Access to Whittier from land is only through this tunnel shared with the railroad. Consult the schedule to know what time it will be open to cars and in which direction. Be patient, and allow plenty of time.
The weather for today was predicted to be glorious, so we had decided to take advantage of it and drive the 30 minutes to Whittier and take a boat to see the glaciers in Prince William Sound. After checking them out online, we decided to go with 26 Glaciers. They boast a guarantee against sea-sickness as they speed you 140 miles on this 5 hour cruise, viewing wildlife as well as countless glaciers. ( were there 26? )
To get to Whittier we had to go through a 2 mile railway tunnel that is still operating, so we had to check the train schedule to see when they allow traffic to pass.
The crew was extremely friendly, taking pictures and answering questions. A US Forest Ranger explained the history of the area as the Captain navigated the fjords, turning the boat in circles so we all could see particularly interesting sights.
The ship picked up these kayakers ( fellow crew members ) that had spent the night camping on the glaciers. That sounds really chilly, but awesome!
When the glaciers meet the sea, it is so stunning
Unfortunately we didn’t see any glaciers calving, but saw cute sea otters floating along, and a sea lion or two basking on chunks of ice. We spoke with many interesting people, had the inclusive lunch, and basked in the sunshine as we tried to take in the magnificence.
The Captain allowed us to come into the wheelhouse, some even sat in a navigation chair for pictures. The crew was so very nice.
A panoramic photo of just one of dozens of glaciers here in Prince William Sound.
The crew scooped an ice chunk out of the bay for us to put in our drinks. I didn't dare try it. I like my ice highly filtered against bacteria.
There was a huge rookery of white-tipped kitty hawks on the hillside.
We learned from the fellow sitting at our table about the Tidal Bore just minutes from our place in Turnagain Arm. What is a Tidal Bore, and what makes this one so special?
Well, a bore tide is technically a rush of seawater that returns to a shallow and narrowing inlet from a wide bay. The tides must be in an extreme minus, created by a new or full moon. There are about 60 of them worldwide, but only a few big enough to have a name. This one climbs up to 6-10 feet and moves 10-15 mph.
Another Tidal Bore we saw was in Truro, Nova Scotia which was only a few inches tall at the time and worthy of it's name. Boring.
We drove to a highway pull-off near where we were told to go, and found a parking lot full of spectators, Stand up paddle boarders ( SUP )and surfboards. There was an air of suspense and excitement as we awaited “the wave” to arrive around 7:45PM. There were 4 SUP riders that managed to stay on about 1/4 mile as they came to us before the wave ate them up. The excitement was over in minutes, and the surfers will have to wait another month for the next "big wave".
The surfers had all just fallen. They are in this wave somewhere!
The Kenai Peninsula, jutting into the Gulf of Alaska south of Anchorage, is South-central's playground, offering salmon and halibut fishing, spectacular scenery, kayaking as well as hiking galore. Many people, I have read, choose to return to the Kenai Peninsula time and time again. Because of this, we wanted to spend half of our 6 week vacation here. I could not wait to see it!
This guy was a wealth of information!
The four of us packed up our things in record breaking time, and headed out in our separate cars. Not far down the road we stopped at Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in Portage, AK. This facility is dedicated to rehabilitating orphaned and injured animals and providing wildlife awareness and education to the public.
Not to worry, this handsome guy was safely behind fencing at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in Portage, AK
This guy got comfy in a hole he dug
This grizly knew how to scratch that itch!
Red Fox
It was such a beautiful day to stroll around seeing Alaskan wildlife in their natural habitat (with the safety of a fence). We were able to finally see the elusive grisly (brown bear) as he dug for ants (how harmful can he be if he can be happy for 15 minutes chowing down ants?) We enjoyed the beautiful property with the mountains in the distance as we checked out the musk ox and their adorable babies, and bison. There was a lynx on the property we unfortunately missed.
"Snickers" the porcupine was very tame, and actually pet-able due to the quills being underneath the top coat.
