Peter Lake

To Peter Lake Video

https://photos.app.goo.gl/bs5m3yZjrGZd9nrg8

Back to a cloudy day, but at least the winds have dropped off.  One last stop at the “Two Sisters” bakery later in the morning on our way out of town. Still a line. I get some sandwiches to go for lunch and dinner.

Leaving the Spit

It’s low tide late morning and lots of people are walking out on the sand flats which extend ½ mile out or more in places..  The tide range here is over 20 feet. There are even some people horseback riding.

Driving north, Anchor Point catches my interest when I discover that it is the farthest west highway (paved road) in North America that connects to the USA highway system. I turn around, we have to check this out. Turns out to be more interesting than I imagined. There is a boat launch of sorts.  There are a couple of high wheeled tractors that tow fishing boats on trailers down the beach to the surf to launch.  When the fishermen return they call on the VHF radio to the tractor to come out to pick them up.  Unfortunately with todays overcast conditions no one is launching. Fortunately some locals explain how this all works or I would've missed it.

Tractor boat launch

From the internet

Now, every way we go gets us closer to home. 
Most western highway in north America, the pavement ends behind us.

When we first get there this fellow approaches us. I thought he was going to collect a parking fee, but he sheepishly asked if we have some spare toilet paper.  His wife used one of the Portalets, before she discovered there was no toilet paper. I guess we have all been there, once. He tried to return the roll and we tell him to leave it in the Portalet for the next person.  I have never made so many Assholes happy.

A little further north we make another detour to Ninilchik Beach.  Not sure what caught my interest but it was a very interesting stop.  There is a small charter fishing fleet here in a protected manmade boat basin.  The boats can only come and go at high tide.  There are only two boats on the dock, but about 50 Alaskan cars parked, so I assume they all left on there charters early this morning at high tide.  There looks to be an old, now closed, canning factory next to the basin.

Everyone has gone fishing

No boats going through here for another 6 hours

Can walk across the channel at low tide

From the Internet, what the basin will look like when the boats are in.

During the busy season low tide (Internet)

During the busy season high tide

High tide, Google Earth

We stop for the night a couple hours later at Peter Lake at a free campground in a recently burned over area. We are parked right on the water. Nice breeze, no bugs. I am beginning to think that all the stories of the masses of mosquitoes in Alaska are to scare us folks from the lower 48 away.

Burned out surroundings

Campground view, Peter Lake, 10:30PM, in the evening

Homer Spit

I made reservations a couple days ago for Ocean Shores RV Park and for tonight at Heritage RV Park on Homer Spit.  Homer Spit is a 4-1/2 mile long piece of land extending out into Kachermak Bay. The Split is a terminal moraine left over from the Ice Age.

Kachermak Bay

Homer Spit

First stop is “Two Sisters” Bakery. They are open 4 days a week and today is the first day they are open this week. We get there shortly after they open at 10:00AM and there is already a long line and no parking.  I drop Linda off and park a couple blocks away. I don’t get back for 10 minutes and Linda is only half way through the line.  We purchase a bunch of items and have breakfast back in the RV.

Next stop is the “Pratt Museum” which explores the history, science and art of the area.  

After that we stop at the “Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies”. Lots of interesting displays on the negative impact that Europeans have had on land animals, sea life and the native population. They explain the various efforts to rectify past mistakes,

Then we head to our RV Park on the Split. We walk to the “Broken Oak, Oyster Bar” recommended by some fellow RVers we met at Whitehorse BC.  I get a ½ dozen of raw oysters and Linda gets steamers and then we split a dinner of Shrimp and Grits. As we are sitting at the Bar the Maitred d’  gets a call asking if they have hamburgers, I guess they don't understand what an Oyster Bar is.

Camping on the beach, Brrrrrrr.

Catalina 36, not many sailboats at the marina, mostly fishing boats

At the Oyster Bar

Interestingly the Oysters are Atlantic and west coast oysters locally grown.  Oysters don’t naturally grow in the cold waters around Alaska, it's too cold for them to reproduce. The Kachermak Bay Oysters Co-Op has figured out how to get them to procreate in their lab. Then they move them to tiered nets hanging from buoys to finish their life cycle.

The news for heading home may be causing some problems. I have planned on taking the ferry from Haines to Skagway, a short trip that would save a full day of driving. The road from Skagway to Whitehorse and the ALCAN had a rock side that could take a couple days to get one lane open. Also, along the ALCAN  some heavy rains washed away the road just west of Fort Nelson. It will be a week or two before we get to these places, so hopefully they will be fixed.  I am also glad we did Banff and Jasper on our way north. The town of Jasper was evacuated for approaching forest fires a couple days ago and buildings on the south end of town have caught fire. The whole town is in jeopardy. 

Maligne Hotel on the main road

Tonights news, WTF !

ALCAN washout

Rockslide north of Skagway

Homer

to Homer Video

https://www.relive.cc/view/v36ARdz57Gq

We hang out in the morning since it is still raining. It stops around 9:00AM.  Walking around the parking lot there are 50 RV’s here.  I assume many have already left. I had not noticed that there is a sign directing RV’s to a parking lot on the side of Cabela’s, but only half the RV’s are parked there.  

One thing I have been noticing since we got to BC and Alaska is these Super RV’s that the owners have shipped over from Europe, usually Germans, Dutch or Swiss owners.  The tires are nearly 5 feet in diameter.  I have no idea on how they would change one of these tires. The RV’s are around 10 feet tall and look like military vehicles, except for the paint colors.  The undercarriage clearance is 2 feet, they can go anywhere. There are two of them here at Cabela’s

We finally leave around 11:00 for Homer, still overcast but not raining. The first 40 miles is along the very scenic Turnagain Arm. Named by Captain Cook when he was looking for the northwest passage and came up another dead-end.  I assume it was originally called “SOB we have to Turnagain”, but they shortened it.  We stop for a late lunch at a pull off overlooking the Cook sound and the snow capped mountains across the sound in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve. 

Turnagain Arm just south of Anchorage

On the Kenai Penisula

Cook Inlet

Arrive at our Campground for the night, Ocean Shores RV Park.  Very nice park overlooking the water.  We have one of the few sites without any hook ups, which we don’t really need for one night.  Our site has a nice view of the Kachemak Bay.  Late in the evening fog rolls in and it’s get’s dark a little earlier.

Water View

On the beach

Anchorage

We have another leisurely breakfast at the hotel since we do not have to rush off,  The Anchorage airport is only 45 minutes away and Sabrina’s flight has been delayed from 2:00 to 4:00 PM.  We leave late morning and stop at a couple viewing areas along the Turnagain Arm, a narrow 40 mile long bay south of Anchorage.

Since Sabrina has never been to a CabeIa’s stop and take her inside and then off to the Airport.  Linda and I wait at the airport cell phone parking lot to work on some stuff until we are sure Sabrina’s plane has taken off.  It does get delayed another 20 minutes, making her connection in Denver very tight.

It starts raining again. I gas up the car at Costco and get new windshield wipers.  Stop at Fred Myers supermarket to get Nyquil for Linda who has managed to get a cold and is very horse

I had hope to drive part way to the Town of Homer, but give up and head to the Cabella’s parking lot for the night. Another large crowd of RV’s

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