link to new pictures with descriptive captions
We left Seward on Friday the 21th and headed for Soldotna on the west side of Kenai peninsula about 75 miles to the north and west. Passed through some scenic country and along the Kenai river. Our first stop in Soldotna was the visitor center where we learned about the beginnings of this crossroads town. This is a hub of the west side and the market place between the far north near Cook inlet and Homer on the south. The town formed after the railroad started building some infrastructure in the late '40s. The Kenai River flows through the town and provides world class fishing for local subsistence and visitors from around the world. The world record for a King salmon caught here is 97lbs. I took a picture of it displayed in the visitor center. I guess one of the big attractions is the Fred Myer store at the east end. The store is larger and more stuff than a super Walmart. It was also our overnight spot on Friday. They even provide instructions on where to park and a complete dump station facility.
Saturday the 22nd
We decided we would go south 8 miles to Homer because a town on the way was have the regional fair on Saturday that we wanted to attend. We will come back to Soldotna because we have to travel the same road. We stopped at Ninilchik, an old Russian town from before the US bought Alaska back in the 1840s. We found a free parking spot in the church parking lot. The fair was in full swing with all the usual community stuff. The stock show, exhibitors, food sellers, and barrel racers. I think the new Alaska governor was to make an appearance in the late afternoon. One event that Barbara and I had never been to was a pig race. It is held on a closed 100' course and starts with a posting of the pigs in a starting gate. The gate opens and the three pigs put on a exciting one lap race. The course has two 1 foot hurdles for the pigs to jump over.The winners go into a final that decides the main event winner. It is all in fun and a few helpers take $1 bets just before the start, if your pig is a wiener, you get a plastic piggy bank. I never thought pigs could run so fast! It is all for charity. We spent over 3 hours there and enjoyed it very much.
We rolled into Homer around 1700hrs and found a nice campsite on the north (harbor side) of the Homer Spit. All of the permanent small boat docks are located on this side. The Spit is a natural sand bar that has been reworked making it less subject to erosion from the sea. It designed to break the waves and wind making the dock area a safe harbor. The spit is a very busy place with fishing and sight seeing charters and on the far end even a lodge. We have spent some of our time following the tide. The tide difference between high and low is ~26 feet, this makes for a treasure of stuff on the beach. The beach is easy to walk. It has been a little rainy and cool, but has not kept us from spending time outdoors.
Sunday the 23rd The weather was overcast and rainy for most of the day. The windshield wiper problem came up again and this time, I decided to see if I could repair it, as it was really annoying having to pull the fuse to turn the wipers off. I removed the cowl air intake grill and was able to hit the controller to make it stop, so I know where the problem is. I got out my tools and removed the wiper motor controller mounted on the back of the motor. It is a circuit board with surface mounted components that included two small black plastic enclosed relays. I was not sure, but I figured one of the relays was sticking in the closed position. I got out my box cutter and carefully cut the plastic top from both and cleaned and burnished the contacts using a dollar bill and contact cleaner. All went back together and every thing is fine now. I expect no more problem from it.
In the afternoon we visited the Pratt Visitors and Cultural Center to see some of the most astounding wildlife displays and a museum. We watched two films and spent about 4 hours there. Very nice place. Homer is the home of political correctness and the art crowd for this part of Alaska. They even replaced all of the city owned sedans with Ford hybrid escorts to reduce their carbon footprint. I have not see any yet, but I am feeling better anyway. Watched a DVD and went to bed a little early.
Monday the 24th Rain off and on till around 1300hrs. and just a FYI... the windshield wipers are still working great. We went shopping at the Salvation Army Thrift store and purchased a Yahtzee game, new old stock, still shrink wrapped. Good buy $1.50.. We also did a driving and walking tour of the town. We walked the old part of town. We drove up on East Hill drive and got some good shots of the town and the Spit with a twin glacier in the back ground.
I was walking along Pioneer Ave, when a small car came by that had a really strange 6 foot mast anchored on the roof. I took a snapshot with my camera, but could not figure what the mast was used for. Later, we were driving along Kachemak Drive road and I saw it again. This time it was stopped so I pulled up beside it and noticed it had a bunch of lenses around the top. I asked the driver what they were and he said it was a Google mapping car. It has 13 cameras at the top of the mast. So in some future Google street view, I will show up taking a snap shot and later driving toward the mapping car.
I also got pictures of a boat being lifted from the bay and moved across the street to a winter dry dock. It is getting close to that time of year up here.
Built a fire and had a hot dog cookout while watching the sunset over the harbor, nice. We will hook up and head toward Soldotna sometime tomorrow .
Just an FYI on the Wifi hotspots in Homer... It is everywhere, I have had a connection on demand, while in our campsite on the beach. The one that I am using is called spitswspots. I am a free user, therefore I have to sign in every hour. That is no problem.
John
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