Returning to the cars we headed south again, camera snapping. One stretch of road was more beautiful than the next.
Moose just off the road ( not behind a fence )
Norm photographing one of the many lakes along the Seward Highway
When renting VRBO ( Vacation Rentals by Owner ) homes, you can see a lot of pictures on the internet and read reviews, but you never really know what you rented until you get there. So as we drove down the road in the outskirts of Seward and saw that the properties were quite downtrodden, we got a little concerned. We passed a junk yard with RV’s quite possibly from the Ice Age, with heaps of stuff you might see on TV’s “Junkyard Junkies” or some such reality show. I’d love to go back and check it out, but is this area safe?
Not that I make a habit of browsing dumps, but this one had real relics in there. Wish we had time ( and the courage) to poke around.
A short distance more, and the GPS said we were getting close. WOW! Our rental, Cottonwood Corner, stood out like a shiny penny. Beautiful gardens, fire pit ( with wood beside it )and lovely deck neat as a pin greeted us as did the basket of goodies inside on the counter. The owner, Kate, came over to say hi and answered any questions we might have.
Our lovely VRBO Cottonwood Corner in Seward, Alaska
We flipped a coin with our friends to determine who gets the first choice of bedrooms, and ta-da! Norm and I won! I tried all the beds like Goldilocks and chose one of the bedrooms upstairs. The Little’s decided to go for convenience, and picked the one on the main floor. Not a bad choice because some days those steep stairs feel like yet another mountain on our knees. Still, it’s nice to have the space.
It was after 3PM when we arrived, so we relaxed, enjoyed our own little “happy hour” and cooked a nice meal.
I am writing this entry 5 days late, and among us we couldn’t quite remember what we did, and when we did it. I do this time-consuming blog so I can remember our vacations details that are so soon forgotten, then have it published in a book for posterity.
The first order of business was to get a lay of the land here in Seward. See what was available, and check on the weather forecast.
Stopping at the visitor center was very informative, armed with maps and brochures we then headed to the Kenai National Park Visitor’s Centers for more details and to see a movie. I got my facts mixed up and we went to the wrong place and saw the wrong movie, but it was educational as well.
Lunch at Chinooks on the dock in Seward
We had lunch downtown at Chinooks Bar, ( Vickie had a fabulous mac and cheese with scallops ) then proceeded to Miller’s Landing to talk to the people I had booked a kayak trip through using Groupon.
A beautiful spot on a Lowell's point walk
We were standing where the water is just minutes before the water rushed in! Yeah Norm for noticing it before we all got wet!
We took what we thought was going to be a quick, easy hike along the coast to Lowell Point that turned out to be steeper and longer and unfortunately afforded no views until we got to the end. As we were standing out on the beach area,( or spit ) thank goodness Norm noticed how fast the tide was coming in! Within 5 minutes, we would have been wading in the icy waters of Resurrection Bay!
This young woman may win the Halibut Tournament's Woman's Division with this 112 lb beauty. Yummmm
We then hunted all over town for some fresh fish! Can you imagine? All the fish for the walk-in public was already frozen, and who wants that? We may have to go fishing! We finally found a small fish processing business that was able to sell us a couple of pounds of sockeye salmon that JUST came in, which were really delicious. Even Vickie, who does not like salmon, enjoyed the meal.
June 11th, 2016
The Alaska SeaLife Center is one of those “must-do’s” that everyone recommends who have come to Seward, so we “must –do”. It was very interesting with it’s huge tanks holding sea lions, others holding all kinds of local fish and bottom dwelling creatures.
The bird section I found most interesting with their beautiful ducks and puffins swimming just a few feet away without dirty or splashed windows to hamper your view. Visitors felt like they were right in the wilds, up on a poopy cliff somewhere!
The museum offers several “encounters” daily. You can pet an octopus (really cool), get up close and personal with the mammals, and a special encounter with Sea Otters for the summer. I assumed you could do all of these things with your general admission, but at $75 per encounter, we all passed. We did get to touch star fish (which the new politically correct name is “sea stars”)and sea anemones.
