Homer, Alaska

We have been in Homer since Friday. Homer is a rustic fishing village, but it does have its redeeming qualities, they have a Starbucks!  It is 8:30 am here (4:30 am EST) and we are there now catching up on communications.  Yesterday we walked throughout downtown and then hiked on and off trails through the wetlands hoping to run across a moose. No moose yet.  There are, however, plenty of eagles.  The locals are oblivious to them, but Tom and I are amazed every time we see one soaring by.  Yesterday we spotted two huge eagles perched atop a building. They were so large they reminded us of the storks we saw in Africa.  No one else seemed to care, but Tom and I walked/jogged down the Spit in order to see them.  Homer Spit is a narrow strip of land surrounded by the sea and the Kenai Mountain Range, part of the Kenai Peninsula.  

Yesterday, we took a boat out to Halibut Cove, an even more rustic village.  We had lunch at the island's only restaurant and then explored the island.  For the "mariners" in the listening audience, the tide here is 28 feet.  So all the houses around Halibut Cove are built on stilts and they have 30+ feet long ramps that extend to the docks and boathouses which all float up and down with the tide.  

Our main reason for coming to this area was for the bear viewing, which has been postponed due to weather (rain).  Fortunately, we awoke this morning to clear blue skies (although it is still rather brisk outside) and we are scheduled to take a sea plane to the coast this afternoon for bear viewing.  Don't panic if we don't post to the blog for a while, we won't return from the bear viewing until 9:30 tonight and then we have an early flight to Fairbanks tomorrow on our way to the Denali area.  I am, however, re-thinking my strategy during the bear adventure.  My plan, in the event of any bear mishap, was to outrun Tom. During a chat with one of the guides, they informed us that the bears usually chase and attack the one who runs...so on to plan B. 

Homer Spit

Halibut Cove

Bird Island on the way to Halibut Cove

Call me Ishmael...

Tomorrow begins our Alaskan adventure.  We fly to anchorage and then take another flight to Homer, Alaska where we will stay for three days.  While in Homer we will be hiking amidst coastal brown bears in the Alaskan wilderness with a trained guide.  We hope to see plenty of bears.  

June 9, we fly to Denali for three days to explore Denali National Park.  Weather permitting, we really look forward to seeing Mt. McKinley/Denali (we have scheduled a flight-seeing tour of the mountain).  We will also be renting a car and driving around the area in search for more bears, moose, and caribou. 

We travel to Juneau on the 12th and prepare to board the Safari Quest for our seven-day "un-cruise".  Our itinerary includes Frederick Sound, Stephen's Passage, Chichagof Island, Ford's Terror and the richest whale waters in southeast Alaska, Icy Straight.  We will be viewing glaciers, taking a few treks ashore and always watching for whales. We disembark on June 20 and return to Indiana on the 21st.  Hope you enjoy the blog.  Feel free to post any comments.