A Little Piece of Russia

We meandered down Main St on our way to Safeway this morning for eggs and bagels and had breakfast in their cafe. We really wish the sun would stay out. Today we decided to drive to Anchor Point. We took the Sterling Highway to Old Sterling Highway and drove along the road winding through marsh and ponds. This is the furthest west point of the highway system in North America. Houses and rough cabins dotted the way. A bridge took us across the Anchor River and we arrived in the tiny community. The town received its name after Captain Cook’s ships Resolution and Discovery lost a kedge anchor to the tremendous currents of the area back in 1787.

We decided to take North Fork Drive and followed this through woods until we saw Novalesk Dr. We turned left and came to the small Russian Village of Old Believers, known as Nikolaevsk. The village is made up of 297 descendents of the Old Believers who emigrated from Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. The village road is dotted with modest homes and large gardens. They keep the Russian Orthodox traditions here. The women and girls still wear ankle length skirts and head scarves, Russian is the 1st language, and the church dictates that males do not shave. Town was very small and centered around the simple Blue & White Russian Church with a gold dome.

Retracing our steps back to the Old Sterling Highway the road turned to dirt and we drove up and over hills with lush green valley views. The brush looks like grass from a distance but its not. The brush here can be 6 feet tall. Very thick weeds, blooming wild flowers, and thick bushes make this an extremely dense area. The road connected up to the Sterling Highway again, which we followed home.

Lots of Rvs are heading out of Homer now but the campground is still full. Its very windy and only 53 degrees.

This was a great day.

Photos: Spit Main Street Shops (2), Looking up Main Street from camp, Campground (2), Novalesk Church

East End Road & Beyond

Went to bed last night at 8:15pm and got up this morning at 10am. Guess we caught up! We decided to do a scenic drive today even though it was cloudy, but the sun is trying to break through. On the way through Homer we found the Sourdough Express for brunch. Great bakery and we had Ham & Cheese Pinwheels. They were really good but a little pricey.

After breakfast we drove the 22 mile East End Rd which runs along a bluff east of Homer. Paved for the first 19 miles it provides breathtaking views of Katchemak Bay. To bad the clouds are too low to see much. As we drove the variations of Alaskan homes kept us interested. They range from old wood cabins, broken trailers with plywood walls around them and modern ranch style homes. There are definitely no zoning laws here. As the road turns to dirt we amble through forested areas, farmland dotted with cattle and ends at the edge of a high brush-covered cliff. Of course the road doesn’t really end! A very poor quality road became steep and twisty as it descends 1,000 feet over the bluff to the beach below. We followed a single track along the beach with Kachemak Bay on our left and grazing cattle and horses on our right. The side of the road is covered with beautiful purple Lupine. We crossed a rickety little wooden bridge and came to a driveway that lead to a ranch house. What a gorgeous spot out here on the bay surrounded by mountains and wilderness. We retraced our steps and headed back to camp.

Bikers participating in the Hoka Hey Bike Race started to arrive on the 'spit' today. They began in Key West, Florida and the race ends July 4 on the ‘spit‘. This is a huge motorcycle race. Most of them will arrive tomorrow.

Our friends Mary & Mike have arrived in Homer and are staying at Bay Crest RV Park. We’ll meet them for a BBQ at their site tonight. We picked up fresh corn and chocolate cake and drove up the Sterling Highway. The sun came out as we pulled into their campground. They have a beautiful spot on a high bluff overlooking Cook Inlet. For the first time we can really see the gorgeous mountains across the inlet. The water is a sapphire blue. We had cocktails and Mike cooked a great pork roast on the grill. It was a great visit and we left about 9:30pm.

Back at camp there is quite a crowd of people, tenters, motorcyclists, Rvs, trailers, and even an old “flower child” van! This is the party hotspot. About 10:30pm cheers started on the beach as a young guy decided to go for a swim…its 49 degrees! However, I think he was well insulated. We sat outside with the neighbors and enjoyed their campfire.

Tomorrow we are going to take a side trip with Mike and Mary. We may stay in Homer an extra day if the weather stays nice so we can take another scenic drive and visit the winery.

There’s a great mix of people here and has been a great experience.

Photos: Going beyond the end of East End Rd, Driving East End Beach Rd, Lupine along the beach road, Climbing back up the bluff, Views across Kachmark Bay, View from Mike & Mary's RV site, Across Cook Inlet from rv park, View of Homer Spit and Kenai Mountains