Alaska, 2.5
Seward AK, Kenai Fjords National Park, Whittier, and Turnagain Arm
The 30 mile drive from Moose Pass to Seward is very beautiful. Of course, it is, it’s Alaska! I’m happy it was only 30 miles though, love these short drive days. The town of Seward and other parts of Alaska experienced a 9.2 earthquake in 1964. The earthquake lasted 4 minutes and 38 seconds. It destroyed docks and structures all along the water front. The land sank into the bay and then the town struggled for a few years afterwards to come back. It was decided by the town to build an RV parking area where the docks once stood. So, a water front RV park was developed with over 500 sites. Each site came with either a water front view or at least not far from it. Kathy managed to get us two sites with the only thing between us and the water is a walking pathway and some green area that transitions down to a rocky beach area. We are dry camping here, so solar is the best way to keep our batteries charged. Luckily, we have had enough sun so far to keep us going. This camp site location is what brings true happiness to Kathy. Hearing the waves, smelling the sea air, feeling the additional moisture laden air on your skin. For me though, it doesn’t do the same thing. I like dry, warm air although I do like the wave sounds. I also like the fog and clouds as it drifts in and out of the area. Yesterday the wind was blowing from the north, today it is directly from the south. The mornings are quiet and still and I’ve enjoyed walking along the rocky shore taking pictures.
I found a gym in Seward so I did another much overdue and needed workout again. I’ve lost 8 pounds on this trip so far. Wasn’t trying to, but we eat less and move more when we are out on these long range camping trips. This town is surprisingly quiet compared to other sea side Alaska towns we have visited. Cruise ships do dock here, but right now, there has been the same one for all 4 days. No others have come or gone. So the RV park and hotels and year round residents are the only folks around. Everyone in the RV park has been top notch. Even though we basically have a 2 foot set back on each site and it looks like a RV dealer or storage lot, everyone is happy and very nice.
We visited the Aquatic Center one afternoon, and saw many sea creatures and fish. It’s almost impossible to get any decent photos of things inside aquariums due to the low light, but I liked this one since it has an abstract feel to it.
Statue of a local loved one.
Our day trip into Kenai Fjords National Park, via a tour boat, was once again, cloudy and rainy. BUT!…This turned out to be more of a wildlife viewing trip than anything else. Kathy for the first time experienced bubble net feeding of humpback whales! And they didn’t do just one and done, they did it around 5 times, which was a real treat. Video compliments from Kathy’s phone. The captain also took us to a glacier which as you can see, is another big one. This is one of two glaciers in the park that are actually advancing. I think we may be getting glacier insensitive on this trip, we have seen so many!
At times during this tour, the sea was rolling and tossing us around a little. I started to feel a little dizzy and I could see other folks were having some issues too. The captain must have been informed of this, because she acknowledged the rough seas to us and then hit the gas for the next location. Since I was still feeling the effects of being sick, I decided to not go out in the rain and take pictures. I did sneak out though from time to time for very short spurts.
This trip included a stop at an island for dinner. This was at 4:15 in the afternoon! We all laughed about the early dinner hour. The buffet food was actually very good and was gobbled up like no bodies business. We made it back to port at around 6:15, all very happy to be off of the boat. I recorded the trip on my Gaia GPS app. Over one hundred fifty miles of water travel.
We check out of Seward this morning and head back to Willawa campground near Portage. We will stay there for three nights, one full day will be for necessary things to get done in Anchorage. Truck oil maintenance, propane tanks filled, hair cut for Kathy, book store, maybe an Apple Store, lunch and finally groceries for the next week or two. Then Saturday we will travel through a two mile long train/car tunnel to get to the town of Whittier which we will explore for half a day.
Whittier is a small sea side town of only 170 full time residents, whom all live in one large condo building. The rest of the area is used by the main harbor and other shipping related uses. There is one space for cruise ships to dock and then a very small area where a few eateries and gift shops are set up. If you want to travel to Whittier by land, then you must pay a fee at the tunnel entrance, and wait in a staging area for each lane to be released to go through the tunnel, which also has a rail line, but is only one lane for cars and other vehicles. Once through the tunnel, you then have to find a place to park, there are enough spots available, for a daily fee of course.
We walked around for a little bit, had some lunch, and then meandered back to the pickup to go get in line for the return trip through the tunnel. The weather on the campground side was dense fog and dampness. When we emerged from he tunnel on the Whittier side, we had full sun and warm conditions. The surrounding mountains make the weather difference on each side. We were told that Whittier is usually overcast and rainy, but today was just the opposite, which suited us just fine.
The last evening in Willawa, I went for a drive back to some mud flats I wanted to explore with the camera. The Turnagain Arm bay is a highly unusual place and I wanted to see what I could find with the drone. These following images are all from the drone from that evening. I could have spent many more hours there, I was having such a great time. I’m just completely fascinated with the natural erosion effects that the tides create. The drone battery lasts about 15 to 20 minutes before I need to bring it back. It seems like a lot of time, but it goes by so fast. Looking for and finding good compositions is not so easy. But I am completely happy with what I found during that two hours. All these can be viewed on my Alaska Gallery as well.
The next morning we departed Willawa campground and headed toward Anchorage to visit a farmers market on our way to the next camp site. On the way, Kathy announced that the Bore Tide was to happen again that morning, and very well could be happening very soon. We had extra time to spare and I also wanted to fly the drone again anyway, so I found a place to park and we waited for the Bore Tide to come. After about 20 minutes, there it was. It wasn’t a very large wave today, but it was still fun to fly the drone over it and capture the surfers. Further down where the wave was heading was more surfers waiting to catch and ride it.
That’s all for this blog issue, next we head to Denali National park, Denali Highway, and then up to Fairbanks.