end of its season and depending on locale, may still be flowering or starting to seed. Its fluff is similar to cottonwoods or dandelions and you can walk through a cloud of the fluff as you walk along.

Our hikes did not produce any wildlife viewings. On one, a moose and her calves had been seen in the area and when we came across very fresh moose scat, we decided to take a different path. Female moose are known to be aggressively protective of their young. Views of mountains, sea, and glaciers were pretty much everywhere.

Routine tasks came into play, we had several loads of wash to do. The mud from the walk on Tuesday was on numerous articles of clothing and even the rinsing and washing down on Tuesday only partially got rid of the mud. An excellent halibut dinner capped our Wednesday activities.

Holy Assumption Orthodox Church, Kenai AK

Thursday was time to retrace our steps through the fire zone over to Seward. The people at the Maritime Islands National Wildlife Refuge had recommended a slight detour into the city of Kenai where a herd of caribou frequently hang out. Today they were absent.

The Nikiski area north of Kenai along the east shore of Cook Inlet

Since we were in Kenai, we decided to drive a few more miles north along the Cook Inlet looking for evidence of the oil industry. The Alaska papers had written about BP selling its Cook Inlet oil interests to a smaller firm out of Houston. I had not realized oil was a big deal outside of the North Slope Area. Evidently Cook Inlet is a major player as are several new fields elsewhere in Alaska that are getting attention. Those new fields will require new roads to be built through tundra and wilderness area. I am not going to get into the complicated history of oil, Alaska, tax write-offs, annual payments to residents and environmental concerns but did want to at least see this aspect of Alaska.

Nikiski is about 10 miles north of Kenai and a world away. As you leave Kenai, the roadside changes to an industrial setting with oil related businesses lining the sides, along with a surprising number of small churches. We passed a fertilizer plant, refinery, liquid natural gas processing facility, etc. Oil drilling rigs in the inlet were too far out to be visible to the naked eye although an exhibit at the Kenai Visitor Center said they were there.

Driving along the Sterling Highway in the Swan Lake fire zone

Leaving Nikiski, we continued our journey. Several times today we were stopped and had to wait for pilot cars to lead us through road construction zones. Going through the Swan Lake fire zone was slower this time. On Monday, Labor Day, the pilot car had zipped through. On Thursday, with construction crews active alongside fire containment workers, speeds rarely reached 20 mph. No fire was visible and the wind seemed to keep most of the haze to the south side of the road. But numerous areas not far from the roadside were smoldering and sending out heavy plumes of smoke. We had frequently heard comments predicting that the fires will return next spring. The boggy area tends to allow the fire to burn slow under the surface.

Exit Glacier, Kenai Fjords National Park

For us, the major attraction in Seward is Kenai Fjords National Park. Once again, much of the park is wilderness and difficult to reach. One accessible area is Exit Glacier just north of Seward. We reached it in time to take a hike to the viewing platform short of the glacier itself. Along the way are the usual signs indicating how the glacier has retreated. As you drive in and then as you hike, you pass signs indicating the glacier was down here in 1815, here in 1899, here in 1929, here in 1951, etc.

Friday the cruise is with Major Marine, a five hour expedition with lunch and views of the glaciers and fjords of Kenai National Park. Five hours seemed long enough, longer ones exist but take you out on rougher seas. After the Florida trip, rougher seas seemed not to be a wise option. We will let you know how this cruise fared.

Tern Lake, Seward Highway

Ed and Chris. September 6. 6:45 AM

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2019 Trip 5: Alaska: September 2

Posted on September 3, 2019 by Ed Heimel and Chris Klejbuk, MN travel bloggers; ckeh72@comcast.net

First view of Cook Inlet from Kenai Peninsula at Ninilchik, AK

Homer, AK. Monday (Labor Day) September 2

Just about the end of the world here. The road to Homer continues for about 20 miles past it and then comes to a stop. Everything else has to be reached by air or boat. The weather varies greatly from the impact of mountains, ocean currents, as well just variation within the day. We can see rain shower clouds frequently in the distance which has dissipated by the time we arrive at that estimated location. During Monday we had several periods of rain as well as sunny skies.

