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Fritz Creek, Alaska, is about 12 miles beyond Homer, Alaska, the "End of The Road," also called the "Cosmic Hamlet by the Sea"...a beautiful corner of the world made famous by Tom Bodett in his series of books about life at the "End of The Road". Fritz Creek has a population of a few hundred hardy souls...a mecca for famous and aspiring artists, as well as those who enjoy the wilderness experience. We endure winter's harshness and summer's magnificence surrounded by the incredible beauty of Kachemak Bay. Glaciers cover the mountains across the bay, while eagles soar majestically overhead, bears patrol ancient pathways worn into the tundra by their predecessors, and a rich diversity of wildlife inhabits the waters of Kachemak Bay.
Active volcanoes appear on the horizon across the Cook Inlet, the body of water running up to Anchorage. Ocean going freighters appear suddenly and silently in the harbor, awaiting pilots to guide them on a safe passage as they make their way to Anchorage. Alaska Marine Highway passenger ships come and go, ferrying adventurous travellers along the coastal waterways.
 Hundreds of fishing boats and brave crews based in Homer seek their fortune on the dangerous waters of the Alaskan Gulf, Aleutian Chain and Bering Sea. Private boats dot the Kachemak Bay waters during the summer to catch king salmon and halibut, weighing up to 90 pounds and over 400 pounds apiece, respectively. Fishing is a major attraction of the Fritz Creek/Homer/Kenai Peninsula area. Several fishing derbies/tournaments are held year round with prize money of $30,000 or more for the biggest fish! Numerous commercial charters are available in the surrounding area to take you after that monster king salmon or halibut! Along the way, you may have competition, as a hungry grizzly dines on a silver salmon.
Temperatures in the "banana belt of Alaska" range from 80 degrees in the summer to -30 degrees in the winter (Fairbanks has the extremes of up to 100 degrees in the summer and -80 in the winter!) We also receive a lot of rain associated with our coastal climate. For those of us whose cisterns are filled with drinking water from the rain, we are thankful!
"There are strange things done in the midnight sun..." (with apologies to Robert Service, The Cremation of Sam McGee)...Here's a sure bet you can win with your "Cheechako" (newcomers to the Great Land) friends...if you throw a cup of water into the air at about -25 degrees, none of it will touch the ground...it makes a "hissing" sound that is hard to describe and turns to vapor forming a giant "steam cloud"...who says what goes up must come down! When warm air masses ("Chinook winds") sweep across the deeply frozen Alaskan wilderness causing temperatures to go from -40 to +40 degrees in a matter of minutes, trees explode with a thundering noise! You can't tell directions in the summer by looking at the sun...it goes in a circle overhead...if you don't know where you're going, any path will get you there.
 My home is located high on a mountainside overlooking Kachemak Bay, at about 1200 feet elevation. From the decks surrounding the house, you can't see anything man-made, just virgin forests, the shining waters of Kachemak Bay (graphics intensive, but worth it!) , and the magnificent splendor of the mountains in the distance.
The snows of winter can be challenging, but the northern lights warm the soul. I had unexpected company for breakfast the other day...I dined on Belgian waffles with wild raspberry sauce, while she munched contentedly on the tender, new plants emerging from the hillside...eventually, the young moose ambled off down the mountainside. A serendipitous pleasure of living in the Alaskan wilderness.