DAY 47: SEWARD

SEWARD HARBOR

We enjoyed a quiet day and explored Seward's downtown and harbor area.  Ben and Bonnie moved from the campground to the camping area facing the harbor and have a fantastic view of Resurrection Bay and of a docked Celebrity Cruse Ship.  While we were visiting them this afternoon a Sea Otter floated by on his back while eating clams.  We all had a nice seafood dinner at the Chinook Restaurant with windows overlooking the harbor.

RV'S ALONG THE EDGE OF RESURRECTION BAY

VIEW FROM BEN & BONNIE'S WINDSHIELD

THE CRUISE SHIP "MILLENNIUM" 

DAY 46: ALASKA SEA LIFE CENTER

Today we visited the Alaska Sea Life Center in Seward which is a non-profit organization dedicated to understanding and maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem in Alaska.  We were able to view and learn more about sea lions, harbor seals and many species of Alaska's sea birds.  There were lots of aquariums with different fish and underwater creatures native to Alaskan waters.  I especially enjoyed the underwater viewing windows which gave us a look   at underwater life such as humans rarely get to see.  We spent quite a long time in the bird aviary watching the antics of the puffins, gulls and Eider ducks both in and out of the water. 

THE STELLER SEA LION POPULATION IS DECLINING AND IT IS
 BELIEVED  TO BE BECAUSE MORE ARE BEING EATEN BY KILLER WHALES

PUFFINS IN THE WILD SOMETIMES EAT SO MUCH THEY'RE TOO HEAVY
 TO FLY AND MUST FLOAT IN THE WATER UNTIL THEY CAN FLY AGAIN

WE'VE SEEN THIS BLACK AND WHITE BIRD ALL OVER ALASKA,
HOWEVER I DON'T KNOW IT'S NAME (THERE ARE OVER 500
 SPECIES OF BIRDS IN ALASKA)

THIS BALD EAGLE NEST NEAR OUR CAMPGROUND IS OVER 6' IN DIAMETER-BALD EAGLES MATE FOR LIFE & RETURN TO THE SAME NEST YEAR AFTER YEAR  (DO YOU SEE THE EAGLE?)

DAY 45: KENAI FJORDS NATIONAL PARK CRUISE

Today we took a 7 1/2 hour 120 mile long wildlife and glacier viewing tour in the Kenai Fjords National Park.  We boarded the 92 foot "Kenai Star" this morning at Resurrection Bay which is a fjord.  For those unfamiliar with the term, a fjord is a U-shaped valley that was carved by ice when a glacier receded and sea levels rose, resulting in a steep-sided bay.  Resurrection Bay was a key outpost in the expanding Russian empire; traveling near the time of Easter Sunday Alexsandr Baranov explored the bay and named it "Voskressenskii" or Resurrection Bay.  Small islands are scattered along the bay and some still have remnants of WWII bunkers and gun placements.  These installations were never called into action as the closest hostilities to Alaska were in the Aleutian Islands. 

NANCY PREPARES TO BOARD THE KENAI STAR

JUST AS WE LEFT PORT WE SPOTTED THIS BALD EAGLE

THIS SEA OTTER RELAXES AS IT FLOATS ON THE WAVES, AND ROLLS OVER OCCASIONALLY TO KEEP IT'S FUR WET.  SEA OTTERS ARE BORN IN THE WATER
 WHERE THEY SPEND THEIR ENTIRE LIVES.  THEY WERE HUNTED FOR THEIR FUR
 WHICH IS THE THICKEST FUR ON EARTH AND IT HAS 1/2-1 MILLION HAIRS PER SQ. IN.

HUMPBACK WHALES LIKE THIS ONE "BREACHING" GROW TO 50' & 50 TONS

HUMPBACK WHALES HAVE TWO "BLOW HOLES" LIKE WE HAVE TWO NOSTRILS

THIS HUMPBACK WHALE SWAM UNDER OUR BOAT

WHEN A HUMPBACK WHALE IS ABOUT TO DIVE DEEP THIS IS WHAT YOU SEE
THEY CAN STAY UNDERWATER WITHOUT BREATHING FOR UP TO 45 MINUTES

THE HUMPBACK WHALE STRIKES THE SURFACE OF THE WATER WITH IT'S DORSAL
FIN MAKING A LOUD CRACKING SOUND WHICH SCARES SMALL FISH INTO A TIGHT
SCHOOL, THE WHALE THEN SWIMS THROUGH THE SCHOOL WITH IT'S MOUTH OPEN
TAKING IN THE FISH WITH UP TO 150 GALLONS OF WATER, IT EXPELS THE WATER
AND KEEPS THE FISH, HUMPBACK WHALES EAT ABOUT A TON A DAY

STELLER SEA LIONS SUNNING THEMSELVES-MALES GROW UP TO 2,600 LBS.

