Seward, Alaska

The following is a continuation of where I left off on my last visit to the blog...

We spent three days in Homer exploring all the little shanty-type shops on the Spit and in the town proper. I don’t have a clue as to why it’s called the Spit. Maybe something to do with glacial activity since the Spit was created by a glacier. It extends half way into the bay and you can drive, dine, live (condos), fish and camp all along it’s length. We drove up the hills surrounding Homer and took pictures of the Spit. I feel like I’m repeating my adjectives since almost everything to do with nature in Alaska is beautiful, gorgeous, awesome, etc!! Man’s influence has not been as pleasant!

The shore opposite us was filled with glacier covered mountains. Off in another direction were dormant and active volcanoes which we could only see when the fog or clouds lifted. The active volcano happened to be spewing something but we were so far away it just looked like smoke. Maybe it was smoke since we never heard that it was erupting.

The beach was mostly gravel and rocks and the daily tides were something to see. We happened to be there during a time when they were having negative low tides and the sea would recede quite far. The Bald Eagles would hunt for fish during the times the tides were changing and Jim got some great pictures of a pair that came by everyday. Once when the tides were in we were able to watch a Sea Otter fishing. They are so cute floating around on their backs to eat their catch. We tried to get pictures but unfortunately our camera lenses just couldn’t capture more than a speck on the photo.

One day we drove back to Anchor Point and watched some folks fish in the Anchor River for salmon. The salmon runs have started but most of the salmon are about a week late. The fishermen & women we saw were having good luck. We assumed that they were locals but found out that they were from Yonkers, New York and Houston, Texas.

North of Seward, Alaska – July 19^th

We left Homer yesterday and drove across the Kenai towards Seward. The arrival of the salmon has attracted not only bears (which we haven’t seen) but hoards of fishermen. Trucks, cars, and RVs are parked along rivers and creeks all along the western side of the Kenai. At one spot the fishermen were only about 10 feet apart. That’s too crowded for me.

We found a great and uncrowded U.S. Forest Service campground, Trail River, about 20 miles away from Seward. It’s on a huge lake and you can fish for trout and Dolly Varden, another type of fish. It doesn’t have any hookups but the fee to camp is the best we’ve found… $5.50 per night. Normally it’s $11 but since we have a Golden Age Passport we can enter national parks for free and get reduced camping fees.

After breakfast we drove into Seward. Jim really liked this town and said he wouldn’t mind living there. It’s surrounded by Resurrection Bay on one side and mountains with the Harding Icefield on the other. The shops have the usual tourist items except for one that had the most beautiful carved eagles and other wildlife. Jim was captivated by one particular eagle and we both agreed that it would be a great souvenir of our trip.

Our next stop was at Kenai Fjords National Parks and a hike up to Exit Glacier. We joined a ranger led 1+ mile hike. He explained all about the cause and effect of glaciers and pointed out the reforestation of the terrain after a glacier melts. The ranger left us at a fork in the trail so we could explore on our own. We hiked up the morains of gravel until we reached the glacier.

It was different from the ones we saw on the boats because it didn’t terminate in the ocean so there wasn’t any calving. You could feel the cold breath of the glacier as the wind blew off of it. It definitely was a lot colder there than on the trail up. We took lots of pictures and hiked back down. It was another great day of walking and hiking.

July 20-21st

I’m sitting in the Sea Bean, a coffee shop in Seward, having a Mocha coffee and getting caught up on the internet.

Yesterday we went back up to Portage to the Alaskan Wildlife Conservation Center to view the rescued animals that are unable to be returned back into the wild. It’s a marvelous place for them instead of a zoo. Most of the animals have 15+ acres to call their own and the enclosures are left in a natural state.

Today we’re going to look for a campground somewhere between Seward and Homer to act as a home base for us once Kim, Kurt, Sydney & Jenna fly up next week.

The weather has been perfect…sunny and mild, mid 60’s. Life is good!!