We then went on the hunt for a better lunch encounter. After strolling up and down the main road, it was recommended that we go to Zudi’s - a cute little place which was a rehabbed railroad station.
Norm and Dennis found a place that would fill the growlers thoughtfully provided by our hosts
The owner teaches classes at the Culinary Institute, and we were told the food was more healthy than the fried fish that was mostly offered in the other restaurants and pubs. Sounded good.
Well, it wasn’t. Norm got the Halibut sandwich which he did like. Three of us got the “garden” soup, which we all agreed tasted like water with a very few veggies thrown in. It has so much pepper or other spicy ingredient I sent mine back and got the chicken vegetable. I figured her cost on a bowl was 10 cents, so I didn’t feel badly. Since I am gluten free, the bowl of water was not going to hold me long. Dennis and Vickie also got a sandwich which was not particularly good either. At about $60 for this lunch per couple, we left feeling a little stung. We all agree that cooking our own meals is the way to go. Norm and hardly ever eat our lunch in a restaurant.
A funky restaurant that just opened for the season
We went back for a nap, and that night we went out again. Went to a place called the “Salmon bake” and, in my opinion, wasted more money. We are going to try to catch our own.
June 12th has escaped our memories, unfortunately. Alaska people are really into challenges. They love the outdoors no matter what the weather. How high the winds or how deep the snow.
Can you believe people of all ages ( incredibly fit ) RUN up and down this mountain? If they are lucky, there will be snow they can slide down to cut their race time down.
One challenge I find fascinating is their annual race up Mt Marathon. The legend is that two guys were in bar drinking and boasting. One of them claims he can run up and back down Mt Marathon ( a whooping elevation gain of 3,022 feet over rock, gravel and snow and no apparent trail )in under an hour. Other bar patrons egged them on, and suggested it be held on a holiday so all could watch the insanity. Well, an Event was born. Seward's Independence Day's Celebration attracts thousands of folks, including elite racers and trail runners from all over the world, as well as many locals we have talked to. Check out this YouTube video of this crazy race.
The oldest winner was 41 did it in 47:32
Youngest winner was 16 time of 47:32
Oldest Finisher was 82 at 1:56
I think the record is 41:48
Utterly amazing. I wish we were still here then. We will be in Valdez
Up and at’em was the order of the day. Clocks set at 5:45, and as we all got ready I prepared beef stew in the crock pot since we were sure to be tired at the end of our planned 7 hour kayak / hike tour. The day appeared beautiful as we drove to Miller’s Landing so we could take advantage of the Groupon I had purchased with them.
Water taxi to Thumb Cove in Resurrection Bay
When we approached the seashore we noticed how windy it was and it’s accompanying chop on the water. I began to question whether we would be going anywhere today on a kayak. Well, unfortunately, I was right. The winds were too severe to go, but they did offer another tour. A short ride, and a 1 ½ cruising around a cove. The girl tried to convince us that it was an “upgrade” tour, but did we look like we were born yesterday? How can you substitute a 7 hour tour for a 2 and call it an upgrade? Hey – it was fine, you can’t fight Mother Nature, so we decided to come back at 11:00 and take that paddle. Boy, we got up early for nothing! UGH.
We killed the time checking out salmon in a stream, and what they called a fish “weir” ( an obstruction in a stream where they trap fish ). We were told by the information center that it was there to count the fish, but interestingly enough, they were crating them up and sending them for processing.)
Norm and Alison on a delightful, if not a little boring, paddle
These salmon were in the stream near the weir. This would be easier than fishing in a barrel!
At 11:30 we headed to our kayaking destination in a water taxi. It was pleasant enough and the scenery was certainly beautiful, but it was nothing like we dreamed of. We paddled around a cove then the young guide took us on a short hike to a small waterfall. Again, disappointing.
