2 Days in Homer

7/18/17




Left the campground in the morning. Got gas across the street at Costco in the motorhome and the Jeep.  We  passed the Turnagain Arm, which is an inlet from the ocean.  When the tide is low, all you can see is quicksand as the inlet is almost devoid of water.  When the tide is up, Beluga whales swim into the inlet. 

Quicksand in Turnagain Arm

Our first stop was Portage Glacier Visitor Center.  It was very informative, and we learned how the glacier has receded over the recent years, creating Portage Lake (Also there was a lot of information about the 1964 earthquake which measured 9.5 and completed wiped out the town of Portage).  The current town of Portage was rebuilt about 2-3 miles away from the original site.  Here is a picture of the lake (the glacier has receded behind the mountain.

Portage lake (glacier to the right
and behind the mountain)

 We stopped in a turnout where we saw Chris and Dottie, our Wagonmasters, stopped.  Chris was helping Bob and Karen (from PA) who put the rear axle in a soft dirt ditch.  Everyone was OK, but they had to wait for a tow truck to pull them out.  Turns out their windshield wipers quit working (and it was raining), so Bob pulled onto the side of the road to try and get them working.  He drove onto some soft dirt and the rear wheels dug in deep – they were clear up to the axle.   We went on as there was nothing we could do to help.






Arrived at the Homer Spit Campground.  We are right on the water and facing mountains covered with snow and ice—a truly beautiful site.  Here are some of the RVs, with a bald eagle sitting on top of the first one.  

Bald Eagle on first RV

Our Campsite

Got settled in, then Tom and I headed out in the Jeep to see Homer.  Homer is best known for fishing.  The ‘Spit’ which is where we are parked, is a long, narrow piece of land that sticks out into the water between two sets of hills and creates a bay on one side, and the ocean on the other.  There is a big harbor here, and fishing and tourism are the main attractions.  We stopped at a fish packing company (they said they shipped fish out) to check on their prices.  Whew! – the prices are much higher than I expected.  Halibut is $23-$24/per pound.  Salmon prices vary, depending on the type of salmon.  King salmon is $22.90/per pound; Sockeye salmon is $13.50/ per pound.  I bought 2 halibut fillets and took them home.  I do want to  buy fish here, but I want to check on better prices.  We went back home and I fixed halibut for dinner – it was delicious!











7/19/17






We took the Jeep to tour the area.  We headed up to Ninilchak (35 miles north of Homer) to see a Orthodox Church that our tailgunners told us about.  The area is pretty run down, but this house really needed a redo.  

Needs a redo

It seemed like a long way to drive, but the GPS on my phone took us there – at least – almost.  The road she put us on said ‘no motorized vehicles’ and went straight uphill.  We could see the rooftop of the church at the top, but didn’t know if the road would take us there.  We backed up and went to a local gift shop and asked the shopkeeper if that was the right road to get to the church.  She said ‘no’, that we should go back to the main highway and head north one more street, then turn to the church on Orthodox Dr.  We did that and found the church, however, we found out that it was closed on Wednesdays and Saturdays.  Today is Wednesday, so we cannot get inside today.  We wandered around the sides and the back and found a quaint graveyard.  The leaders and their wives (of Russian heritage) were buried directly behind the church.   One of the previous Reverends was born in 1893 and died in 1981.  Here is the Church and the graves.

Old Russian Orthodox Church

Gravesites



Mt Redoubt

Current eruption

On the way back, we spied a turnout showing one of four volcanoes along the coastline to the west.  This is Mt. Redoubt and it was active as recently as 2009. 






Then we took a turn on to Diamond Ridge Rd for a scenic drive.  It was beautiful, but would have been better pictures if the clouds would go away and let us see the mountains.  Here is a picture from Diamond Ridge and shows the Homer Spit (where we are camped) clearly.




The Homer Spit with mountains in back

We had lunch at a diner across the street.  We had fish and chips, and I was floored when we got the bill -$55 for lunch.  If it had been good, I wouldn’t complain so much, but it was overcooked and too much breading – very disappointing.






Our next stop was the local Farmers Market.  It was very small, and mostly greens, with a few homemade crafts – Not much here.  We spent the rest of the afternoon in the RV.  Had soup for dinner that was delicious.













7/20/19






Slept in late and had a slow morning.  It was so nice.  We sat in the front chairs and stared out at the bay and the mountains.  We watched birds and boaters, and a speck of sunshine here and there.  Then, at around 11:00, we got in the Jeep and headed out for the hills around Homer to find another Orthodox church that the Visitor Center led us to.  We found it easily and stopped to get some pictures.
 


There were 2 ladies there to greet us.  They were elders of the church and were waiting on another lady to show up for a meeting.  One lady took us into the church and explained about the pictures on the wall and a little history of the Christian Orthodox Church.  

Christian Orthodox Church

Alter

Ceiling of church

Here is the alter and the ceiling.  Inside I noticed that there were no pews, only benches on either sides.  She told me that most of the congregation stands during the services (even the children), and the benches were for those who could not stand for long periods.  Men were on the left, women were on the right.
 


She also explained that all faiths today stem from one Church which was formed at the time of Christ’s life on earth.  At about 1054 AD, the Roman Catholic Church separated from the original Orthodox Church, due to Rome’s claim to a universal papal supremacy.  Later, about 1517,  Martin Luther broke away from the Roman Catholic Church, forming a new Christian sector.  Lutheranism became a growing concern,  and was largely supported by King Henry VIII, who wanted a divorce and the Catholic leaders would not grant it.  In 1529, the Church of England was formed and King Henry got his divorce.  From there, the Church of England has been split many times into many Christian divisions.  Today there are about 2600 of these groups.   Still, the original Orthodox Church remains, with its original foundations. 

Ladies of the church

Just as we were about to leave, the third lady, Cynthia, showed up.  It turns out she is a decendent of the Orthodox Church in Ninilchak (the one we could not get into on Wednesday).  She wanted to see my pictures of the graves, and I showed them to her.  It turns out one of the graves was her uncle, and another was her grandfather.  She was a direct decendent of the Russian Orthodox people who came into Alaska.  She was very nice.  She also told me that the lady that was explaining everything to me was the “Matushka” (or blessed mother) of the congregation. 

Cynthia, granddaughter of Reverend in Ninilchak

We continued our sightseeing around the hills.  Here is a picture of a glacier across the bay.

Glacier across the bay

We then came back down to the Spit to check on fish prices.  We stopped at two other locations, and found that the first one we stopped at yesterday had the best prices, so we went there.  We loaded up on halibut, salmon, and a little shrimp.  It all fit in our portable freezer that we keep in the belly of the motorhome.  Back to the RV and naptime.







At 6:00, we had a Wagonmaster meeting about the drive tomorrow to Seward.  Then they served up ‘walking tacos’.  These are a bag of Doritos to start with, then add cooked meat, cheese, lettuce, and mix – Walking Tacos. 


This is a picture taken at 10:30 p.m. from our coach.  Looks like tomorrow might be a little clearer.

10:30 pm across from our campsite