We awoke this morning to rain, rain, and more rain and lots of cloud cover...
So we took a drive thru town and out the east side of the bay. The paved road goes for 22 miles and then turns to dirt. At the end of the pavement is a dirt road. Because of the rain, we only did the paved road. We found out tonight from one of our neighbors that there is a Russian village at the end of the dirt road and they were not very friendly so I am glad we did not go there. The views to the Kenai Mountains were incredible but there was a lot of rain and fog so no pictures (sorry). Hopefully we will get a nice day to do the drive again.
We then went to the Pratt Museum in town – how wonderful. We learned about the different wildlife around the bay, the native Alaskans and the homesteaders, the 1964 Earthquake, the oil spill, and so much more.
There was a remote camera at McNeil Falls that showed a number of grizzlies catching the salmon. We must have sat there for an hour – it was incredible. (Some of those bears are 1000 pounds or more.)
The Homer Spit sunk 6 feet after the earthquake. It was cut off from the mainland and good portions were flooded. We were told that some areas of the spit were a mile wide and now some areas are only about a quarter mile wide. This area was not affected by the tsunamis that followed the earthquake.
I think the exhibit that affected me the most was the oil spill. They had pictures of some of the animals – no words could describe the horrors. There was an interview they had done with one of the animal rescuers that said “They were bringing us 10-30 sea otters a day that were screaming and tearing their eyes out.” (The image makes me ill and I want to cry!!). I cannot image what it was like here. The spill killed over 100,000 birds and sea animals. It affected many of the native people here who rely on the sea for everything. (And this was preventable unlike the earthquake.) So very sad!!
This evening (it cleared) we started a campfire and were joined by Larry, Jim, and Karen. Larry caught a salmon and shared with all of us (Thanks, Larry!). And we had such a fun time!!
Our group (Me, Andy, Larry, Jim, Karen):
So we took a drive thru town and out the east side of the bay. The paved road goes for 22 miles and then turns to dirt. At the end of the pavement is a dirt road. Because of the rain, we only did the paved road. We found out tonight from one of our neighbors that there is a Russian village at the end of the dirt road and they were not very friendly so I am glad we did not go there. The views to the Kenai Mountains were incredible but there was a lot of rain and fog so no pictures (sorry). Hopefully we will get a nice day to do the drive again.
We then went to the Pratt Museum in town – how wonderful. We learned about the different wildlife around the bay, the native Alaskans and the homesteaders, the 1964 Earthquake, the oil spill, and so much more.
There was a remote camera at McNeil Falls that showed a number of grizzlies catching the salmon. We must have sat there for an hour – it was incredible. (Some of those bears are 1000 pounds or more.)
The Homer Spit sunk 6 feet after the earthquake. It was cut off from the mainland and good portions were flooded. We were told that some areas of the spit were a mile wide and now some areas are only about a quarter mile wide. This area was not affected by the tsunamis that followed the earthquake.
I think the exhibit that affected me the most was the oil spill. They had pictures of some of the animals – no words could describe the horrors. There was an interview they had done with one of the animal rescuers that said “They were bringing us 10-30 sea otters a day that were screaming and tearing their eyes out.” (The image makes me ill and I want to cry!!). I cannot image what it was like here. The spill killed over 100,000 birds and sea animals. It affected many of the native people here who rely on the sea for everything. (And this was preventable unlike the earthquake.) So very sad!!
This evening (it cleared) we started a campfire and were joined by Larry, Jim, and Karen. Larry caught a salmon and shared with all of us (Thanks, Larry!). And we had such a fun time!!
Our group (Me, Andy, Larry, Jim, Karen):
And we also had numerous visits by our eagle – what an incredible creature...
We do have a sea otter that peaks his head up every now and then but I have been unable to get his picture. (In Seward, we had a harbor seal that would cross every day – couldn’t get his picture either - L!)Another picture – low tide in front of the MH:
One more to leave you…
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