After our stay in Seward, our next specific destination was Homer. To do this we drove back towards Anchorage, but then veered west across the Kenai Peninsula. When we came to the Russian River we stopped for a couple hours because it was salmon spawning season and the Russian River is a great place to observe fishermen and fish.
The River, Fish Cleaning Station in River, Fisherman and his Fish
Pink fish near their end, fighting for fish, fireweed, fireweed
HOMER
Homer is famous for its 3-mile long spit - a narrow peninsula that juts out into the ocean. On the spit there are lots of small shops. Very quaint and a nice place to visit.
CAPTAIN COOKE PARK and KENAI
Following suggestions from a local guidebook, we went to Captain Cooke Park near the town of Kenai to look for agates. No luck on the agate front, but some interesting rocks/stones.
The next day we went to another location in Kenai, based on a tip from a B&B owner. This time we found some agates, but they were few and far between. There were certainly lots and lots of small rocks. In fact, some locals came with pickup trucks to shovel stones for their driveways.
That night we stayed a great and inexpensive lodge near the Russian River.
CROW CREEK MINE
Still on the Kenai Peninsula, but within an hour of Anchorage, we stopped at the Crow Creek Mine so Sandy could pan for gold. This used to be an active mine, but now gets its income by letting tourists/locals try their luck. The tourists such as us get a pan and shovel, plus a packet guaranteed to contain a few flakes of gold. That was all Sandy found, but she still had fun.
