Long hike!

I was going through pictures on my camera and realized I had some catching up to do! In May "we came, we saw, we conquered" a long grueling 8 mile hike on the beach to Homer! We decided to take on the challenge of walking along the beach from Diamond Creek to Bishops Beach.

Steve and I and our 6 kids, my mom and dad, and Kristen and Charlie enjoyed the beautiful scenery along the beach and the bluffs. The first half of the hike was fun as we all explored and discovered many wonderful treasures. The kids found plenty of shells to fill their pockets, small dried up crabs that hopefully would make it all the way, interesting pieces of driftwood, fossils, rock formations, and even some old parts of cars. Tyler found a long bamboo pole that is used for halibut fishing, and he carried it all the way to Bishops Beach. What a treasure and lots of hard work to keep it! Kristen collected interesting pieces of driftwood and shells for her flower garden back home. Kristen, Tyler, and Alyssum are collectors as their pockets and back packs were bulging!

Halfway we stopped for our sack dinner...the wind was cold when we stopped, so we hurriedly ate our sandwiches and set off again. Probably would have been better to eat and walk as the wind really made everyone cold and it was difficult to get warm again.

The second half wasn't nearly so much fun as the first half. We all were asking how much longer and when will we get there. The tide was going out, so as we got closer to Bishops Beach there were many tidepools that would have been fun to explore, but we were ready to go home by then. We did see some wildlife along the way...eagles flew over, seagulls washing themselves in a fresh water stream on the beach, an otter sitting on a rock, and cormorants resting on another rock. Old fish traps along the beach are wonderful pieces of history from the turn of the century. There are also old coal mines nestled in the bluffs closer to Homer. Metal rails protruding from the bluffs are about all that is left.

Even though the hike was difficult and we all were very exhausted it is great to say that we did it...just as the "old-timers" used to hike along the beach to get to Homer to buy groceries, we hiked there as well, but we are all very glad we don't have to hike to Homer to buy groceries. Hard to imagine such a difficult life and yet Homer wouldn't be here if it wasn't for brave and adventurous homesteaders of Alaska!