A perfect start Anchorage, AK

Anchorage, AK

So for all of you that are not into people watching that happened yesterday and are only reading for the wildlife, I’ll have something for you today! We decided to set our alarms for 8 AM with the goal of getting six hours of sleep, but as often happens with the allure of wildlife and new territory ahead, we woke up before the alarm around 6:45. We took showers and got breakfast, took some photos of the hotel and headed out on our first adventure… Wal-Mart! Yes, I know, pathetic and I try to avoid it at all costs in Concord, but it was necessary for snacks/water and I thought mom would be proud (she frequents Wal-Mart in Blueifield way more than Dad and I think she should, haha).

Provisions acquired and off we went, destination Homer. We were supposed to check in with K Bay Air between 12-3 PM so we called to make sure if we were later than that we would be okay and they said we would; we still knew we needed to make a pretty direct pathway there. Not 30 minutes out of town and Eagle Eye LJ (while driving mind you) spots Dall Sheep up on the rock face, there was a gravel parking area so he whipped in as I was still trying to figure out what had happened. There were two adults and two little ones which I was able to get on video and he grabbed a few shots of. Immediately after we stopped, people driving by saw us stopped with cameras and they began filling up the parking lot. I can see why they warn against traffic delays all throughout the drive because it is definitely a domino effect and had there not been a parking area, they say people just tend to stop in the road. One sign we saw stated delaying more than five cars is a traffic violation. Wildlife viewing day one: Dall sheep – check!

Back in the car with the compass (or GPS) pointed southwest and me at the wheel, I felt Lj’s talents needed to be dedicated to narrating where we were and wildlife spotting. There is still snow on the mountaintops and we see several spots with snow at the bottom near the road that hasn’t melted yet from avalanches, impossible for me to even imagine what it must be like when they occur there, now just remnants with little caves under them where the snow has been melting and water running down the mountains. We can see the beautiful blue ice of Portage Glacier in the distance. Once we arrive to the split where the roads to Seward and Homer go in two directions, we are in new territory for us. We see the beautiful blue waters of the Kenai River where LJ and his dad will be doing a floating fishing trip next Friday, that is going to be amazing!

We detour onto a dirt/gravel road that is 19 miles long and runs beside Skilak Lake both large and small. No wildlife spotting but a nice change of pace. We stopped at Pizza Boys! In Soldotna for a quick slice and continue on, arriving in Homer about 3:45 PM. Final stretch of road before Homer and I get a prize for spotting a moose on the side of the road and make a quick stop (insert brief yelp from the passenger seat about why we were stopping so quickly). Wildlife viewing day one: Dall sheep – check! Moose – check!

We make our way to he destination and get checked in for our bear-viewing excursion for Sunday and walk around The Spit for a bit, then make our way back to “mainland” Homer to find our B&B. We find it easily, it is actually like a small apartment or in-law suite attached to their home with small kitchen, eating area and living room and separate bedroom. What is perfect about it is that instead of a full breakfast, we actually get dessert each evening… this is my kind of place! We find bagels in the fridge for a light breakfast tomorrow and also chocolate covered strawberries! Car unloaded and back to the Spit for dinner and otter spotting! On our way back to the Spit we see two beautiful bald eagles, this was one of the animals that impressed me so much on our last trip. They are so majestic. Wildlife viewing day one: Dall sheep – check! Moose – check! Bald Eagles – check!

We decide to walk around the harbor, looking for otters and discussing all of the different boat names, which is always fun. No otters here but a nice walk to work up our appetites. We went to the Harbor Grill for dinner – I had fish and chips (which will surprise some, but when in Homer…) and LJ had a cheeseburger. A lady at the table beside us chose the halibut, (squeamish eaters skip to next paragraph) and had to send it back because while the halibut was cooked well, the worm inside of it was still living and squirmy. Yikes! The manager’s apologized but did say, “well at least you know it’s fresh!”.

Dinner complete and a stop on the way off The Spit included a stop to see the sea otters offshore. While they weren’t as close as I would have liked – they were close enough to qualify as an official spotting! Wildlife viewing day one: Dall sheep – check! Moose – check! Bald Eagles – check! Sea otters – check! Day one complete!