On to Homer!

We left Kenai under sunny skies! We headed south to Homer - about 90 miles from Kenai. The only road into Homer is the Sterling Highway which is Route 1. It was a beautiful drive - mostly coastal so the views were beautiful! We saw moose again crossing the roadway. This is the farthest south we will go on our trip. Homer is on the shore of Kachemak Bay on the southwest side of the Kenai Peninsula. Its distinguishing feature is the Homer Spit, a narrow 4.5 mi long gravel bar that extends into the bay, on which is located the Homer Harbor. We are camping on the Homer spit and our view is pretty nice! Much of the coastline as well as the Homer Spit sank during the Good Friday earthquake in March 1964. (This is the same earthquake that effected Seward). After the earthquake, very little vegetation was able to survive on the Homer Spit.

Pictures 7 and 8 are views from our camp site. Pictures 9 and 10 are of the Salty Dawg. Your visit to Homer is not complete unless you visit here. The Salty Dawg Saloon was originally one of the first cabins built here in 1897, just after the town was established. It has been a post office, railroad station, grocery store and a coal mining office. A second building was added in 1909 and it too served many purposes including a post office, store and schoolhouse. In 1957, the Salty Dawg Saloon officially opened. The building was moved to its present location on the Spit after the 1964 earthquake. The lighthouse was added to cover a water storage tank. It’s now one of Homer’s most recognizable landmarks. The walls and ceilings are covered with paper money (that started when fishermen pinned up notes and drink money for other fishermen still at sea), life rings, some of which serve as memorials to fishermen lost at sea and others who were well loved and respected. Also adorning the walls are other maritime trophies, some from boats that went down at sea.Read more