We returned home, unpacked, and Dennis and Vicki went to see a sled dog demo. I did laundry and worked on this blog. Norm was on his computer as well, researching activities for the weeks ahead.
During the earthquake the land dropped, causing the roots of these trees to sit in the salt water, petrifying them.
Today is Norm and my 14th anniversary! We woke to a very warm and brilliantly sunny day. We were staying at such a lovely place, we decided to spend the morning on the deck surrounded by flowers, having a nice breakfast and taking a few hours to do our respective computer work.
Celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary with a little french toast on the deck of our "home away from home" here in Seward, AK
Dennis and Vickie wanted to go for breakfast and walk the harbor. It was great- we each got our own “couple time”.
We met them after lunch to take in the movie about the Iditarod down at the local library, then went about renting equipment and licenses to go Sockeye Salmon “snag-fishing”, which was the only way to land these delectable fish at this time. Low tide was about 4:30 PM, which we understood was the best time to go. The object of the “game” is to take a 3 pronged hook and toss it into the water and JERK! You need to hook these guys as they swim by any way or where you can. Really crazy, but VERY popular!
Alison fishing at the mouth of Resurrection Bay in the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
We went to an adventure center called 60 Degree North to rent waders ( tall rubber boots that come to the top of our thighs ) and rods. Another stop for the licenses. Since we were convinced we would be as successful as most others, we assumed we would come home with the legal limit of 6 salmon each. That’s a lot of fish, so we bought lots of ice to put in a couple of coolers. Planned many meals.
Being the ex-Girl Scout that I am, I got a large waterproof bag and filled it with a half-gallon jug of water to share (thought we might work up a thirst hauling in those huge, beautiful fish), bug spray of course, bear spray (just in case they want our fish) snacks, sunscreen and other things that made this bag pretty darn heavy and cumbersome.
Here is a little video I made Norm snag fishing
The Little’s travel light – backpack with water, and little else. It didn’t occur to me that the back-pack would remain on the back while you fished, and I didn’t want to get my beautiful new backpack muddy when I set it down.
We arrived at the mouth of the river, paid the $5 parking fee, and while being excited, I was a little nervous not knowing where to go, or how in the world you “snag” a fish!
What we encountered was what Alaskans call “combat fishing” ( technically people are literally shoulder to shoulder ) so considering today’s crowd, it might be only a “skirmish”. Looking around I saw a huge representation of the US Army from the local station. Buff men and woman alike ( plus a lot of locals and us silly tourists ) standing 20 feet if you were lucky, or 10 feet if you were in a good spot, apart – casting lines, jerking the road, reeling it in. Repeat.
I spent quite a while just watching – there were so many different techniques! I had trouble with my left-handed rod and the line kept getting balled up. I did remember how my Dad taught me, how to tie the knot for the hook. So that was something.
How in the world did my reel get so tangled up? Norm's has such patience to fix it for me. Such a sweet guy!
No one around us were catching much, but up toward the mouth of the river I could see commotion, a lot of splashing, then cheers every 5 minutes or so. Darn. Just HOW are they doing it? I didn’t want to get too close to the others for fear of getting hooked myself, ( Vickie got grazed, and one man got badly snagged ) so we chose the less popular spot. You know – the spot no fish go to – the one the stupid tourists pick. The safe one. One 15ish year old rode up on his bike, threw in his line, and proceeded to catch one after the other! He whipped out his saber-like knife hooked to his belt, and plunged it into the fish with a flourish. Then quickly caught another. I had visions of tackling him and stealing his fish like a hungry bear.
That big bag of mine proved to be such a pain! It was heavy and awkward, and we had to constantly move it as the tide came in. It finally got soaked along with everything in it, making carrying back even worse. Norm was not happy with me. Live and learn.
