Sunday, June 19, 2011

Last Day in Homer and a Birthday

The Most Westerly Highway Point in North America is at the coast in Anchor Point, Alaska. That was our destination today, about a 20-mile drive from our campground in Homer. We met some very nice bicyclers and took each other’s photos. This doesn’t mean it’s the most western point of North America, just the one you can drive to. I’ve been to the most western point of Europe, so I’m glad to finally reach the most western point (that you can drive to) in North America.

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On a clear day, you can see five active volcanoes from here. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a clear day. The volcanoes are Mount Douglas, Mount Spurr, Mount Redoubt, Mount Iliamna and Mount Augustine. They are only five of the many active volcanoes located along the Pacific “Ring of Fire” – a chain of over half the world’s active above water volcanoes.

At the nearby boat launch, we watched a tractor launch a boat down the ramp during low tide.

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I was distracted by some eagles and had to capture a few pics.

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By the time I looked back at the tractor and boat, the launch was complete.

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On the way back to Homer, I had to stop for this picture. What? No RVer wants to drink a smoothie made from black water! Apparently it means something different in this neck of the woods.

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We returned to Homer and took the 1-hour trolley tour. It was informative and enjoyable, even though we had already visited most of the places pointed out. Note to self: take the trolley/city tour when first arriving at a new place!

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However, we did see a few new eagle sites on the tour. Here’s one of them, a nest atop a pylon not far from our campsite. A mom was keeping her baby warm in the cold wind. I took several shots before I caught her head up.

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We went back on our own to a few places mentioned on the tour. One was Alaska Wild Berry Products. Don sampled a few of their sugar-free chocolates, and bought some chocolate-covered raisins, sugar free! He loves them.

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Across the parking lot is the original post office for Homer, built in 1927.

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At a campground near the water, we spotted this unusual camping trailer. Is it a custom job? Looks like someone put a lot of effort into it.

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Today was Jim Smith’s 75th birthday. We tried to get tables for our entire group – 10 people, as Marilyn and Larry left today to get service for their refrigerator and washer/dryer. Jim wanted to go to Captain Pattie’s, and we picked up him and Pat to ride with us. When we arrived, they said without reservations it would be a little hard to seat all of us. Sorry, we didn’t think they took reservations! So we took the table they had for 4, and they said it would be a few minutes before they would be able to seat the other 6 of our group at a different table, but close to us. As the rest of our group arrived, they didn’t want to wait, so they went somewhere else. Oh, well! Sometimes things don’t work out exactly as planned.

Anyway, Happy Birthday, Jim! You wear the years very well! I can only hope to be half as fit and healthy as you when I reach that age. And we wish you many more years of fishing and eating fish!

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Tomorrow we’re going to Soldotna, about 75 miles away. There will undoubtedly be new adventures to report!

1 comment:

  1. It's evident that all of you are eating very well even without the
    excuse of a birthday.....no
    roughing it for you. That's my way
    to travel...lol.
    Your camera is taking great pictures! Enjoying your fun.

    ReplyDelete

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