Captain Cook State Recreation Area

Our last day in Homer was another beautiful, sunny day.  The weather is more often cloudy and rainy than sunny, so to have another nice day is worth mentioning.

We stayed an extra day in Homer in order to join Luke, Judy (aka Cool Judy), Frank, Gloria, Tom, and Paula for dinner at the Elks Club Friday night.  Frank and Gloria were at Teklanika Campground in Denali while we were there; the rest of the group we met at Riley Creek Campground.  It has been nice getting to know these folks (all Escapees) a little better and look forward to seeing them again somewhere down the road.

Old Inlet Bookstore

It was also great to learn a little bit about the Elks Clubs.  Many RVers are Elks members and many Elks Clubs allow overnight parking in their lots.  There are some clubs which even have partial hook-ups for RVs.  This one in Homer had 4 or 5 RV sites with electricity.

We were there to eat, of course.  They were serving steak, baked potatoes, and salad at a much cheaper price than we could have gotten anywhere else in Homer.  Since the dining room was not crowded, we were able to stay for a couple hours enjoying the conversation and the great view out over Cook Inlet.

Having the extra day also gave us time to stop by one of the bookstores in town--The Old Inlet Bookstore.  There were two bookstores on our list.  This one sells used books.  Unfortunately, the store was not open when we got there.  It is located in a small building which is also a small cafe.  The cafe didn’t open until 11 AM, but there was a gentleman sweeping the porch who explained that the bookstore owner was on vacation and the lady in charge was not there for some reason.  Gene chatted with the porch sweeper for a few minutes and we left.

Saturday, we enjoyed an uneventful drive to the other end of the road to Capt Cook State Recreation Area.  This campground had been recommended by 4 other people we’ve met on this trip and since we’ve never been to the end of the Kenai Spur Road, we thought we’d give it a try.  We are somewhat disappointed.

The campground is heavily wooded with large sites--just what we like.  However, the sites are very uneven making it difficult to get level.  The interior roads are gravel.  Since there hasn’t been rain in a few days, it is very dusty.  The campground appears to be full or nearly so this weekend and I have to tell you, I can’t figure out why they’re all here.

The campground sits high on the bluff above Cook Inlet so getting down to the beach is not an easy task.  With all the trees, it’s even difficult to see the water from our site.  We scrambled down to the beach yesterday afternoon and were surprised there were no gulls, no eagles, no seals, no sea otters.  After all the wildlife at Homer Spit, this is really a let down.  We didn’t even see anyone fishing.  What we did see were ATVs.  We finally figured out that’s why folks come--they bring their ATVs to ride on the beach when the tide’s out.

Also within the park is Swanson River.  When we first saw the river, it was little more than a ditch, but after the tide came in, it looked more like a river.  Fishing is not allowed in the river at this time; I’m not sure why.  We found a canoe put-in.  That may attract some folks.

Stormy Lake

There is also a large lake--Stormy Lake.  From what we saw, it’s aptly named.  With a slight breeze the water was very rough.  Must be pretty shallow.

We’ve paid for two nights, so we’ll be here until tomorrow.  There is a short nature trail near the campground which we’re planning to investigate today.  Looks like I’m going to have plenty of time for reading.

That’s all for now.  Thanks for tagging along.