Our Homer Odyssey

The month started off with fog and rain and ended with fog and rain. No one here seemed to be surprised by it, but I had really grown accustomed to the blue skies and sunny weather of June and July. The sockeye salmon runs came to a close at the beginning of August, so we decided to try our hand at fishing for coho (silver) salmon in the nearby Anchor River. We learned that all the red salmon eggs we disposed of while dip-netting are ideal bait for silvers. We also recently learned that the salmon heads we tossed are perfect for halibut fishing. It's a learning curve for sure.

I quickly caught my first fish on a reel and it turned out to be a king salmon that we are not allowed to remove from the water. Currently, you can only fish for king salmon in open salt water. Although this fish looked healthy, the majority of king salmon in the Anchor River now are barely hanging on to life. They have already spawned and are now swimming around waiting to die. The banks of the river had a few decaying fish, some still alive and some dead.

Brian casting

King salmon on his death bed

James providing moral support on the bank of the river with his lollipop

Later in the month we tried again with our new fly rods. It was a quick trip, and again no luck.

In early August, Kate spent a week at Girl Scout day camp. In true Alaska fashion, they spent 8 hours a day outside beach combing, kayaking, hiking, making crafts, singing songs, and playing games.

My parents were here this month and although the weather was less than ideal, Brian and I did take advantage of having grand parents around. We rented a state owned cabin across the bay in Kachemak Bay State Park and used the ship's morale boat to get across the bay. We tied up to a rickety public dock and hiked just under 3 miles to our cabin for the night while the kids went to see The Smurfs at a the local theatre with Grandma and Grandpa.

Getting underway from Homer harbor.

Jessie dog checking out a sea otter in the harbor. I thought she was going to jump in to investigate, or maybe even try to retrieve it.

Pulling into Halibut Cove Lagoon. Poot Peak visible in the distance.

We signed into the park at the ranger station and set off. We don't have aluminum frame packs, so we sort of created our own packs with what we had. A little water, beer, a couple of protein of bars, and a sleeping bag add up pretty quickly though.

The area is known for black bears, and the blueberries were in season. I am sure my heightened senses and crazy fast heart beat helped to burn a few hundred extra calories. Everyone says just talk, sing, wear bells, or do something to make noise on the trail and the bears will make scarce. I'm sure this is for the most part true, but I still worried a bit about it. The trail was very narrow and lush, so there was no where to go if you encountered a bear. I guess you just slowly walk backward and hope it runs off. Mostly, I wondered/worried how the dog would react to a bear and hoped not to have to use bear spray or worse die of a heart attack. We only picked a few blueberries along the way. We were anxious to get to the cabin and drop our bags before exploring any more.

As I look at the pictures, I realize I only stopped long enough to take photos on the few log bridges we crossed. I don't have any photos of the lush trail covered in bear scat.

The trail went up and down twice making for a great leg workout. We crossed a few streams, passed two small lakes, and a meadow of fireweed before arriving at our cabin at China Poot Lake.

The cabin comes equipped with a wood stove, two sets of bunk beds, a picnic table, saw, and axe. There is also an outdoor fire pit and an outhouse nearby.

When we got to the cabin, we were pretty hot as we dressed for cold weather on the water and drizzling rain during the hike. Brian jumped right into the lake to cool off. In the end, I guess I wasn't that hot as I opted for the role of photographer.

We hung our clothes to dry in the cabin,

and then we set to work trying to find dry firewood, not an easy job. Someone recommended taking firewood, but I couldn't see how we were going to hike in with it. There was one bucket of dry wood inside, and it didn't take much to heat up the small cabin. We split more and left it inside to dry out for the next group.

Although not advertised by the DNR, there was a small row boat that only leaked a little, and a couple of fishing poles. We rowed out into the lake, but the rainbow trout were not interested in being our dinner that night.

Above is a view of the cabin from the boat and below is Poot Peak. Lots of hikers stage out of this cabin for the very steep and difficult, rocky climb up 2,400 feet.

We spent the later part of the evening reading the visitors log. We were surprised by the number of people from all over the United States and the world who have stayed in the cabin. Several honeymooners spent a week there, one couple from Texas and another from Minnesota. There were several families that hiked in with young children. These were some of my favorite entries. Lots of people who were dropped off by float plane, so they didn't have to haul water, firewood, or beer. A float plane also made it easier to bring infants and toddlers. Lots of Poot Peak hikers, although not all made it to the summit. Many people had bear stories. Apparently in the spring of 2013, there was a mom and 2 cubs that hung out in the trees and on land between the cabin and the outhouse as almost everybody mentioned them in their entry.

China Poot Lake in the morning

We went on a short hike to the nearby campsite. Campsite = outhouse, outdoor fire pit, and line in trees for hanging food up and away from bears.

From the campsite we could see a small island in the lake with a house and a few out buildings. We read in the cabin's log that several people met the elderly couple that lives there while fishing as the couple rowed out to say hi. I would love to know about their lives and lifestyle.

On the hike back, we stopped for a while to pick blueberries so we could bring them back to the kids.

We also discovered watermelon berries, but didn't eat them because we were not sure what they were. Kate identified them right away when we showed her the picture.

Before we got back on the boat, we noticed pink salmon bumping into each other by the pier. Too bad we didn't have our rods.

The following week, the kids went back to school. Kate is at a new school this year as the elementary schools are split from Pre-K - 2nd grade and 3rd - 6th grade.

Her new school is a National Blue Ribbon school and her teacher is the district's teacher of the year, but more importantly than that, she has met some great friends and her teacher gives out candy.

