The Spit (Homer, AK)

Five hours, 221 miles, and limitless Alaskan scenes are all that separate Anchorage from Homer. We headed down to Homer this past Thursday evening, and I can say that it has to be one of the coolest towns in America.

A few notable wildlife encounters:

Tons of bald eagles- too many to count even- and probably six or seven moose, along with many otter rounded out the Alaskan safari for the weekend.

Once you get over the last big hill to the city you see the famous Homer spit, a sand and rock land bridge that goes out into the bay a few miles. Surrounding that is a large number of mountains and a dense forest. Over the freezing water stand a few giant volcanoes, islands, and more mountains. This place is truly amazing. 

 

 

We camped out on a beach and then on the spit itself. Staying on the spit was a cool experience- some drunk fishermen came over to our fire and told us crazy stories, competed in the 'spit olympics' (throwing rocks at beer bottles), bit chunks out of their beer cans with just their teeth, and talk about the best way to catch salmon and halibut. I didn't know until I got there, but Homer is home to the now-famous Time Bandit ship and crew. Meeting those guys was something I don't get to do every day. 

Friday we took a halibut charter out and caught 4 halibut, a bunch of rockfish, and I caught a giant Skate (basically a stingray) which was by far the biggest thing I've ever caught. The thing felt like an anchor reeling it in.

Homer was a great trip.