Driving through the fire zone on the Sterling Highway between Cooper Landing and Sterling

The day began with the drive. We left Cooper Landing, able to drive on our own for five miles until there would be a check point. At the check point, you wait for the pilot car to follow it through the fire zone. Well, for us, we had not yet reached the check point when we saw the pilot car gaining on us from the rear. We pulled over, let it pass, and then joined the group. When we passed the next check point, the group just kept going. Cars waiting at the check point joined in at the end.

Sunday, the stretch to Cooper Landing looked like any other roadway except for the fire preparations areas. Monday, the stretch of road with the pilot car was definitely going through a fire zone. Our pictures are not the best, quick shots from a car moving at 55 mph through hills, curves, and stretches of gravel road. The gravel road portions were unclear to us; was this road under construction before the fire and unable to be finished or did the fire cause damage to the road surface? Don’t know the answer yet.

In several places, the forest fire had jumped the road. Burnt trees were on either side of us. Trees were down, some trunks coming close to the road. Areas of smoldering turf lurked just past the shoulder, wisps of smoke curling to the sky. The road had been completely shut down for two periods of time, we could see why. Smoke smell was everywhere, smoke haze was minor today. Our assumption was that the light rain had cleared the skies somewhat. This stretch continued for about 12 miles, then the pilot car pulled over and we continued the rest of the drive to Homer as if nothing was out of place.

The Kenai Peninsula is slightly larger than the state of West Virginia with a population of about 55,000. Four towns, Kenai, Sterling, Soldotna, and Homer each have a population between 5500 and 8000. The vast majority of the land is part of governmental units; Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Chugach National Forest, Kenai Fjords National Park, and Kachemak Bay State Park.

A short hike at Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in Soldotna, AK

We drove through Sterling and Soldotna on our way to Homer. In Soldotna, we stopped at the visitor center for Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. It was relatively new with wonderful exhibits and friendly, informative staff. Out back, we went for a nature hike between light rain drops. Evidently, we had just missed the arctic terns who summer on the lake (and other lakes). Arctic terns make the longest migratory journey of any bird, flying between the Arctic to the Antarctic every six months.

Church of the Transfiguration, Russian Orthodox Church in Ninilchik, AK

Interior of church

The Kenai Peninsula was one of the areas that Russians settled during its period of Alaskan colonization (1733-1867). We stopped in Ninilchik to visit a Russian Orthodox Church. By now, the sun was out and the church overlooks Cook Inlet with a beautiful view of the water. To our surprise, a bearded gentleman was sitting outside the church! Turns out he is a priest, born down by Sitka. The church itself is very small with numerous icons and paintings inside. The priest was clear that the Orthodox Church is the one Christian Church true to the original Christian beliefs and service.

Views from Homer Spit

Our drive continued to Homer, stopping for periodic photos. In Homer, we drove first to the Homer Spit; a 4.5 mile peninsula jutting out into Kachemak Bay. The town of Homer began as a fishing spot, with canneries and fleets. Competing towns existed across Kachemak Bay but the Sterling Highway came to Homer in 1950, and the 1964 earthquake damaged the towns across the bay to a greater degree. Now Homer is the major commercial center of the southern area with the towns across the bay accessible only by air or boat. The spit itself dropped nine feet in elevation during the earthquake, with most buildings destroyed. It is rebuilt now, both commercial fishing and sport fishing being major economic drivers.

Another Homer Spit photo

On the spit is the office of our air flight service, Alaska Bear Adventures. We had to be weighed in as the plane has a limit to what it can carry. We received our instructions, including that the departure time is now scheduled for 10 AM. Early morning fog is expected and pushed back a more normal start time of 6 AM. We should arrive back in Homer at 4:30 PM or thereabouts on Tuesday.

Beluga Slough, part of Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, Homer AK

Lunch was at a nice restaurant overlooking the water with fresh halibut as our meal choice. Homer claims to be the halibut fishing capital of the world. After lunch we stopped at another wildlife refuge, Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. At 3 million acres stretching from the end of the Aleutians to the southeastern tip of Alaska, it is the largest national wildlife refuge. More sea birds nest here than all other U.S. wildlife refuges combined. We took a hike to an estuary slough and finished with dessert at a local bakery.

For three nights we will be in Homer. Our lodging is east of town on the road that dead ends into nothingness. We checked out a portion of the road, hoping to return later when the rain has stopped and the sun is out to get better photos of the glaciers across the bay.

View overlooking Kachemak Bay from the patio at our AirBnB in Homer, AK

Ed and Chris. Homer Alaska. Tuesday September 3, 3:30 AM

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