Homer, Alaska - July 9, 2010

This morning was the first day that we awoke to sunshine, a clear blue sky and temp about 62. Nice. We stopped briefly at Clam Gulch State Park and saw Mt. Redoubt across Cook Inlet. On the way to Homer we caught glimpses of Mt Redoubt, an active volcano on the other side of Cook Inlet to the west. Twice we stopped to try to see it from a park or overlook but the view was not good. We saw that clouds were coming in again and continued to Homer to beat the possible rain.
We had been told that Homer was one place we must see in Alaska. Homer is the last town on the Sterling Highway going south. It was and is an important fishing center. Charter boats and commercial fishermen use the port, mainly catching and processing halibut. The halibut can be anywhere from 10 lbs to 400 lbs. the smaller, up to 40 or 50 lbs are said to be better for eating.
Approaching Homer you can see the Kachemak Bay and the 4 mile long Homer Spit out into the Bay. The city of Homer is on the mainland and the spit is mixed use. Shops, restaurants, charter boats, beach and RV park camping and lodging. We drove out onto the spit with a lot of other vehicles. It's a paved road with narrow shoulders and no sidewalk, 25 MPH limit.

Parking near the Seamen's Memorial about 3/4 of the way out, we walked back to The Salty Dog Tavern. This tourist sight is 3 little buildings from old Homer days put together. One is a small lighthouse. The tavern is small with low headroom, almost a cavern, very dark. On the walls and ceiling are dollar bills. People have written messages and then pinned the bills up. Not quite immortal but interesting to see. Someone had pinned up a bra and another a partial denture. Probably not the same person, but then you never know.
Note at the 1:00 mark, "Jason, Rochester, NY, Tripodi 2010". Coming back in the late afternoon we were surprised to see a young bull moose cross over the highway about 50 yards ahead of us. It ambled from the right to the left side. Too narrow a shoulder and too much traffic for us to stop and admire the small antlers and beard on the moose.