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Homer
Alaska
Week ending 7 June





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Denis' Visit - We set out
to show Denis the sights of Homer and Alaska.
- Kachemak Bay - The
beautiful views of snow-capped mountains
across Kachemak Bay were a good start and
they looked so good we investigated a
camping trip. Unfortunately the
weather would not cooperate and rain was
predicted for the whole week - a
disappointment since last week had been warm
and sunny.
- Roaming Homer -
Denis took our car and explored in all
directions, trying out the 4-wheel drive and
finding places we had never seen in our 6
months of living here. Plus visits to the
Salty Dawg saloon and Dugan's Pub
introduced him to some of the local color.
- Baby moose twins -
As if a couple of moose walking through our yard
were not enough, on a drive down East End
Road we came across a pair of baby moose,
probably only a few days old, who posed for
photos while their mom munched nearby -
keeping an eye on us but seemingly quite
comfortable.
- Russian River -
Since the weather in Homer did not promise
to improve we set out to get Denis to his
return flight in Anchorage while seeing some
of the sights. Our first stop was a
State Park campsite along the Russian River
with excellent facilities and a surprise...
- Bears!! - While
walking along the banks of Russian River we
spotted a couple of brown bears, AKA
Grizzlies - the first that we have ever seen
without a guide. They were a sow and
cub looking for fish in the river and seemed
unconcerned with us gawking at them across
the river. Many photos later they ambled
into the woods - and Denis was happy to have
decided not to pay $600 for a flight and a
guide to view what we just saw for free.
And then on trips to Northwestern and
Portage Glaciers he was lucky enough to get
good views of black bears scavenging
on the beach and hillside.
- Exit Glacier - On
Denis' short list was to walk up to a
glacier - so the next day we drove towards
Seward and 4 miles shy of that beautiful
fjord we turned towards Exit, an
easily-accessible glacier with a short easy
walk that leads right to the ice.
Global Climate Change is in evidence as we
passed signs showing how far it had
retreated in the last 100, 50, 10, and
finally since 2007.
- Sea life - The
trip to NW Glacier took Denis through
Resurrection Bay and its abundant sea-life.
He captured the shot of an otter munching on
a crab to the left as well as orcas and
seals plus birds galore.
- Portage Glacier -
The last glacier on the trip, this one is
within a easy drive of Anchorage. we
stayed at the Williwaw campground with a
delightful nearby creek and views of the
mountains. When Denis and Bob visited
Alaska in the 70's one could view this
glacier from the visitor center, but it has
receded to the point that now a boat is
required to travel 1/2 mile for a viewing of
a relatively sedate glacier
Faizel reports:
Well, it was fun to have that other human, I
think they called him 'Denis', staying with us
for a week. He played with me, let me
sneak onto his bed while we were traveling, and
generally was fun to be around. I showed
him our neighborhood - although he was a little
disloyal 'cause he played with the other dogs
but I'll forgive him for that. He also had
me doing new tricks - I didn't get any snacks
but the praise made it worth it. I was
sorry to see him go and I guess I'll mope for a
couple of days and see if that brings him back.
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Weeks ending
Jun 22nd




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It was with delight that we
were graced by a visit by
Max and Ellie Knight from
Virginia. Max was Bob's workmate from IBM days
and Max and Ellie joined us on our first long
passage from Bermuda to Annapolis in 1989.
They took a Holland-America cruise ship to
Seward and a local mini-van to Homer. We
tried to show them the sights and managed to
include:
- Moose - On day 1
in Homer we managed to find a moose for a
photo-op and a bald eagle cooperated by
giving them a second one - thus proving that
nature is close to the surface in Alaska.
- Russian Orthodox
church - we drove them north along Cook
Inlet to see the views from the bluffs along
the highway. A highlight was a stop at the
scenic Orthodox church with its traditional
onion-shaped spires, country cemetery, and
beautiful view of the inlet.
- Seldovia - For a
day we pretended we were cruising again as
we took a small boat across Kachemak Bay to
this small settlement. Until 1964 this
was the fishing capital of this part of
Alaska with a harbor, fishing fleet, and
cannery - but the big earthquake demolished
the waterfront and Seldovia became a small
artist colony and tourist destination during
the brief summer. We walked the town (1
hour), followed a nature walk through huge
trees and a rocky beach, and retired to the
town's bookstore/cafe. A pleasant
day's visit.
- Salty Dawg -And of
course no visit to Homer is complete without
a beer at the Salty Dawg - and the tradition
of tacking a $1 bill to a free spot on the
wall.
- Halibut Fishing -
Max insisted he was going fishing, so up
early to meet the boat at 6:00 AM - he was
kind to the rest of us and departed quietly.
But at midday he returned - with 2 BIG
halibut, nicely filleted and ready for the
bar-b-que! It was delicious!
- Heavy lifting -
Their timing was not the best as we had
bought some equipment off of Craig's List
and we drafted them to help load and unload
2 truck loads of engraving equipment and
supplies - probably a ton of stuff,
literally.
- Comb Museum - We
passed but Ellie visited a little-known
local attraction, the Miller Comb Museum where a lady
displays her private collection of combs of
all varieties - a very exotic hobby!
- Anchorage - Max
and Ellie planned to continue their Alaska
adventure by driving north to Fairbanks and
Denali, so we started them on their way by
following our favorite route north through
the Kenai Peninsula. We camped one night and
wrapped up the trip in Anchorage where they
picked up their RV for the rest of their
tour.
Unfortunately the end of their
trip was marred by a medical emergency but all
turned out well. It was
a delightful visit and reminded me of why I have
enjoyed their company for almost 40 years.
Engraving equipment -
The equipment that Max and Ellie were
conscripted to transport included a
complete engraving business for sign making, and
enough supplies to last a long time. Bob's
hair-brained idea is to turn this into a small
cottage business since there are no sign-makers
in Homer or the surrounding area. At the
moment, it occupies a large portion of the
garage and a bedroom - we'll see how this pans
out.
Energy Audit - Alaska is offering
assistance to people who make an effort to
reduce their energy consumption, so we decided
to take advantage of it. The first step is
to have an energy auditor check the house and
make a set of recommendations. In the
middle of an otherwise busy week we found time
to let Ted poke around the house, put fans on
our front door, and give us a punch-list of a
dozen things we can do. The State of
Alaska basically pays for the audit, and a big
chunk of the improvements - sounds like a
no-brainer! |
Week ending
Jun 29th


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Bill signing with Governor
Palin - Our local Alaska state rep., Paul Seaton, got a bill passed of local
interest, and to bolster his image, Governor
Sarah Palin visited to sign the bill into force,
and she showed the locals why she is such a popular
person. About 200 people packed into the
Islands and Ocean Center to watch the event and
shake hands afterwards - we joined in the melee.
Unite For Obama - As
supporters of Obama we were notified of an event
sponsored by Kat Haber, a local supporter of
many environmental movements. Not knowing
what to expect we showed up (after getting
lost) and had a very interesting afternoon
meeting about 15-20 members of the community,
sharing food and our reasons for supporting the
senator, and getting to know each other. Among
the supporters who showed up were Phillip
Alderfer who is the Democrat running for the
Alaska House seat for District 35 and Paul
Seaton, the Republican incumbent. Kat was an
excellent organizer and it got many people
motivated to actively work for Obama.
Mohs Surgery - A
short trip to Anchorage allowed Bob to donate a
piece of skin to a surgeon in exchange for the
hope that it will stop growing abnormally.
And of course we loaded up the car with lots of
Home Depot stuff! |
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