A Captain, a Keen Eye, a Homer and There's Always Hope

On Saturday July 23rd we sadly bid our farewell to Mark and his family and decided to stay on the Kenai (Keeneye) Peninsula for a few more days to visit the westerly and southerly sides.

Our first stop was at lands end - yet another end of the road for us - at the northwesterly Captain Cook State Park. Now we have seen this explorers mark from Hawaii to Vancouver to Alaska, I tell you this chap got around back in the day. Eventually he wore out his welcome with the Hawaiians and bought the farm on the Big Island - sir, the Captain will not be coming top deck today for roll call, you're now in command.

We found a very tranquil campsite and enjoyed a nice stroll along the bluff top trail overlooking Cook Inlet and the volcanic southern Alaskan Range across the way. Also took the bike for a cruise around the park and beach area - very nice with lots of volcanic rocks and agates strewn about on the beach. Great views of Mt. Redoubt, an active volcano that last unleashed her fury in 2009 sending ash and debris as far north as downtown Anchorage - she is one of several very alive and very active volcanoes in the range.

Here's a shot of a peaceful and inviting bench we found on our walk at a point overlooking the water and volcanic landscape. It was so nice we returned later that evening with a glass of wine and thanked our lucky stars that we are so blessed to be able to share this moment together.

Now all of this partying and sightseeing over the past coupla weeks has come to an end so the to do list of chores has gotten rather lengthy and largely ignored. In no particular order: laundry (always with the laundry), bills to be paid, general vehicle cleaning (by the way, we just passed 6000 miles on the LD for the trip and probably another 1000 miles on the Fit for all of our side trips/excursions), take the Fit in for some electrical work, and it goes on and on.

We have been having an on again/off again perplexing electrical issue with the Fit since Oregon. For some unknown reason I keep blowing a 10 amp fuse that protects the horn, brake lights and the mechanism that unlocks the automatic gear shift from Park when you depress the brake pedal. So when this fuse trips it is necessary to do the manual unlock of the gear shift by pushing the override button located within a small slot on the shift cover with a screwdriver, it's called the tow truck drivers button and is kind of jenky. Also we have no horn or brake lights so it is definitely a safety issue. What's frustrating is that it comes and goes and I am at my wits end to diagnose it. I have tried everything and can only conclude that we most certainly have a short (loose wire/connection?) somewhere in this circuit so I'm taking it in to have a pro look at it...we'll see how it goes.

While fueling up in the pleasant community of Kenai, Debbie got talking to a local named Don, very nice 70'ish man who moved here from Bakersfield 20 some years ago - retired teacher I believe. Noticed our CA plates and wanted to tell us his story. He's on the Board of Directors for the local ABL baseball team the Kenai Oilers. He laid tickets on us for today's double header against the Bucs and told us all about the town.

It simply amazes us how easy it is to get someone's story while traveling - and let me tell you - everybody has got one, they are always anxious to share it and for the most part are unique and interesting (sometimes the stories can get pretty weird too). All it takes to get these stories is a friendly smile and an earnest 'hello, my name is Howard' and then let them go, one of the true pleasures in traveling for sure. I mean in the space of time it took to fill our gas tank we heard this man's life story, scored tickets to a double header and found the top 5 things not to miss in Kenai - I challenge any visitor center to match that performance.

Unfortunately we missed the game as we were posted up some 40 miles away and with the Fit giving me a fit we passed on the game. But, as Don said, if you miss the game no big deal, you can redeem your tickets at the local Arby's and get some free sammiches.
Thanks Don, nice to hear your story and Go Oilers!

