After another good night's sleep at Teddy's, and a phenomenal breakfast there the next morning, it was time to say goodbye and explore more of the Kenai Peninsula. So, we packed-up in Moose Pass and headed north, then west on the Sterling Highway. Our only goals today were to enjoy the landscape, and make the 3-hour drive to Homer.
Within a few minutes of heading west, you'll notice a big change in the landscape. Gone are the towering mountains and wet breezes. Rolling hills and pine forests fill the distance - not quite as picturesque in my humble opinion, but still natural and beautiful.
Make sure to gas-up your vehicle along the way. Gas stations are few and far between. Same goes for snacks and drinks.
Soldotna is a good stop for food, fuel, and provisions. The population is about 5,000 but with the surrounding areas and the city of Kenai, it's probably closer to 10,000 for the area. It seems bigger, probably because it's the biggest city we've seen for over a week! Soldotna has many of the stores, restaurants, and fast-food places that we are familiar with. Fred Meyer is a worthwhile stop - it reminded us of a Target or K-Mart. You can pick-up inexpensive Alaska souvenirs here. Alaska T-shirts and baseball caps are very reasonably priced. (Yes, it is all made in China or another far-eastern country. But, when was the last time you bought any T-shirt or cap that wasn't?)
We had lunch with the friend-of-a-friend at the Duck Inn Restaurant, which was pretty good. The portions were large (typical Alaska) although the price was more than we'd pay at home (again, typical Alaska.) By that time it was mid-afternoon, and time to head south.
The Sterling Highway curves south at Soldotna, and passes through several small towns - Ninilchik, Anchor Point, Clam Gulch. We had thought about stopping, but to be honest, we really didn't see anything from the highway that caught our attention. I would imagine they are nice places, with shops and restaurants and things to see, but our sights were on Homer, so we just kept going.
We arrived at Homer around 5 PM, and stopped by the Homer Chamber of Commerce. The people working there were very friendly, and we gathered a few local maps and brochures. Like the Seward COC, what they lacked in size, they made up for with hospitality and helpfulness.
With the GPS giving directions, we drove just out of town to our B & B. This time we had a small cabin at the Kiana Lodging property. I must report that this was the most disappointing lodging experience in our trip. Not tragic - just not up to the standards we were hoping for. Here's a link to my TripAdvisor review.
After checking-in, we went down to the Homer Spit, the famous geographic feature of Homer. The Spit is a four-mile long, city-block wide stretch of land that juts out into the Kachemak Bay. It is the hub of Homer's fishing and tourism industry. We got there at about 6:30 PM, found a parking spot, and walked along the water. Still plenty of daylight, and it was beautiful. Here are the pictures that do better than any description I could write.
When we went back to the car, I saw that I had missed a call on my cell phone, and we had a new message. We got a nice surprise. I'll save that for a later post.
Within a few minutes of heading west, you'll notice a big change in the landscape. Gone are the towering mountains and wet breezes. Rolling hills and pine forests fill the distance - not quite as picturesque in my humble opinion, but still natural and beautiful.
Make sure to gas-up your vehicle along the way. Gas stations are few and far between. Same goes for snacks and drinks.
Soldotna is a good stop for food, fuel, and provisions. The population is about 5,000 but with the surrounding areas and the city of Kenai, it's probably closer to 10,000 for the area. It seems bigger, probably because it's the biggest city we've seen for over a week! Soldotna has many of the stores, restaurants, and fast-food places that we are familiar with. Fred Meyer is a worthwhile stop - it reminded us of a Target or K-Mart. You can pick-up inexpensive Alaska souvenirs here. Alaska T-shirts and baseball caps are very reasonably priced. (Yes, it is all made in China or another far-eastern country. But, when was the last time you bought any T-shirt or cap that wasn't?)
We had lunch with the friend-of-a-friend at the Duck Inn Restaurant, which was pretty good. The portions were large (typical Alaska) although the price was more than we'd pay at home (again, typical Alaska.) By that time it was mid-afternoon, and time to head south.
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| Kenai Peninsula map |
The Sterling Highway curves south at Soldotna, and passes through several small towns - Ninilchik, Anchor Point, Clam Gulch. We had thought about stopping, but to be honest, we really didn't see anything from the highway that caught our attention. I would imagine they are nice places, with shops and restaurants and things to see, but our sights were on Homer, so we just kept going.
We arrived at Homer around 5 PM, and stopped by the Homer Chamber of Commerce. The people working there were very friendly, and we gathered a few local maps and brochures. Like the Seward COC, what they lacked in size, they made up for with hospitality and helpfulness.
With the GPS giving directions, we drove just out of town to our B & B. This time we had a small cabin at the Kiana Lodging property. I must report that this was the most disappointing lodging experience in our trip. Not tragic - just not up to the standards we were hoping for. Here's a link to my TripAdvisor review.
After checking-in, we went down to the Homer Spit, the famous geographic feature of Homer. The Spit is a four-mile long, city-block wide stretch of land that juts out into the Kachemak Bay. It is the hub of Homer's fishing and tourism industry. We got there at about 6:30 PM, found a parking spot, and walked along the water. Still plenty of daylight, and it was beautiful. Here are the pictures that do better than any description I could write.
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| Homer - the dunes, the beach, the bay, and the mountain...all in one look. |
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| Bald eagle flying near the shore on the Homer Spit |
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| Shops and restaurants facing the Kachemak Bay |
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| Around 65 degrees and windy - not quite warm enough for us to wade, but some people did! |
When we went back to the car, I saw that I had missed a call on my cell phone, and we had a new message. We got a nice surprise. I'll save that for a later post.
