Homer is a two-day drive from Denali. We decided on Wasilla as our stopover. Wasilla is just past Anchorage and hometown of… cue Jeopardy music… Sarah Palin! Note: try as I might, I could not see Russia from our campsite.
We fueled up at the Anchorage Costco and headed for Louise Lake in Wasilla. En route, a sensor warning light came on. Never a good look. Turns out to be the transmission filter sensor. We wondered if the insane amount of dirt from the gravel roads had clogged the filter? With nervous stomachs but few choices, we got to the campground. Andy started calling mechanics and I took Milo to an adjacent dog park. First time he’s been off leash outdoors in 3 weeks!
Next morning a mobile mechanic came out. He replaced the filter and checked out the transmission fluid. Good news: everything looked okay. Bad news: sensor warning light was still on. The RV services places (and there are plenty up here) all had 1-3 week waits for service. We pushed on, copilots in place…
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We had no preconceived visuals for the Kenai Peninsula and were not prepared for the stunning scenes.
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We followed the Turnagain Arm, an easterly extension of Cook Inlet. Turnagain Arm was called Return by the Russians. Captain Cook, seeking the fabled Northwest Passage in 1778, called it Turnagain River, and Captain Vancouver, doing a more thorough job of surveying in 1794, gave it its present name of Turnagain Arm.
We were told about the bore tide in Turnagain Arm. Never heard of it. BUT Turnagain is famous for having one of the world’s remarkably high tides, with a range of 33 feet. Imagine: the rising tide surges into the constricted inlet just as the low tide recedes. It forms a foaming wall of water up to 6 feet that travels up the Arm. Some idiots folks actually surf it! We weren’t traveling at the right time of day to see it but were amazed at the idea of it.
The scenery was still stunning. We pulled out at a random roadside rest stop to this view:
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We arrived in Homer for a three-night stay. Yay! We had a spot down on the Spit, where the harbor and tourist spots are located. There was water on both sides of the campground. Milo was still unimpressed.
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We had plans to go fishing with some old friends of Lew and Ivy who had moved from the Bay area to Homer a few years back.
Sunday was leisurely – brunch, a stroll around the shops, obtaining one-day fishing licenses. Later we went in search of oysters and beer. Everyone was out of the former, the latter was easy.
About every third person I saw had on a Salty Dawg Saloon T-shirt or sweatshirt, so that was the first stop. In fact, they bill themselves as an apparel company that happens to serve alcohol.
The charter fishing boats were just getting in as we arrived, so we watched the show for a few minutes. Photos and fillets all in one stop.
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The interior of the Salty Dawg was predictably kitsch – every inch covered in signed dollar bills.
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We ate elsewhere…
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