Halibut Cove

Everyone talks about Halibut Cove like it is 'next door,' and it is--if you have a boat or are willing to pay water taxi rates (@$85 per person). The last time we went to Halibut Cove was 6 or 7 years ago when we were visiting Alaska, long before we ever considered moving here. On July 4th, the group of us that were camped on Right Beach decided to take a boat ride over to Halibut Cove and walk around.

I admit, Halibut Cove is a neat place. We docked at The Saltry, an indoor/outdoor restaurant that abuts a natural rock, creating a cozy spot for a fire and a unique dining atmosphere. Boardwalks wind around through the village, with art galleries, a coffee shop and gift shops scattered along the way. While the population of Halibut Cove swells in the summer months, there is a core of people who live there year-round, including the physician who treated my burned hand earlier this year. That lady grew up in Halibut Cove and lives there still, commuting the 5 or 6 miles across Kachemak Bay by boat to the Homer Harbor to get to work a couple times a week. From what I hear, artists flock to Halibut Cove, and there is an oyster farm there as well. There are many nooks and crannies to explore, whether by land or water, and it is a very popular place for kayakers as well as hikers. We saw a number of very well-kept horses and people out riding, so apparently there is enough space to make it worth saddling up a horse and going out, though we didn't venture that far. 

We expected the cove to be hopping with Fourth of July festivities, but besides the Saltry and one gallery, everything was closed. We saw a lively softball game going on behind one gallery, so apparently the fourth is a day of rest in Halibut Cove rather than a day of work. And later that evening as we sat at our campsite on Right Beach (which is on an undeveloped arm of Halibut Cove), fireworks began going off over the village. 

One can hardly mention Halibut Cove without mentioning Gull Island, as it is a big rock covered with common murre, cormorants, gulls, puffins and more on the path between the Homer Harbor and Halibut Cove. We decided to explore the coves, bays and lagoons down the coast towards Seldovia after we were done meandering through Halibut Cove so we made a jog over to Gull Island to check out the teeming seabird life. There is a sense of special coziness to Halibut Cove, though 'cozy' can at some point feel claustrophobic if one no longer wants to live there. It can be very isolated in the winter when storms come up and batter the shore, keeping boats off the waters. Part of me said, "I could never live here," but I think I would need to explore it more before I said that. And it is the people that really make a place a community, so without getting to know the people there it would be premature of me to say I couldn't live somewhere. It did remind me of my time living on Mackinac Island on Lake Huron (again, cozy or claustrophobic, depending on your state of mind), with the quaint uniqueness of a small town on the water. I do hope to get back over to Halibut Cove and explore more over the next few years.

Gull Camping Weekend 2012

After the huge success that was the camping and cruising weekend 2011 we are pleased to announce the dates for 2012. We will be back at Rutland on the 24th/25th and 26th of August 2012. Rutland is a great central venue with a decent campsite but feel free to stay in a local B&B or hotel. You may decide to join us for a day or two or all three. As usual, there will be no set schedule just come along and join in the sailing as and when you can. Everybody is welcome to come along!

Also, if you can suggest any day sails in a location near you, please let us know and we may get a group of Gull sailors together.

Our Camp

Here is what our camp looked like when we were set up out on the ice. These are canvas whaling tents built with a simple frame and staked down with rope. Here we cleared the ice and just hammered the stakes into it. Each tent is heated with a single propane stove.

More Alaskan Adventures

This time, it was a trip down Seward Highway, to about Girdwood or so. The ice breakup, though no sign of spring, is beautiful and watching the ice chunks flow by with majestic mountains in the background is amazing.

But what is even more amazing was the sighting of not one, not two but FOUR Dall sheep on the moutainside next to the road. I've seen moose up here, and I've seen eagles, and even an otter. But not a sheep:

Alaskan Adventures

The trip to Alaska for the honeymoon provided a great opportunity for some fantastic photographs. It is a truly stunning part of the world...the type of wilderness I love. Just as with the coast and north of Norway this type of scenery never fails to inspire me...want to see some of the results? Let's take a look at some of the pictures.

The first part of our trip was spent in the Denali National Park, and a chance to visit the mountain of Denali (otherwise known as Mount McKinley), the tallest peak in North America at over 20,000 ft. We were warned that it can be rare to get an unobstructed view of the mountain due to the weather. The mountain is usually shrouded in cloud, and you can see it less than 30% of the time when visiting the park...but the morning of our trek into the park this was the view...

