Camping on Cloud Nine (and Seldovia)

I spent a full day on a wildlife cruise departing in and out of Homer.  Seldovia, a village across the bay reachable only by boat, was our mid-day destination.  En route, the captain took us to Gull Island, which is appropriately named as it is nesting ground to over 16,000 birds!  The air around the island was full of commotion and cackling.  The two main birds of which there were thousands were Kittiwake (gull-like) and common murres (like penguins, murres take turns standing on their eggs to incubate them and the eggs have pointed tops so that they roll around themselves instead of off the cliffs).  We also saw a couple tufted puffins, harlequin ducks, pigeon guillemots, and cormorants.

Approaching Gull Island, hundreds of murres in the water in front of the boat.

 Not long after chugging away from Gull Island, we came across a large group of sea otters.  They were resting on exposed rocks (only possible at very low tide and rare to see since sea otters spend 99% of their lives in water!) and swimming on their backs (their most photogenic pose).

Seldovia was once a hopping Russian fishing village, but today it is very quiet and quaint and perfect for R&R at a B&B. The village only has a couple of roads, one of which is a historic boardwalk lined with old houses on stilts:

 There are lots of charming details, flower gardens, and intricate wood carvings:

I also had time for a short hike through an old growth forest and onto a sheltered stony beach:

I ate lunch overlooking the river, where a man was fishing:

 

That was my very peaceful and picturesque day in Seldovia!  And believe it or not, it got even better!  After the ninety-minute boat ride back to Homer, I was driving to a city campground when I picked up a friendly-looking hitch-hiker.  She was a solo traveler like myself and was wwoofing at a farm/hostel overlooking the bay.  Led there by this person, I spent a stunning evening at Seaside Farm with my tent in this soft "camping meadow," a great alternative to the gravel and roaring RVs of the city campground!

This loo did indeed have a view, as one whole panel of the door was happily missing.

 I spent the evening and the next morning walking, writing, and reading on the beach:

Juvenile bald eagle on the beach.  Eagles are everywhere, but I rarely get a good picture.

 To top off my glorious weekend, I checked Sandhill Cranes off of my bird list as I watched this pair peck their way across the farm: