Around Kachemak Bay, Thereabouts

Homer is known as the "end of the road" but that's not really true. You can drive right past Homer high up to the rolling hills above treeline or follow the road another 25 miles to the back of Kachemak Bay. Depending on your vehicle, the road actually ends in the Russian villages of Voznesenka, Razdolna or ultimately in Kachemak Selo.

Mt. Augustine beckons. It always does. The volcano last erupted in early 2006.

The evening of our first day in Homer was beautiful, but the next morning was typical Alaskan coastal weather of overcast steady rain. It was also a Sunday so many shops were closed. We decided to explore the surrounding countryside by car.

The road leaves town to the east and gradually ascends pretty high, offering very nice views of the bay and mountains. Eventually it enters the scattered settlement of Voznesenka, an unincorporated village of Old Believers. These three Russian towns do not have anything to see other than houses. They are small residential communities of Old Believers who keep to themselves. Razdolna seemed to harbor some ship builders while what i briefly saw of Kachemak Selo looked agricultural.

The cemetery at Vosnesenka. This is a good turnaround point if you even decide to go this far.

From the end of Voznesenka the road descends steeply down to the ocean.

This switchback was too tight for a continuous turn. After this point the road gets steeper.

We did not come from the trail on the right, we came from farther up the beach.

The Coal Beach

For most people it is probably a good idea to turn around once you get to Voznesenka. After that the road is no longer maintained and to go any farther  descends very steeply to a beach made out of coal near the end of the bay. Four wheel drive is necessary beyond the cemetery.

From there the road descends very steeply 1,000 feet to the beach below. It's the first time i've ever seen a beach made out of coal. At the bottom you are able to drive along the beach at low tide for another mile before crossing a stream and encountering no trespassing signs. I don't know if the signs are legitimate or not but i turned around at that point, respecting the privacy of the homeowners. I don't think there really would be anything else to see other than homes.

The infrastructure looks like it was built by the nearby residents, and gave me the feeling that they are on their own, probably maintaining the road too.

Cows! People who come to visit Alaska get excited about seeing Moose, but Alaskans get excited about cows. I never see cows in Alaska, it's usually considered too cold. It was even a nice pasture.

Maree goes looking for tidal pools before we depart back up the hill.

High up above the ocean at the edge of where the forest can grow the hills stretch on forever.

A relatively new oil or gas well.

The clouds broke up late in the day and i was able to watch a great sunset on the bluffs just east of Homer, with great views across Cook Inlet.

Right as the sun finally disappeared it lit up a steam plume coming out of the top of Mt. Iliamna. Ten thousand feet high over the ocean, it last erupted in 1953 and is almost continuously steaming. The volcano lies between Mt. Augustine to the south and Mt. Redoubt to the north in the chain. Mt. Iliamna is part of Lake Clark National Park.

A short distance north of Homer is the most western town on the U.S. highway system. Anchor Point looks half abandoned but you can put a boat into Cook Inlet and go Halibut fishing from here. You can also do some clam digging on the long beach or salmon fishing on the Anchor River.

This is Part IV in my series of posts on the Kachemak Bay area. You can read about the other interesting places in the area by clicking the links below:

Halibut Cove: A beautiful artists community across the bay.

Seldovia: An attractive fishing town on the South Side of Kachemak Bay

Red Mountain: A hiking area near Seldovia that looks like SW Colorado

Homer: The traditional End of the Road