PUFFINS LIKE THIS ONE CAN DIVE UP TO 200 FEET DEEP TO CATCH FISH

ICE TUMBLES INTO THE WATER AS IT "CALVES" FROM THE HOLGATE GLACIER

YOU CAN HEAR THE GLACIER GROAN AND  THEN CRACK LIKE
CANNON  FIRE AS THE ICE EXCEEDS IT'S TENSILE STRENGTH

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DAY 44: HIKE TO THE EXIT GLACIER

Today we moved to the Stony Creek Campground near Seward, Alaska.  Once setup at the campground we decided to visit the "Exit Glacier" in the Chugach National Park.  Chugach is the second largest of the 394 US National Parks, second only to Alaska's gigantic 13.2 million acre Wrangell-St. Elias Nation Park and Preserve.  Upon arriving at the Exit Glacier Visitor's Center we were just in time for a very interesting "Ranger Walk"  where we learned how glaciers were formed and how they grow and recede.  The Exit Glacier is formed as part of the Harding Ice Field and typically receives 150-200 inches of snowfall each year.  As the snow melts it reduces and becomes crunchy (like a snow cone) and when additional snow falls it compacts the crunchy snow into ice which adds to the glacier's mass.  The Exit Glacier has been receding for the last 200 years and as we entered the park today we had to drive through some flooded roads from glacier melt.  After the Ranger Walk we hiked to the toe of the glacier and the trail was quite steep and rocky, however once there it sure was worth the hike. 

VIEW OF MOUNTAINS FROM THE SEWARD HIGHWAY

TOE OF THE EXIT GLACIER

DIRTY COLOR ON THE ICE IS ROCK THAT'S BEEN GROUND-UP AS THE GLACIER MOVED 

DON & NANCY ON THE HIKE TO THE TOE OF THE EXIT GLACIER

BONNIE & BEN ON THE TRAIL

LOOKING INTO THE GLACIER'S TOE

DAY 43: FOURTH-OF-JULY

This morning it was only 47 degrees and overcast , however now 8 p.m. it's 57 degrees.  I went for a hike along the Kenai River and again enjoyed magnificent scenery, wild flowers and birds.  This evening Ben, Bonnie, Nancy and I invited another couple we met in the campground to share in a cook-out.  We had a great time and they were a very interesting couple who've been coming to Alaska since 1981.  They had lots of stories about their adventures over the years and shared salmon that he caught and smoked, and it was delicious.  

KENAI RIVER

KENAI RIVER

KENAI RIVER

KENAI RIVER

WILD ROSES

DAY 42: PORTAGE GLACIER CRUSE

We've received nothing but a warm and friendly welcome at each of the churches we've attended on this trip and such was true again this morning when we attended services at the Kenai Lake Baptist Church in Coopers Landing.  These friendly folks insisted we stay for their Fourth-of-July Potluck after church and we're sure glad we did.  One of the members grilled fresh red salmon and halibut and it was delicious.  We really had a good time in fellowship with these nice and friendly "new friends."

KENAI LAKE BAPTIST CHURCH IN COOPER LANDING

CHURCH MEMBER GRILLS FRESH SALMON & HALIBUT  (HOT DOGS FOR THE KIDS)

POTLUCK BY THE RIVER BESIDE THE CHURCH

After lunch we rode with Ben and Bonnie and drove north about 50 miles to the Portage Glacier and enjoyed a cruse on the ship "Ptarmigan" (named after the Alaska state bird) to view the glacier.  It was really impressive to sail close to the glacier while a US Forest Service Interpreter explained some of the history and geography of the area. It was a good afternoon we had a lot of fun and maybe even learned some things.

A PORTION OF THE PORTAGE GLACIER-THE ICE IS SO COLD IT IS BLUE
THE DIRTY COLOR IS ROCK THAT HAS BEEN GROUND TO A FINE GRIT
AS THE GLACIER MOVED OVER THOUSANDS OF YEARS, THIS GRIT IS
WHAT  MAKES THE RUN-OFF IN GLACIER FED STREAMS MILKY

ANOTHER VIEW OF PORTAGE  GLACIER

ICE WHICH HAD CALVED (BROKE-OFF) THE GLACIER FLOATS IN THE PORTAGE
LAKE WHICH WAS CARVED OUT BY THE GLACIER & IS UP TO 650 FEET DEEP

ONE OF THE MANY WATER FALLS WHICH FLOW INTO PORTAGE LAKE

BEN & BONNIE ON THE TOP DECK OF THE "PTARMIGAN"

DON & NANCY WITH PORTAGE GLACIER IN BACKGROUND

DAYS 40 & 41: BORE TIDE & TRAVEL TO THE KENAI PENNISULA

Friday July 01, 2011:  We enjoyed a really good halibut dinner at the "Indian House Restaurant" located on the Seward Highway.  After dinner we went to Beluga Point to watch the "Bore Tide" come in; sea level during high tide was over 26 feet higher than at low tide.  Locals told us that quite often harbor seals ride the tide in and beluga whales follow close behind because of the incoming fish.  However, the rain and fog also came in with the tide and we didn't see seals or whales; we did see a mountain goat, our first in Alaska.

Saturday July 02, 2011:  It continued to rain all night and was raining lightly as we headed south on the Seward Highway and traveled to the Kenai Peninsula.  We're staying three nights at the Kenai Princess RV park in Coopers Landing.  We all enjoyed a good halibut dinner benefiting the Coopers Landing Clinic.

VIEW FROM SEWARD HIGHWAY

PORTAGE GLACIER

HUGE QUEEN ANN'S LACE IS LIKE THE SMALLER VERSION WE HAVE AT HOME