Our road turned west between Portage and Cooper Landing. It's still Hwy 1 but is now the Sterling Hwy after Hwy 9 (Seward Hwy) juts off towards Seward. Highlights of this stretch of road were Kenai Lake, the Kenai River, the Russian River, and fishermen standing a few feet apart trying to land a salmon. This is fabled territory for Alaskan fishing. Hundreds of millions of dollars are generated by catering to the needs of fishermen on the rivers (salmon, trout, graying) and on the Cook Inlet (salmon and halibut).
My interest in fishing out of this area dwindled as I found out that we would have had to stay in the area close to a week to get a scheduled outing. Bad weather on the Inlet had already cancelled some trips and pushed new fishing trips out several days. So, no reservation, no fishy. Also I looked at the charges for renting equipment, cleaning the fish, packaging the fish, quick freezing the fish, packing the fish, and shipping the fish. Each step of the process had it's particular per pound (of fillet) cost. I will treat my family to a halibut dinner from the fish market in Carmel instead.
Homer was a beautiful place. It's positioned perfectly on the water (Kashemak Bay) and it's surrounded by mountains on all sides. The Homer Spit is a very unusual piece of land. The waves and currents have created a peninsula out into the bay just large enough to have businesses and harbors. It's a mecca for fishermen both commercial and sportsmen. Our campsite was looking east on the shoreline. Really a nice spot.
After enjoying Homer, we made the long drive (3 full days) out of Alaska by way of the Yukon Territory down to Haines, AK. Amazingly, Haines is positioned perfectly in the same manner as Valdez and Homer. Gorgeous shoreline and majestic mountains all around. The Chilkoot and Chilkat rivers are, again, favorites for the sports fishermen seeking the elusive salmon. We saw a grizzly sow and cub on the beach of the bay at low tide. The wildlife park was a true treat. The owner and his colleague seemed to truly enjoy their jobs. They both have done filming and used their animals to create films for National Geographic and PBS. Steve (the owner) appeared with his animals on the Johnny Carson Show a few times.
After enjoying Haines for 3 days, we caught the state ferry to Skagway (a nice town visited earlier in on our trip when we were on our cruise). The ferry is a neat experience. The boat we were on had 6 lanes of vehicles that were the length of the boat. They skillfully arranged the vehicles outside to fit inside the belly of the ship. The short trip north to Skagway was enjoyable and saves us a LOT of miles, fuel, and time.
Welcome to Homer sign
View from our RV in Homer Campground on the Homer Spit
Our campsite for 3 days
The end of the Homer Spit (narrow peninsula jutting out into the bay)
Tent campers along the Homer Spit
Fun Ad on Boardwalk
Homer Spit from hillside scenic drive (notice the glacier)
"The Deadliest Catch's" Time Bandit store in Homer
Homer is their home base
Mother of Captains Andy and Jonathan Hillstrand
Low tide is really low on the Homer Spit
Sunset at 11:25 PM in Homer looking northwest
A picture to the southeast at 11:30 PM. It's not close to getting dark
Picture to the south and the end of the Homer Spit at 11:33 PM.
Another view of "the Spit"
Going back up to Anchorage along Turnagin Arm and the Alaska Railroad tracks
Matanuska Glacier west of Palmer - the only glacier in Alaska that you can drive to
Multi colors on Sheep Mountain
More snow poles to guide the plow drivers
Wavy paint lines means you should "slow down" for the "heaved" pavement
The Fireweed, Alaska's state flower, is abundant
Mt. Drum
Fifty minutes later - Mt. Drum from a new angle
Driving on muddy gravel in the Yukon Territory
Three Guardsmen Mountain
Another "average" view in Alaska and Yukon Territory
Back to Alaska (north of Haines)
Welcome to Haines sign
That looks better
Fishermen in the Chilkoot River in Haines
Name this bird with duck feet
MAW along Chilkoot River where is enters the bay
Grizzly sow and cub along beach near Chilkoot River
Mama's on the lookout
Kisses for mama -- aaahhhh!
Notice the collar on the bear
Grizzly sow and cub
Lovely Haines
This center has provided animals for several films - http://www.kroschelfilms.com/
Marco and Red-tailed Hawk (one of these ate a rabbit on our back deck in Noblesville)
The "star" of the show - Mr. Steve Kroschel
Wolf
Porcupine
Red Fox - it really is even though it's black & white. All Red Foxes have a white tipped tail.
Arctic Lynx
Wolverine - these intimidate grizzlies in the wild
A mink
He's saying "Tourists can be talked into doing anything". LOL Moose love bananas!
Reindeer
Arctic Fox
Grizzly Bear
Digging for gold in the Chilkoot River where it meets the bay
Our car ferry to Skagway
SLW driving MH onto ferry
Driving into the ferry's side (ferry had six lanes of vehicles about 400 feet each in it's hold)
Four cruise ships in port at Skagway
