World United States Alaska Homer

Piloting the Dutch Star

Homer and Anchor Point Campground Aug 16, 2009

AVOIDING MISHAPS FROM ANCHORAGE TO HOMER: We drive in the rain, but still are impressed with the views of wooded hills on the left and Cook Inlet on the right. There are many places to stop to look for eagles, or just enjoy the dynamic juxtaposition of starkly different clouds, some light and willowy and others dark and ominous. The roads from Anchorage down the Kenai Peninsula are much better than we had expected, but still there is a long, about 20-minute, stop for road work and we hit some unanticipated bumps. When we stop to make sandwiches for lunch, Jim checks on Frosty only to find that one of the two pins that holds the tow bar to Frosty had worked its way about half-way out; the safety-lock pin had fallen out somehow. Jim tapped the pin back in and used a spare locking pin to keep us safely tethered. We find a hardware store in a town along the road, Sterling, where Jim is able to buy some additional pins—disaster averted once more.

HALIBUT CAMPGROUND IN ANCHOR RIVER STATE RECREATION AREA AND HOMER: We’ve learned from fellow travelers that there is a great state campground, about 20 miles north of Homer (the farthest west that you can drive without leaving land) and we want to check that out since we will need to leave the RV for the four nights we go to McNeil River. We are delighted to find a terrific spot surrounded by fireweed, with a view of Cook Inlet—and we enjoy hearing the sounds of the waves striking land as high tide approaches. We can take the car to Homer, where we explore the narrow “spit” and enjoy a nice fish dinner and some walks—but find the walk along the beach at Anchor River even more delightful. We run into some locals who tell us they bring their camper out to the beach at the beginning of each season and leave it there. They soon jump into their boat for an evening fishing trip. The views of Iliamna and Redoubt volcanoes from the beach are incredible. We visit the Pratt museum, where we see some moving pictures of the continued clean up activities—still incomplete-from the Exxon Valdez spill; it’s disheartening to learn from the quotes of former Exxon employees who say they were told not to turn over rocks, and basically to indicate the clean up was done when it wasn’t. We drive up the hills around Homer and marvel at the many great views—of the spit, Kachemak Bay, and the constantly changing clouds. Jim gets some great pictures. We also are pleasantly surprised to encounter a terrific Thai restaurant. We drive to Homer Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but never find anyone at Beluga Air, whence we are scheduled to take a float plane Monday afternoon across Kachemak Bay and Cook Inlet to McNeil on the Alaska Peninsula, for bear viewing. We finally decide that if there are changes, we would get a call—but we should have called them because while we are ready to go by 10 am, we drive the scenic route to Homer and decide to stop at the Wildlife center, where Jim sees he has an e-mail from Beluga Air indicating the pilot wants to leave early—so we head straight there. As we arrive, I jump out of the car and shout “Hello” because it appears the pilot is leaving the dock. I figure he is making an early run, but in fact he has two couples; the first has arrived and they thought departure was much earlier; there has been confusion about the time. In fact, he was leaving the dock but is only a few feet away so comes back to the dock. We load in what the pilot says is “record time” so all is well.