April in Homer

April in Homer and lots of snow still up on the hill. Winter breakup here is hard on the gravel roads, well mud roads now.  The Jeep is pretty much covered bumper to bumper in mud.  In town the snow is still hanging around in the shady areas and parking lots where the snow plows left the piles.  Beluga Lake is still froze over solid, so the float planes are still tucked away in hangers or up on the beach, many pilots will take the floats off and put the wheels on for the winter months.
I like this peaceful time here in Homer, before the cruise ships start coming in, and making a left turn coming out of the Safeway parking lot becomes next to impossible.  But Summer will come, and I am looking forward to it.

I've plenty to do getting the planes ready for another season of bear viewing, but with the fantastic weather we've had all week, its been hard to stay on task.  The bike I picked up on Craigslist has been a blast .. those big fat tires roll over just about anything!  An afternoon riding around the beach at low tide left me pretty much wore out, but only two times did I have to get off and push through a pile of rocks, or up a steep area with loose sand.  I found the thing will motor right along in about a foot of water.  I need to experiment a bit with dropping the air pressure down in the tires, and the loose sand may be a little easier.  At any rate, the bike is a good work out, and a lot of fun.

Here is an image of Yukon Island across the bay, I'm looking forward to getting out in the kayak and do some more exploring this year.  Tom Pogson with the Alaska Kayak School has some great programs every year.  I think one is coming up soon in May .. this summer I need to take advantage of the opportunities with these folks. 

Oh .. and my comment on making a left turn out of the Safeway parking lot.  Last November when I was sitting in traffic on a six lane freeway in Minneapolis, and hadn't moved for 10 or 15 minutes, I sent my friend Dee a text (sitting in traffic ..not driving) and I made her a promise that I would never ever again complain about traffic in Homer.  She thought it was pretty funny.