Homer, Alaska

Good morning, my friends. Wonder of wonders! Miracle of miracles! The sun is shining this morning! Yay! We've been almost a full week in the gloom and drizzle. And, here in Homer, this seems to be a good place for walking. It'll be nice to be outside.

As we left Seward yesterday, this was our view.

Mountains surround us in Alaska.

Our first point of interest on yesterday's drive was this viewing area described in our Milepost.

We didn't see any bears, but we did see this pair of trumpeter swans with their cignets.

Shortly after leaving, we were delayed only slightly as this train passed by. We've seen this same train at least half a dozen times since Denali.

Among the first towns we passed through was Cooper Landing.

Mainly we stopped at that viewpoint to use their restrooms, but look at this idyllic setting across the lake.

Here's a little history of Cooper Landing.

And this sign was posted at the viewpoint.

Back on the road, we passed over Cooper Creek.

Eventually, we crossed the boundary into Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.

Here's some information about that.

We were in a high moose collision zone. There were warnings printed in red several places in our Milepost. In fact, this highway is known for being a high moose-collision area. Believe me...we were on the lookout. We're assuming the date on this sign refers to 2024.

Some safety measures include keeping brush trimmed back from the highway to avoid moose jumping in front of cars unexpectedly.

There was also fencing in some areas, and I noticed the fencing sometimes directed the moose to some underpasses beneath the roadway so they could cross safely. Indeed, we came upon a cow and her two calves. These were safely behind a fenced area, but these are wild moose.

It's quite a thrill to see them.

The next point of interest was the Kasilof River. We crossed over here.

Here's a little information about that.

We were disappointed by the several viewpoints described in our Milepost. We found most of them overgrown with trees so that the view was no longer available. Still, the reason for our interest was this whole "Ring of Fire" designation:

I can't tell you which mountain is which, but this is the range.

Toward the end of our drive, we passed through Anchor Point.

Here's a little history of Anchor Point:

Finally, we reached this beautiful viewpoint overlooking Kachemak Bay, the Kenai Range, and the Homer Spit.

Here's a pano I took from the same viewpoint. 

Heading on down the road for the final leg of our journey, the mountains were beautiful, as always.

This is the view from the back window of our camper.

Here's some history of Homer.

Today we'll get out and do some exploring. There's a bakery that comes highly recommended within walking distance called "Three Sisters Bakery." We'll stop off there first just to see what's available. After that, there's a farmer's market going on. It's fun to visit a farmer's market while we're traveling to see what kinds of things are grown and made locally. After that, we'll drive out on Homer Spit. There are a few things I want to see out there...the Salty Dawg Saloon, for one thing. Also, it just appears to be a beautiful place to take in the scenery. And with the sun shining...well, I don't know how things can get any better than that.

Unless it's having your little cat help you write your blog posts. 

If you're appreciative of these posts being delivered timely, you can thank Sadie for being the little taskmaster that she is. 

And with that, it's time to get going. There's lots of exploring on the horizon.