Homer

After spending some time with friends at Soldatna, we headed down the penninsula in mixed weather to the community of Homer. We drove out to the last bit of land jutting out into Cook Inlet called Homer Spit. It's just sand and rock and it's about 200 yards wide and about four miles long. There are marinas and campgrounds and stores lining the sides.

On the way south, we had to stop at this store to look around. We've been stopping at second hand stores and pawn shops just for fun and this one sure was.

There is a lagoon on one side of the spit in which hatchery salmon are raised in cages and then released. This imprints them with the scent of the lagoon and they return there to spawn. Of course, these aren't spawning grounds and it's just a put and take operation to lure fishermen to the area. The season had just opened the day before we pulled in and the banks were packed with fishermen.

Since this is a meant-to-be-harvested population, the use of snagging hooks is legal and the novice and unskilled can catch fish alongside the more experienced fishermen. This season is famous locally and abroad and we saw many tourists and first time fishermen from abroad trying to bring something to land. Many had no clue what they were doing or what to do after they hooked a fish. It was both comical and sad. Our group managed to get a couple the next day so we continue to put fish in the freezer.

We camped right next to the water in a a small campground. One of the treats we discovered was that in the water right in back of our campsite, we could see sea otters and loons. The otters would dive in the shallow water and bring up something to eat and then roll over and float on their backs while they held their lunch on their bellies to eat.

We took a couple of days to explore the greater area including a short foray north to try the fishing at a place called Anchor River that we had been told was hot for Silvers but didn't work for us. On our way up to the river we stopped at a farmers market. This was a small one by most standards but it was purely a farmers market with a few local crafters. Everything home-grown and no junk. Local music to go with local muchies.

When I saw this belt buckle by a local scrimshander I just had to have it.

Back on the spit  the weather promised to improve with a pretty sunset and harbor views.

Our final day in Homer was capped by a trip to Seldovia, across the bay and accessible only by water or air, for a boat ride into the inlet for a try at halibut fishing. But that will have to be a post of its own.