Other people had the technique to snag these
After a couple of hundred casts, jerks, and reel-it-in sequences, our old bodies started to cry out. We all were determined though, and kept at it for over 4 hours. ( I have to admit I took plenty of time to just watch the antics – it was such a hoot, and honestly more fun! ) When a girl competently hooked a fish, her boyfriend gallantly jumped in the freezing water to try to catch it! The fish was wiggling; the guy was leaping and yelling. It was like watching the pig wrestling contest at a rodeo. Only wet, and really cold. Not only did the fish get away, but so did the young woman’s rod! She was so angry! She kept yelling “ What are you doing? Are you crazy? Why did you do that? You lost my fish, you jerk!” It was really funny. Not feeling my toes for the last couple of hours due to the cold water, I could not imagine jumping in like that. I do venture to guess he had enough liquor in him he probably didn’t feel a thing! Dennis happened to hook her rod shortly after, and received a very grateful hug!
Norman was the hero of the day and caught one, unfortunately when my back was turned, so I didn’t video tape the historic moment. I finally gave up and watched bald and golden eagles soaring all over the place! They swooped down and took the fish parts lucky fisherman where tossing into the stream, and perched on trees to eat nearby. I didn’t take my good camera, but vowed to return. It was so awesome!
Who wants to fish when you can stare at this? Note the full moon. Would you guess this is 8PM? The day is young!
When I had enough, I offered to carry the fish back to car while fording the very fast stream, which was pretty difficult carrying the fish in one hand and the rod in the other. I finally started testing the water depth with my rod to determine if it was going to fill my hip boots ( which would be very cold, and possibly deadly ). I gladly made it across the 3 streams and iced down the fish.
Weighing in at 5.5 pounds, Norm’s prize was skinned and prepped at the local processing place ( not allowed to do it at the house, thank God ) the group could enjoy 2 meals, costing approximately $180 per meal! We had one that night, and froze the other half.
It was a great day, but we were all exhausted by the time we finished dinner around 10PM, noting how it was still totally daylight out. Weird.
Today Norm, Dennis and Vickie went deep sea fishing for halibut. I chose not to go for many reasons - I wanted to get some blog work done, go out and take some pictures of those eagles I saw last night, book our adventure tours for when we will be in Valdez and McCarthy in a few weeks, and talk to my daughters. I miss them. The sun was out 100 percent, and it is just too much for me. Quite frankly, after last night’s fishing expedition, I had enough of that “fun” for a while. I could make my own fun, thank you, and not cost an arm and a leg while doing it.
The charter boat from the small company Inn and Out
I had a great time, not doing much other than grocery shopping and washing the filthy car, savoring the conversations with my daughters.
I met them at the dock as they came in, and took pictures of the proud group when they were hung up for display. We then took their treasures to the processing plant taking about 3 hours when all was said and done.
We grilled up last night’s salmon and it was fabulous.
Norm's tale in his own words:
Had to get to the boat by 7:30am. Doesn't matter how early or how late, it's always daylight here. The 3 of us hooked up with another group of 3 and we headed out to sea. Sunny sky, no wind, temp in the mid 60's, snow capped mountains all around us. WOW!
After a 2 hr ride (stopping to see whales on the way) we arrived at our destination. The captain had asked me to bring the carcass of the salmon I had caught the previous day because he said it was like "candy" to the halibut. He proceeded to cut out the salmon brain and put it on my hook as bait along with a piece of herring.
Whoa, that's gotta be big!
Within a half hour I got the big tug and the fight was on. Mind you this is not like catching a sport fish, more like snagging on to a garbage can and having to reel it in while it twists and turns on the way up. But it is a LONG way up.
We were bottom fishing at 200-300 feet. When it gets to around 20 feet from the surface, the halibut gets mad and tries to swim back down or under the boat. This part gets tricky because your arms are killing you from reeling in for so long.
The captain was by the side with a harpoon which he stabbed into my catch. The harpoon was attached to a large float which would tire out the fish as it thrashed about. After a few minutes I was able to reel it in and the captain snagged it with a long gaff and it took two of us to get it on board - measured at 57" and weighed in at 88.8lbs.
At 88.8 lbs, Norm had the biggest on the boat!
