HOMER, JULY 12th and 13th

We looked forward to seeing some of the Russian-influenced churches in Alaska and knew the Kenai Peninsula had several. Sitting high on the hill overlooking Homer was our first example of Orthodox architecture this trip. All Saints Orthodox Mission is a parish in the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Diocese of North America.  http://www.antiochian.org/

Alaska is very much Coast Guard territory. The largest Coast Guard base is on Kodiak, AK.

Pratt Museum provides a view of the history, art and science of the Homer area. It has won numerous awards and loaned exhibits to the Smithsonian Museum. We include it in our top four museums in Alaska. The museum orients you in the surroundings, tells many aspects of area history, including recorded stories by homesteaders, local fishing history and narrates facts about the Exxon Valdez oil spill. It depicts the native past and has excellent natural history exhibits. Art in many media is displayed inside and out. There is even a botanical garden.

This was one of our many favorites. We knew that some birds have very narrow niches but this really brings it home.

This was such a clever way to narrate the homesteaders lives. We each heard a different person's story.

Speaking from experience, Linda knows that this is not an easy accomplishment. These guys are the consummate escape-artist.

Whew! After that last exhibit, it was calming to see the garden and the state flower, Forget-Me-Not.

Never passing up an opportunity to stop at a visitor center (or for Linda to stamp her National Parks Passport), we went to the Alaska Islands and Oceans Visitor Center, which is really more a research center and museum. It is a beautiful new building, a collaboration betwen Federal and State agencies. We also chose this picture to show you the tram that travels around Homer and out the spit, making getting around easy without taking the RV.

We suspected we were in for something special when we saw the wonderful bike racks.

World War II had an enormous impact on the Alaskan islands, especially the Aleutians. There were exhibits depicting some of the hardships for both the soldiers and the native residents.

This was special to us because this sub-species of Canada Goose gathers in Northern California before migrating to their breeding grounds. They eat the new grass and crops in the fields on the coast, fattening up for travel and parenting. We went to see them one year and watching the morning fly-off from an offshore rock was a spectacle.

We both photographed this, we liked it so well.

We were struck by the amount of ornamentation and artwork. Not many government buildings are also beautiful.

To learn more, go to: http://www.islandsandocean.org/

The Old Believers are members of a sect that split from mainstream Russian Orthodoxy in the 1650's, defending their 'old beliefs' in the face of what they considered heretical reforms. Long considered outcasts in Russia, they fled communism in 1917, ending up in Brazil then Oregon, and then - in 1968 - Alaska, where they finally felt they could enjoy religious freedom while avoiding the corruptive influences of modernity.Nowadays, Alaska's Old Believers number at most 3,000. They're hardcore traditionalists, speaking mainly Russian, marrying in their teens, raising substantial broods of children, and living simply. The men - usually farmers or fishermen - are forbidden from trimming their beards; the women typically cover their hair and are garbed in long dresses. Lonely Planet, Alaska

Every time we went to Safeway in town we saw Old Believers - mostly women dressed in long dresses of sumptuous fabric. Occasionally the men were in the bank or other businesses. Girls still in their teens brought babies in carriers.

We left Homer (after fish & chips) and drove north. Although we skipped Nikolaevsk, we made a detour to Ninilchik to see the church and Old Ninilchik Village. 

Russian Cemetery

Legion Cemetery

Old Ninilchik Village