James started the Preschool program at the lower elementary school and attends 2.5 hours every morning. He has several friends in his class from his old school and has already been quoted in the classroom newsletter for correcting the teacher, "That's not a pterodactyl Miss Emily. It's a pteranodon."

As if that wasn't enough for one month, Kate and I both caught our first halibut in August. Kate actually caught four this month, two on a trip with the HOWL group and two on our family fishing trip. A rare sunny and calm day inspired us to take the ship's morale boat out 18 miles into the bay to a spot other crew members marked on the chart for great halibut fishing.

James in Homer harbor

Kate and Jessie on board waiting to get underway

The boat seems to put James to sleep whereas Kate wants to learn the rules of the road.

We passed a raft of sea otters. There were maybe 40 or so just hanging out.

Kate just before yelling, "Fish on!"

We snapped a quick photo before dropping off the fish for processing.

It truly feels like summer has come to an end. We are wearing sweatshirts and jackets more often than not, and the fireweed is beginning its final stage. We went from standing in meadows of fireweed (sometimes with Mt McKinley in the background)

and driving along purple-lined highways,

to worrying that the bloom has almost reached the top. Fireweed blooms from the bottom up, and legend says when the fireweed gets to the top, there are six more weeks until snow. Aaahh!

Once the bloom reaches the top, the seed pods and leaves turn red.

Then, the pod splits open and the fuzz comes out. I don't remember this last year. Then again, I hear this has been an exceptional year for fireweed. There is still fuzz everywhere in the air as I type in mid September. If I had screens in my windows I might dread cleaning it, but I don't, so let's hope there's even more fireweed next year!

I've never been much into botany, but I absolutely love fireweed. It's beautiful in all its stages and I love that Alaskans use it to mark the passage of time in summer. Every time you go for a drive it looks different. The end of the fireweed bloom and the start of school are not the only signs that summer is coming to an end. Sunset as early as 9:00pm and the sound of our furnace turning on were a real kick in the pants as well.

There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart. -Celia Thaxter

Starting in mid-July, we had a 4 week run of visitors that even went international as our neighbors from Connecticut brought their friends from England. They arrived by Alaska Marine Highway after a weeklong ferry ride packed into a tiny four man stateroom. The kids were excited to see them again and James was thoroughly entertained with "the other parents" while Kate was away at camp.

Brian's aunt came to Homer with his parents and then we all traveled to Denali, Fairbanks, and Chena Hot Springs together. See separate post for this trip.

My mom retired in June and decided to treat herself to an Alaskan Princess Cruise, and was joined by two of her sisters. They cruised from Vancouver to Whittier and then drove to Homer (4 hours) for a short visit. Then, my dad flew in and the aunts flew out.

Here are a series of photos showcasing what we like to do when visitors are here.

Hike to Diamond Creek

A short hike, just over a mile each way, following Diamond Creek as it descends through a gorge and ends at the beach. The kids are rewarded with a creek full of logs play on and a waterfall to swim in.

Beach and view of the bay

James starts the trail back up with his new found walking stick

Eveline State Recreation Area

I ski these trails in the winter, but they make for a lovely short meadow walk and picnic spot in summer. With each visit, something new is in bloom.

James posing with pushki and lupine in bloom.

Al, Sue, Maureen, KB, and James

Aunt Sandra & Rufus in the same spot a few weeks later with fireweed in bloom.

Halibut Cove
The views from Homer are of the mountains across the bay in Kachemak Bay State Park, 400,000 acres of pure Alaskan wilderness. There are no roads in the park, so most visitors either fly in or take a boat from Homer. There are a few semi-developed campsites, a handful of state owned cabins, and a couple of privately owned yurts for rent. There is also the scenic fishing/art community of Halibut Cove. There are maybe 50 year round residents, but quite a few more with summer cabins and homes in the cove. There are three art galleries, three oyster farms, a floating post office, and an amazing restaurant. The community is linked by a series of boardwalks and many of the houses sit on pilings. Water taxi from Homer is about $60 round trip, but lucky for us the Hickory has a couple of small boats we can rent for cheap, so Brian took the afternoon off to take us to Halibut Cove for a late lunch.

The Saltry Restaurant

Kids enjoying happy hour and kiddie cocktails.

Linda, Pat, Chick, Kate, and James

The restaurant has turned an old fiberglass tub into the coolest touch tank ever. I'm pretty sure Kate could spend all day playing with the star fish and anemone. The items in the tank were found by Halibut Cove residents at low tide.

Tide pooling

Walking on the beach during low tide is always a fun activity, and the super moon in July gave our company a moon that appeared larger and brighter as well as a more expansive beach to explore as

a result of the extreme tides.

Super moon viewed from our deck.

Kids exploring tide pools.

The kids also love to explore the creatures below the dock in the harbor. Kate has even located a milk crate on a line that someone has weighted down for what can only be our enjoyment. Kate pulls up the crate and takes out sea urchins and sea stars (tiny sea star above) for us to see. They also love to lay on the dock and look under it for gigantic anemones, especially those eating jellyfish. It is really cool.

Kate "saving" a sea star by retuning its stranded body to the water during low tide.

Halibut fishing

Since Homer is known as the Halibut Fishing Capital of the world, there are many charter fishing opportunities. My parents went for a half day trip and reeled in some chickens as we like to call the smaller halibut. Most people have their fish filleted, flash frozen, and packed to check as luggage on their return home. It seems like half the luggage being checked at the Homer airport is fish.

Hickory Tours

Touring the Hickory with Brian is always well received by guests. Luckily the ship was in port more than not this summer and all of our guests had a chance to check out the ship.