On Sunday we left Capt Cook and made our way south to the pretty cool town of Homer. The town looks nice with lots of artsy places and some nice restaurants against a dramatic Kachemak Bay and Chugach Mountains backdrop. South of town is the Homer Spit which is a 6 mile or so long and narrow peninsula that houses the fishing fleet, cruise and ferry ship terminal, ticky tack tourist shops, restaurants all dishing out the same slop at exhorbitant prices and rediculously jammed RV parks charging $80 per night. The place was mobbed with people and we instantly wanted out. However, we found the best spot on the spit at a City owned campground right on the beach with no hookups for a very reasonable rate - Mariners Park. Did a little beachcombing and returned to the rig when the rain started, it is forecast to be raining for the next two days here so we will take advantage of having our house on wheels - pack up and go where the weather is nicer! Also, was unable to find someone in town to work on the Fit so off we went the next day.

Eagles standing guard on the Homer Spit

Yours truly looking for a way off the Homer Spit

On Monday morning July 25th we left Homer and drove the 4 hours or so to the small town of Hope, AK located about 15 miles off of the main highway leading back to Anchorage from Kenai.
On the way we stopped by an old Russian Orthodox Church in Ninilchik, AK to check out the onion shaped spires and soak in the past history of the area. Built in 1881 by the Russian Orthodox Chuch of Alaska it is perhaps the best still standing example of early Russian trading influence on the area.
We had a bit of a problem though...seems their parking lot did not have ample turn around space for the 41 feet of LD/Fit assemblage we had with us and we (not we, Debbie actually) needed to, politely, ask a couple of men sitting in their parked cars to temporarily MOVE so we could get out. They were not so happy as they were there for the funeral of their dear departed brother/uncle which was scheduled to begin in 30 minutes. I could see it on their faces...damn, we can't even bury a loved one without having to put up with the BS from these tourists. Felt bad for them but, as they say, it is what it is (IIWII). Sorry guys and thanks, our condolences and we hope your brother/uncle had a proper send off.
Having said that the church was spectacular.....check it out.



On to Hope, which was founded in 1895 by gold miners (whom else?) to work the local streams and hills. There are quite a few remaining cabins from the day and has a very popular salmon fishing stream running thru town. The hot spot seems to be at the location where the stream empties into Turnagain Arm and is jammed, and I mean jammed, with fishermen. They actually call it combat fishing up here because the anglers are squezzed in literally shoulder to shoulder with huge traffic jams and associated vehicle parking madness in the area. Many times fist fights break out with guys tangling lines, moving on to someone's special spot or just plain drunk and disorderliness - hence the moniker combat fishing and definitely not my style of fishing at all. And all of this for a lousy salmon, not worth it I say. Give me a nice secluded mountain stream or lake laced with trout and a beautiful setting, leave me the hell alone and let me relax with a pole in one hand and a refreshing brew in the other. This is why I elected to not go fishing here on the Kenai. This may change however, if I find a spot that meets my simple criteria as we move north and east/south. Think I'll wait til we get back to British Columbia - that place fits my style of fishing a lot better than the salmon/halibut circus that is Alaska, hyped way way too much in my opinion.

And here's the bonus - the weather in Hope was slightly overcast with no rain...our plan to move out of Homer is coming together nicely I'd say.

I set out that evening hoping to capture Hope in all it's glory in photographic form but my old, trusty Sony Cybershot with the 10x optical zoom has apparently given up the ghost. Man, I am bummed, it's like losing an old amigo - this camera has seen some places and captured many captivating images for me over the years, some of which you have seen in this here blog. Guess I'll need to get up to the Best Buy in Anchorage and try to find a suitable replacement...crap, add one more item to the list.
Speaking of the list...absolutely nada, nil, zip, zero items were knocked off of it today - hey man, there's always tomorrow. On second thought Debbie paid the monthly bills, I didn't do shit.

Update: I monkeyed around with my camera later that night and she is working fine once again. Hang on, so I did get one thing off of the list that day after all...sweet.

That's about all for now good folks...on a slow path north to Fairbanks where we're hoping to catch a glimpse of the northern lights before heading southbound and down. Keep your fingers crossed for an early opening to the northern lights season for us. With your crossed fingers and continued good luck on our part I should have some very nice photos of the aurora borealis for youse guys.
Take care