Route 1 from Anchorage to Homer (Dr. Seuss Land)

We travel to Alaska about a week each summer, as I've written about before, to see my wife's sister's family. They're homesteading up there and it's always an adventure, even if we don't get out on many excursions. The days are long and full, they have a lot going on around the house (projects and animals...) and there's plenty to do around town. Then there's always the chance you'll turn a corner and encounter a moose. We, our kids mostly but us as well, frequently get the most tired we ever be and yet it's all worth it.

Generally we've flown into Anchorage direct from Minneapolis (5-6 hours) then take the next feasible Ravn Alaska plane down to Homer (~35 minutes). Ravn flies to a bunch of places in Alaska in little 20-seater propeller planes (sometimes smaller) and is definitely an experience. You don't even go through security. Sometimes those layovers are frustratingly long, there's not much in the Anchorage airport and kids get squirrelly. But then we're at our destination, and if we can borrow a car it makes monetary sense too, over renting in Anchorage and making the drive.

The alternative is 4+ hours snaking through Alaska's Kenai Peninsula along Alaska Route 1. This year (last week), after a couple nights at a cabin north of Anchorage, the cousins joined us to explore Eklutna Lake in Chugach State Park and a bit of Wasilla, we made the full drive for the first time ever. I've driven every bit of that stretch before, but never to this point all in one trip and never with the kids. It's exceptionally beautiful and worth sharing, though I'm not angling to do it again too soon.

222 miles from ANC airport to Homer

Turnagain Arm, and the road around

View from Beluga Point, looking down the Turnagain Arm

A large reason for the lengthy drive is Turnagain Arm, a long narrow waterway cutting in from Cook Inlet at the north end of the Kenai Peninsula. You have to drive pretty far in the wrong direction to get around it. The road, however, takes you right along the water amid increasingly dramatic mountains. We stopped at the popular Beluga Point (marked with a green flag above), where we didn't see any whales, perhaps we were too early in the year or the tide wasn't right. The kids did pee in the bushes however.

From there we made our way to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. This is near the way to Whittier, a port and railway town requiring a long one-way tunnel to reach. My sister-in-law and wife had to go through on a not-so-quick errand (missing the tunnel windows can be rough) and I herded seven kids through the outdoor zoo. There we saw moose, elk, bears, reindeer, wolves, a lynx, porcupines and more. It's a cool place you can walk or drive through, but with the people milling about driving seemed more difficult than it was worth.

One of the moose enclosures at AWCC

It was late in the afternoon when we packed up and continued on. I was nervous as it was still more than three hours to Homer, and I had little kids in the car who'd need bathroom breaks and no one had eaten enough that day. From there we needed to drive as far as we could without stopping.

The section from the AWCC to, say, Cooper Landing feels like a crossroads. You drive up and down between the mountains then come down and follow the Kenai River west on what's from here on out called the Sterling Highway. It's the only turn you need to know on this entire drive. There was a lot more here than I remembered from last time, like 10 years ago. There are lodges and outfitters aplenty, a couple roadhouses, a brewery and more. It's a river fishing hotspot in the summer.

After leaving Cooper Landing you enter what had been a memorable part of my first trip to Alaska. It's what I like to call Dr. Seuss Land and was the original impetus for this post. That first time we drove this stretch of road, with the other three passengers of the car (my wife and her parents) all asleep, it was like we'd suddenly warped to a fantasy land and I half questioned my sanity. Surrounding us was a dense forest of tall, skinny conifers that didn't look entirely natural and were often bent in all kinds of wonky shapes. I swear this is where Dr. Seuss got the visual for his trees. Unfortunately, since then, a huge forest fire burnt down most of this area. It's like a graveyard now.

Whole forests of these goofy trees

So much is still wiped out, this doesn't show the most of it but that was hard to capture

Coming out of only forestland you reach Sterling, Soldotna and Kenai, three close together towns of about 5-8 thousand apiece, and the most civilization you'll find on the peninsula. They have chain restaurants, actual choices in grocery stores, a Home Depot, etc. We made it this far from the AWCC without stopping as thankfully the younger kids slept. But now we needed them to wake up and to find a bathroom. Unfortunately we would need a change of pants, but that sorted and all tanks emptied we proceeded before long.

The last stretch down to Homer is back along the coast, though you're higher up and can't really tell much of the way. It's still like 90 minutes too and felt like it took forever. Then you reach what's basically a grand finale. Stopping at the overlook with the Homer sign is well worth it, but there's little as stunning as the drive down the hill toward town, the Spit right in front of you and the Kenai mountains shining in the background. Welcome to Homer!

A (cropped) picture will never do the entrance to Homer justice

Route 1 technically terminates at the end of the Spit, with Land's End. We didn't go there that day. But we finally had completed the full drive from Anchorage. It's unforgettable, and long, and I was ready for a nap.

We also, unsurprisingly, had to drive back at the end of the trip. Except for stopping at the world's worst gas station in Girdwood, seriously avoid this place, it went really well. It also sounds like this drive may become a more frequent endeavor, as Ravn is currently no longer flying to Homer. At least I have another ~year to prepare.