Strange rules here - I had caught a halibut over 28" and was precluded from catching another that big for the rest of the day so I was told to put my rod in the holder and sit back and watch. BORING. The object of the game was to get every one of the 6 of us to catch their 1 and only halibut greater than 28".
By the end of the day we had succeeded but mine remained the largest catch of the day. We headed back to the marina with several hundred pounds of halibut, rockfish (red snapper) and some other edible creatures of the sea.
Harvest at sea. The fishing crew with the captain
In case you were wondering, since we are not huge fans of Halibut, and limit our intake due to the mercury they contain, we opted not to spend the $170 to send 30 pounds of frozen halibut home and only have 10 pounds put in cans to be sent. The Little's friends and family will be enjoying the rest of Norm's catch!
The Kenai Fjords National Park encompasses the majority (
670,000 acres ) of the Kenai Peninsula. There is an abundance of wildlife there
both in the forest and icy waters. There
is a sliver that you can access by a short road, ending at Exit Glacier, the
park's biggest attraction.
We go out into the wilds to commune with nature; avoiding
busloads of people from cruise ships and tour buses is important. After
learning that the cruise ships would not be in Seward today ,we decided it
would be the perfect day to kick the hiking up a notch,( and subsequent body-punishment
) and tackle the portion of The Harding Icefield Trail that stops at Marmot
Meadows to get the fabulous view of Exit Glacier. The trail above it was still
closed due dangerous snow conditions.
Park ranger/speedy trail guide briefing us on hike.
Our trail was rated “strenuous” due to its steep elevation gain of 1000
feet per mile. Because this is prime
bear territory we thought it might be best to go with the park Ranger on the morning
walk.
Promptly at 9am this Ranger, an older woman, set out at a
rapid pace with 15 or so of us following.
The trail got really steep and the four of us became the “slackers”, there is usually at least one in every crowd, but we were not used to us being the
ones. We would catch up when she stopped
to talk, as she quickly raced off again.
We all agreed that we wanted to actually look at the scenery not just
scramble up a steep rocky trail, so when we caught up again we told her to go
on without us. We had bear spray, and there were four of us, so we’d be fine.
It was worth the risk, because up to that point it was not fun- and what’s the
point of that?
There was a lot of moaning from Norm as his knees took him up 1400 feet of elevation and especially taking him back down!
We all started to enjoy the hike after that, even with the punishing
1400 feet of elevation gain. We went up
the hillside at a slow and steady pace, resting when we needed to.
Not that many decades ago, this glacier was up to where I am standing
I'm getting pretty good with this selfie-stick I am totally ashamed to say!It's all in the length of the stick! The further away, the better we look!
When I told the main group we were doing pretty
well for a bunch of 70 year olds, there was a gasp from the crowd, then a lot
of accolades. One girl said we were awesome,
and we inspired her - so how could I possibly tell her I was only kidding? We inspired
her!
This trail is one of the most beautiful in Alaska, and
though I have yet to see much of this great state, I believe it! We might have done a lot of groaning
(especially coming down) but at one point I was moved to tears at such utter
beauty. Wow! America the Beautiful played in my head.
After walking 4.5
miles, with my Fitbit clocking in with 16,428 miles and 140 flights of stairs,( Norm calculated it was 140 flights UP and another DOWN, so the Fitbit may be wrong ) I was pretty proud.
What? If he starts to EAT you? They have to tell you to FIGHT BACK?
A portrayal of Exit Glacier's retreat over the years. It is now where the red marker is. Global warming?
We all literally staggered back to our car then mustered up the strength to stop at
the supermarket ( we were a pathetic sight getting out of the car ) for a quick
dinner of frozen pizza. No one was willing to cook, and we sure were not up to
going out. ( at least Norm and I weren’t )
Note: today we have 19 hours and 17 minutes of sunlight.
It is so crazy going to bed in broad daylight, but bedtime tonight won’t come
early enough, if I can only make it up those stairs… Norm & I had chosen the king sized bed on the 2nd floor.
