Cernek.org Blog

Today we are traveling from Homer to Seward. As the crow flies, it would be about 70 miles or so. However, like so many places in Alaska, you can’t get there as the crow flies. The Kenai Mountains are a major obstacle.

View Larger Map“>Today’s Route

As we travel south on the Seward Highway on this beautifully clear July 14, we catch glimpses of the Kenai Mountain Range.

The Seward Waterfront Campground City Park, situated on the shore of Resurrection Bay, offers dry camping for $15.00 a night, and they have a dump station. We are home in one of the most beautiful campgrounds for the cheapest rate anyone could hope for. It is a huge campground with lots of people and lots of kids. This appears to be the place Alaskans come for summer vacation, especially Anchorage Alaskans. Of course, it is also the place all the summer visitors come as well.

Now there is an interesting question. If winter visitors to Arizona are called “snowbirds,” what are summer visitors to Alaska called? When I asked Ed this question, his answer was “tourists.”

The beginning of the original Iditarod Mail Route. Unfortunately we will not get to see the end of the trail in Nome. That’s a long way from here with no roads for the RV.

View Larger Map“>Seward to Nome

The views across Ressurection Bay keep changing as the clouds move around the tops and the sun changes the lighting.

A short walk from our campsite brings us to this waterfall. Glacier melt is pouring over this spillway and adding to the waters of Resurrection Bay.

The view across the bay from the waterfall.

This is a lot of water pouring into the bay!

Looking at the forest on our side of the bay, we spot this bald eagle sitting among the trees. When you see a white spot where it doesn’t belong, most likely you are looking at an eagle.

This pretty little bunny is sitting beside the path as we walk back to camp. Either too afraid to move or not afraid of people — we aren’t sure which — he is just asking to have his picture taken.

One of the adventures while in Seward is Exit Glacier in the Kenai Fjords National Park. This is no park for the unprepared. As quoted from the park brochure, “This rugged wilderness requires good physical condition, proper equipment, and reasonable precautions. If you are planning a backcountry trip with no guide, get current, specific information from the park staff before setting out. To challenge the Harding Icefield, you must be prepared to face sudden storms, blinding sunlight, high winds, and extreme changes in temperature. At Exit Glacier in winter you  may face deep snow and cold temperatures. Know hypothermia symptoms and their treatment.”

Fortunately there is an easy hike to Exit Glacier, but the rest of the park is all backcountry.

All along the Exit Glacier Road we passed these signs that had numbers on them that made no sense. Now they make sense! This is where Exit Glacier was in 1917. It is a very graphic demonstration of the retreat of the glacier.

From this sign we can’t even see the glacier, but we are getting closer. As a side note, there are flies buzzing all over the place. They don’t seem to be biting, but they are driving us a little nuts! If we aren’t careful, they get in our nose or mouth! I wish I had brought my battery-operated bug execution instrument.

I love this new word in my vocabulary.

We finally get another glimpse of Exit Glacier through the trees.

As the ice moves across the ground in its unrelenting flow downhill, it cuts into the ground, grinding rock smooth and leaving striations in the rock that are very telling of past glacial movement after the glacier has retreated.

We have arrived at Exit Glacier. The view out across the valley it carved in an earlier time is very typical — broad u-shaped valley with a “braided” river that continues to carry the melting water downstream.

The river of ice flows down the mountain towards the valley.

We are seeing a lot of the blue ice that I find so beautiful.

So where exactly is this sign?

This photo gives the perspective. The sign in the lower right corner is on the path that leads on up to the glacier.

This is very rough, uneven terrain. The ice has collected a lot of dirt from the wind that blows straight down the glacier.

We are standing right on the edge of this glacier. Were the rope not here, we would be able to walk right out onto the ice.

The wind and ice have made a sculpture worthy of being framed.

This is why we cannot walk out onto the ice. Were it not summer and were the ice frozen solid, we would be able to hike across Exit Glacier. Of course, considering the warnings regarding hiking in the backcountry, I’m not sure we would be interested in going far. Besides that, it’s cold.

We close our eyes. The sound of rushing water pouring over the ice and off the glacier is very loud. The creaks and groans of the glacier movement are being overshadowed today by the “raging currents.” We are standing in a direct line of the catabatic wind that is blowing straight down the glacier. It is a ferocious wind that is unrelenting. To hike in this wind would be very uncomfortable and very difficult over time. It has added a whole new dimension to my concept of the miners hiking over the glaciers to get to the gold fields. When we move away from the direct line of the glacier flow, the wind slacks off immediately.

A reminder that you can click on the picture to make it larger and then on the back arrow of your browser to return to the blog.

Here is the end of the glacier. As it melts away, the glacier retreats.

These lacy blooms are unusual. We haven’t seen them anywhere else, and I haven’t been able to discover their name.

Back in Seward it is time to check out the main shopping area. It is the usual mix of Alaskan souvenirs, tee shirts, and sweatshirts. Quaintness is all around. This is definitely a town that caters to the tourist trade.

There are murals in the alleys. This is the second time we have seen alleys turned into an art display. It is a very innovative use of what would be unattractive areas.

Very cleverly done. The mural is a photo album of old snapshots slid into the old fashioned corner pockets that you licked and stuck on the page. I remember those. Do they still make them?

The Snapshots of Our Past plaque above mentions the Alaska State Flag. The link below leads to the story of how the Alaskan flag was chosen. It is an interesting story that complements the beautiful, elegant design.

Alaskan Flag

We have seen Raven stories in several places before. It is always interesting to see what new story the raven is credited with.

This is one of my favorite stories.

Our last day in Seward finds us at the Alaska Sea Life Center, Alaska’s only public aquarium. The exhibits right up front show that Sarah was right! Alaska is a mere 53 miles away.

On this map it is easy to see where the land bridge could have been to make possible the migration of the native peoples of Alaska from Siberia all those centuries ago.

I have been eating the halibut and salmon at every opportunity! Keep up that sustainable fishing!

The exhibit with the harbor seals gives us a close up of the very same animal we see in Southern California waters.

What a face. Is he too cute! Is he looking at me looking at him? I think so!

Flatfish start out life with an eye on each side of their head. As they mature and move to the bottom of the ocean to feed, the one eye migrates to the other side of the head so that, as they lay on the bottom, they can see with both eyes.

Eels are somehow very spooky.

This octopus is stuck to the glass on the side of the exhibit. We are looking at all of the suction cups on its legs.

I found it fascinating to look at. With no bones are hard parts on their bodies, octopus are capable of crawling into very, very tight quarters for protection.

The puffins on display were not being cooperative for a good enough photo to post. They are so fun to watch “fly” underwater.

This big sea lion was making loops in his habitat.

He kept coming by on his back.

I kept snapping his picture as he swam by.

He really is trying to give the photographers every opportunity!

This ends our time in Seward and relaxation on Resurrection Bay. The bay has the reputation of being a very beautiful place. We tend to agree; however, it is not more beautiful than Valdez or Homer. They each are gorgeous places, and all a little different. Our laid-back life is very good.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 27th, 2011 at 19:04 and is filed under North by Northwest. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.