We Say Adieu to Homer

That’s Bald Enough for Me

We had heard that Anchor Point was the place to see Bald Eagles. Our new neighbors had an Excel as well. They hailed from Kentucky , as did another couple they were traveling with. Barry had struck up a conversation with them, and they invited us over to see the pictures they had from their trip to Anchor Point. The photos were incredible! They also recommended an eatery there called the “Blue Bus.”

It’s easy enough to find characters in Alaska, but our new neighbors fell right into our laps. Three couples travel together and Winter together in Fort Meyers, FL. As we were leaving, Barry mentioned that he liked Bluegrass Music, and one of the men struck up a song! He was a comic from the first note.  Then he sang us another song, and by then it really was time to go! We left with info on the Fort Meyers, FL campground, and new acquaintances made.

Next morning early but not too bright, we headed out to find Bald Eagles. Around Homer we saw them, but not in big numbers and not regularly. There is one guy that sits on top of the Tsunami Warning system close to the campground and a pair that have made a nest in town that we pass frequently. Other then that Bald Eagle sightings had been scarce. We were stoked by the tales of our neighbors’ good fortune. It took some digging, but we found the place. It was actually a huge area where serious fishermen live and launch their boats each day. We felt like we were under great scrutiny since we obviously were not there to fish!

As promised, there were Bald Eagles. It was awesome. There were as many juvenile eagles as adults, and the juveniles blended perfectly into the background making them hard to spot. Eagles were everywhere - in the trees, on the beach walking up and down. It was quite a sight. They were absolutely not perturbed by our presence. We did get a lot of wonderful photos. Although we were there just after high tide, we saw a lot of birds. Best viewing time was following low tide. The birds swoop in to claim whatever the tides have drug in. None of the eagles fought for food like the gulls and ravens, they would just stroll up and start tearing at what they wanted! We decided to give the eagles a rest and lunched at the “Blue Bus” as our neighbors suggested. It was a cute little “Mom and Pop” eatery. Strangely enough, not one piece of fish was offered, just the tried and true burgers and fries, nachos and shakes. The shakes were really special. Every menu item was made from scratch. 

Back we went to the fish camp but this time it wasn’t the bald eagles that caught my eye. We hadn’t noticed but there were no piers or ramps from which to launch and recover boats - yet, there were hundreds of boat trailers lined up along the beach. The afternoon’s entertainment began with huge CAT tractors. These behemoth rigs with a crew of two would retrieve a boat trailer, back it into the water until the trailer was underwater and the CAT was in water almost up to its axels. Then the boats would rev up and head for the trailer at full tilt. The worker on the CAT would quickly attach the boat to the hitch, and as the worker was doing this, the CAT driver would be pulling everything out of the water! It was a sight to see. This went on and on - there were two CATs to begin, but as the fishing boats made their way back it was obvious that they needed a third CAT, and sure enough, it showed up! We were simply amazed at the rate these crews could snatch a trailer, back it into the water and snatch up a boat.  It was $60 per launch and $60 per recovery per day!

We had just about worn ourselves and our eyeballs out at this point. The batteries in my camera were dead. So we waved aloha to Anchor Point and returned to our humble abode. I wanted to download my pix, but my body wanted a nap more, so nap I did. Barry awakened me to an announcement of Happy Hour and the campfire was already started! As we gathered, a most incredible thing happened. After being camped there for those day and nights, what appeared right in back of our RVs were Bald Eagles! Ho Hum! We were just about eagled out. Everybody in the campground burst out with cameras. We did manage a couple of shots that we hadn’t managed earlier in the day.

It was a great last evening of a great trip to Homer, Alaska. Good food, good scenery, good folks…good night!

From the MABarry - over and out.

It came time and we did!  We left Homer and all his family behind as we chugged our way north to a National Forest between Portage (now not there) and Whittier.  We're in the Chugach National Forest on the Portage Glacier in a CG called Williwaw!  I'll have more to say later, but for now, have a look at the eagles we saw!

http://outddoor.blogspot.com/?zx=d5329d66be9d1f31