Souvenirs From The Road: Homer and a Whole Lot of Fishing!

Day 81 – July 21 was one of those days when we needed an oil change, pick up another 3 month supply of our RXs at a CVS (apparently there are only 2 in Alaska, both of which are in Anchorage), and I decided I needed a pair of the XtraTuf rubber boots that are all the style here in Alaska. It was after 11 when we pulled out of Centennial Park (which by the way is a really good park – they have night security that constantly walk the campground). Our destination is toward Cooper Landing – near the Russian and Kenai Rivers. We did not like the RV Park so we parked for the night, but went looking for other options to move to the next day. Drove to Quartz Creek where we have Site 12 reserved starting Sunday. Guess who is parked in our site now! Friends that we met twice previously – Mike and Ro! What are those odds? It is a gigantic pull through so we will just mooch-dock with them tomorrow.

Day 82 – July 22 We moved camp to Quartz Creek. Donna and Greg stayed behind. Mike and Ro are the best neighbors. Ron gets the fishing tackle lined out and we head to the Russian River to see what’s happening. There are people in the river, but not much in the way of catching.

Day 83 – July 23 Beautiful morning! Donna and Greg made it to their site. We went to the confluence of the Russian and Kenai rivers. Ron waded out. No luck. A beautiful sunny day and thoroughly enjoyed soaking up some Vitamin D. Came back and enjoyed walking down the trail to the bridge at Quartz Creek to watch the spawned salmon in the creek. Beautiful!

Spawned salmon

Day 85 – July 25 We moved camp today down the road to Ninilchik View Campground. We got a double site ($15) and backed/pulled in to face our awnings together. The site overlooks Cook Inlet. You can see Mt. Redoubt in the background. Went to the Russian Orthodox Church here, built in 1901. (The docent here told us the their church split from the Catholic Church in 1054). Lots of history. The cemetery around the church was pretty, but very overgrown. From the campground is a trail to the beach. We walked the small harbor which is very pretty.

Mt. ReDoubt in the background - still active.

The old Russian Orthodox Church

Inside the church

We went as west as you can go in North America!

Day 87 – July 27 finds us heading to the Homer Spit. We will be 5 nights at the Heritage RV Park. There is a fishing lagoon here. When the tide comes in, so do the fish. Everyone fishes. Now to figure out what they bite on is a different story…….

The next 2 days find us doing a little scenic driving around Homer and getting great views of Kachemak Bay. Stopping for breakfast at Two Sisters Bakery which is very yummy! Went to the Farmers Market and got fresh veggies and peonies. Finally made it to the Salty Dawg where you have to buy a beer, autograph a $1 bill and and tack to the wall and buy a t-shirt! At the end of the day we even saw the moon around 11 pm along with a kinda sorta sunset! The first in many months!

This eagle kept watch over the campground.

Peonies at the Farmers Market

Yummy! Two Sisters Bakery

Inside Two Sisters Bakery.

And here's where we stuck our autographed bill!

Homer Harbor

Very creative RV at the dock.

Standing at the end of The Spit.

Donna checking out the Salty Dawg!

Day 91 – July 31 is our Homer fishing charter (ninilchik.com) on a boat named the Sundy with Capt. Garrett and his sister Ciarra at 6 am. Turned out to be an awesome halibut charter. The crew was great and entertaining and made sure we always had a line with bait and were having a great time. Ron’s halibut was pretty big and was fun to fight. Shipped home another 36 pounds of fish! The charter ended when the whales came out everywhere and one started doing the breeching thing where they constantly jump out of the water splashing.