We drove south on the Sterling highway from Soldotna down through Clam Gulch and then down to Ninilchik. While we are out exploring we are also scouting future state parks for potential stops along the route to Homer. We are not that far from Homer, but we are taking our time exploring the Kena. We are in no hurry to travel any great distances right now. We did that getting here to Alaska so now we are taking it slow!
Our first stop was at the Clam Gulch State Park. Parking lots here were designed to have RV’s but not enough length for our home to fit.
We hiked down a staircase to take the dirt road down to the beach area. The walk down was very steep.. My first thought was are we going to make it back up and then I realized yes, we just take it slow and we have all the time in the world to do it, so down we went.
As we came around bend in the road the first thing we saw were two huge rocks on the beach welcoming us. The wind was blowing and the tide was coming in very rapidly so we were not able to go to them. Maybe next time.
Unfortunately we did not see anyone clamming. Clamming is restricted right now due to the low numbers of clams so maybe another time we will be able to try it.
As we strolled we saw some folks camping on the beach and an eagle up in the trees on top of the cliff. As we watched the eagle survey the beach, another eagle came swooping down towards him. We could hear the one in the tree vocalize his dissatisfaction that he was not alone. We knew, (because we are now “educated”), the other eagle was a young one, because he had not gotten his white head yet, so we knew it was under five years old. We watched them dance in the sky for a while drifting in the wind. A few collected rocks from the beach and we were on our way back up the steep path to the BFT.
Our next stop was the quaint village of Ninilchik nested next to the sea. Just 44 miles north of Homer, this old town dates back to 1847 and has a population of about 700 people. It looks like it hasn’t seen any modern progress and has held its heritage very well. Fishing IS this village, with a nice little harbor of fishing vessels waiting to make a living. If only these ole boats could tell their stories.
We started to drive along the inlet to try to get to the other side but alas it was not meant to be. The one way dirt road brought us to a dead end at the sea, so we had to go back or swim. We found the right road and were able to drive on a levee separating the Cook Inlet from the harbor. As we looked back at the town, just a bunch of old wooden houses, but there, high on the bluff was another Russian Orthodox Church.
As we drove up to the Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord Chapel, we noticed the cemetery, protected by an old white picket fence, was overgrown in flowers and weeds and looked neglected. Or so it seemed. This church was built in 1901 to replace the original church of 1846. Sounds familiar.
Once we walked through the cemetery it was a profusion of organized chaotic flowers. Most of the grave sites had small fences around them with the gravestones at the foot of the grave. Flowers were everywhere and they were beautiful, basking in the late afternoon glow of the ever elusive SUN.
We could hear the bumble bees as they were in heaven, busy going from flower to flower, at the resting places of so many.
The Church was beautiful and unfortunately we were not able to go inside because it was closed. We both enjoyed taking pictures. This was one of those days when two cameras was needed!