...not a cloud in the sky. That is from over eighty miles away, the white peak in the picture is Mt McKinley. The clouds did roll in as we made our way towards the mountain, but it was still clear enough that we opted for a flight to get a closer look...

That was definitely one of the highlights of the trip, but to be honest, the entire trip was just full of fantastic photo opportunities, and I was really happy to get some of these amazing shots.

...a moody shot from the Independence Gold Mine, high in the mountains just outside Wassila...

...two bald eagles perched on the docks at Seward... ...an amazingly still lake, allowed for these great reflection shots... ...the remote beauty of Denali...

...then we went on some cruises in Prince William Sound, one out of Whittier and one out of Seward, so that we could see the glaciers up close. The Fjord trips really reminded me of Lofoten in Norway, and aside from a little sea-sickness, the trip was amazing, including some close encounters with a group of Humpback whales (which alas I didn't get on camera due to fighting to keep the contents of my lunch from projecting on my fellow passengers), before getting to see the glaciers. They really are an amazing sight. The ice is so old and dense that blue is the only color of the spectrum that escapes back from the ice in places, which give the glaciers this really bright blue hue that seems unnatural... ...the wonderfully named Surprise Glacier... ...Surprise Glacier 'calving', which is what they call it when the ice slips into the water... ...Surprise Glacier 'calving', which is what they call it when the ice slips into the water...

Valdez, Alaska Adventures

This past week our friends, Paige and Kyle, from back south came to visit us and this great state. We had amazing weather. I tried to inform them that it usually isn't as glorious and not rainy as they experienced, but I'm thankful that we had good weather to tote them around Alaska with.

We spent a good three days in Valdez, Alaska. It's about 6 hours from Anchorage. Home of the infamous Exxon Valdez oil spill and the epicenter of the 1964 Alaska Earthquake that destroyed so much of this state. It's now this quaint little fishing town in the middle of no-where Alaska

I would like to try to give you a small glimpse of rural Alaska. Since my bladder inside my preggo body was about to explode, I had to stop. I'm not beneath going in the woods (did that too on this trip), but toilets are always better in my book. Sadly, this is one of the ONLY restrooms on our 6 hour journey. It's not like every hour or two you pass through a small down with a Dairy Queen (though I kinda miss those days). There is nothing.When the lady told me to pick up the bucket...I was a little concerned. Thankfully it just held the toilet paper and there was this lovely "moving" outhouse we could utilize. Wonderful.

This is where we ate dinner. About half way there is this booming town called GlennAllen. We were instructed we needed to stop there and fill up with gas and eat dinner as it was our last opportunity. It had 3 restaurants. Three. I know this as a fact, because we stopped and asked a local when we didn't see anything. Options: a local inn's restaurant, a Thai place in a van (literally), and The Freeze. Guess where we ate.

The drive was absolutely stunning. Steep mountains for hours and hours in every direction. Huge waterfalls. That highway is where they film some of the Chevy commercials. There is a reason for that.When we finally arrived, we set up camp here.

Pretty swank (especially compared to the rest of the town). It worked out well that Matt's work has an office there with a 2 bedroom apartment above it that was available for us to stay in. Couldn't get better.Out on the porch there was a view of the harbor and all the fishing boats. We were able to watch the charters come in and see them clean and gut their gigantic fish. This is a cleaning station. We made sure to crowd around and watch after we'd already eaten. We even got a glimpse of a full rainbow. I don't know if I've ever actually seen one. The even cooler part was that the end of the rainbow landed where there used to be a whole bunch of gold mines. Coincidence? I think not. We adventured out on a hike one day through this amazing, lush valley. I'm pretty sure they need to come film Jurassic Park 4 there. And of course enjoyed some more waterfalls. And the best part...we saw our first grizzly bear!! First we saw the mama (behind us) and then a baby a little bit later. We were driving, so I did not feel threatened since the car was just a stride away for safety if needed. It was amazing. As afraid of bears as I am...I do hope that's the only way I see them. Not stranded on a trail by our lonesomes. And just in case you want a close up. Yep, it's eating a fish. I took like a million pictures. On the drive back we stopped and hiked up to one of the many icebergs we saw along the way. They are gigantic and sadly quickly melting away. That was our trip to Valdez. The following days we spent biking, grilling out and venturing up to Denali (aka Mt. McKinley) to ride some ATVs. But alas, I forgot my camera for that. It was great mini vacation!

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