Once I got past the harbor I found some restaurants and other businesses.
I ate lunch at the Harbor Grill. They were offering 50% all food as they were getting ready to close for the season. I was hoping to have King Crab but they were sold out, so since Homer is the “Halibut Capital of the World” I had that.
Further up the road I was surprised to see apartments.
I also saw a sign for another campground.
I also found another memorial:
At the end of the road was the Land’s End resort.
I started heading back to the mainland. Once I got there I drove past a big lake I could see from the high overlook. I had heard, and then seen, seaplanes taking off from that lake, and as I drove past I saw some docked near the road.
I drove back up to the high viewpoint and got a few more glacier photos in the afternoon sun.
I drove past where my Airbnb was located, as the woman at the Visitor Center had told me where she lived. She said they frequently have moose ion their property so I went down that road to see if I might spot some. I did not.
I did see the two volcanoes I had spotted on the drive down.
I went back to the Fen and didn’t have any luck spotting animals there either. I went out again during the night but still didn’t see the Northern Lights.
It had been a beautiful day and I had enjoyed taking in the sights from various vantage points. When I was at the high viewpoint I often just stood and looked. I try to do that everywhere I go – just stop taking pictures and enjoy the view.
Here are more photos from in and around Homer. First, a few more photos that I actually took yesterday . The first two are a closer look at two of the glaciers which were in the panorama shots I posted yesterday. There are also three from something called a Fen, which was very close to the overlook located high over town. I will include a sign located there which explains what it is.
And here is the Kachemak Headwater Fen, located just a short ways up the road from the viewpoint overlooking the Bay.
I stopped at the Fen several times during my stay in Homer, hoping I might see moose or other animals. I never saw a thing. It was a very peaceful place, though.
I had arrived on a Sunday and the Visitor Center wasn’t open, although they did have maps located outside and that was how I was able to find the high overlook. I went there first today and took some photos before driving down into town when the Visitor Center opened.
First, a little bit closer look at the far end of Homer Spit, which was now getting the morning sun.
I drove further east on some of the high roads hoping to get a look “around the corner” of the Bay but didn’t have much luck. Trees were blocking the view many places, and when I reached a point where I could go no further I turned around and headed back to the overlook.
This was a quirky little structure located in front of a house that was for sale. I’m not quite sure what the purpose of it is other than as a landmark to help people find the house, which wasn’t visible from the road.
These were some of the things I saw from further east of the overlook. These were taken just after 9am and the sun was coming up over the mountains to the south.
I drove into town and spent a good bit of time at the Visitor Center. Here is a map of town, and the Spit, from above.
I had gone outside a little after midnight to see if I could spot the Northern Lights. Most of the places I had been so far in Alaska were plagued with cloudy skies (when I arrived in the state I was told it was the “rainy season”). The sky was crystal clear and the stars were amazing. Because I was above town there was no light pollution and I wished I had a telescope. But no Lights.
While I was at the Visitor Center the person there asked me “Oh, did you see the Lights last night?” and I told her no, I had gone out a little after midnight with no luck. She said “Oh, they were at 2 and they were really “dancing””. Terrific.
I drove back to the overlook high above town. It was now just after noon and the sun was pretty high in the sky.
And this is a look at town from above. I never found a central business district. Many of the businesses were along the highway I had come in on.
Homer has a population of around 6,000 people. The town is listed with an elevation of 95 feet. Homer was formed in 1964, the same month as the big earthquake up near Anchorage. The already-close-to-sea-level Spit dropped by 2-3 feet in places and some areas now experience flooding at high tide. Other than the harbor, there wasn’t any severe damage in Homer, and no lives were lost.
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