Seward Cruise

We took a cruise out into Resurrection Bay and into the Alaska Ocean before going into the Kenai Fjords National Park and the Harding Ice Field.

We left the dock around 10 AM and sailed out of Resurrection Bay.  

This is the captain using the outside controls to get us away from the dock. 

We went on this cruise with Bernie and Marie Benson who are from Allen, TX.  We met them in Fairbanks and they told us about the school host program.  They are now camped at the Seward Middle School with us.

There was a ranger on board and the kids had a great time with him throughout the cruise.

We barely left the dock when we saw our first wildlife - an eagle.

It was a long way out to the ocean but some people did see a couple of grizzlies on the shoreline (not me, even with the binoculars!!).  Do you see any??

At one time there was an Army Post out here to protect Seward and the Alaska Railroad yards.  Recognizing the bay's strategic importance, the military reserved most of the bay's islands and headlands during the summer of 1941; later in the war, it reserved thousands of additional acres overlooking the bay. Facilities, consisting of gun batteries, searchlights, communications sites, and supporting facilities, were constructed at many sites in and around the bay; many were built under the most trying of circumstances. Sites were reserved, and facilities built, on both sides of the bay and as far east as Chamberlain Point, overlooking Day Harbor.


When we got near the Alaska Ocean, we noticed the swells increase a little.  But it was really nothing - of course we took dramamine before we left the dock!

Then we turned into Aialik Bay and the Holgate Arm and on our way in, had a delicious lunch of salmon and prime rib and all the fixings to go with it. 

In this Bay are several glaciers.

As we got closer, we saw our first ice.

Now we are moving in close to this one.

And then there is more ice.

We got fairly close and started watching for the 'calving.'

As we left this bay, we did see two whales emerge from the water but only briefly - not long enough to get pictures.

We also saw seals, and sea otters and puffins.

Grassy rock with white flowers.

Later, they announced that they had retrieved some of the ice from the glacier and had made frozen margaritas - at $4 for a large glass, we had to have one.

On our way back thru Resurrection Bay someone saw a whale surfacing behind us so we turned around and headed back for a closer look.  The whale then surfaced again and dove with its tail flapping above the water.  Really neat, but, of course, not enough time for a picture.

Also on the way back (around 4 PM) they served dessert - brownies, spice cake, cheese cake, fruit, and jello.  (All you could eat, of course!!).

It was an excellent trip, and, because we had a 2-for-1 ticket, it was even better!!

7th Alaskan Stop - Seward

Well, we made the trip (108 miles) from Kenai to Seward on Tuesday, the 5th.    We drove east on the Sterling Highway which meets up with the Seward Highway and headed south (see map).

As usual, the scenery along the way was outstanding.

We've realized that, in almost any direction you travel, mountains will be in the background.

At Moose Pass we stopped to let traffic behind us pass and noticed this operating waterwheel.  It had a rubber belt which ran a grinder with which they said you could sharpen your knives!

This sign was also nearby:

We arrived at Seward Middle School about 2 PM and got set up behind the school.

Mountains in the East.

To the North, mountains:

To the West, mountains:

And, moutains to the south across Resurrection Bay, but not visible due to the school building.

They originally wanted us to park in front of the school ON THE SIDEWALK - right between the bike rack and the building.  I said that there was no way I was going to try and get up there (over the curb, etc.).  Plus, the sidewalk was made of concrete pads and were heated underneath.  All I could see was the trailer weight cracking a few of them.

The motorhome in the background belongs to the people that we met a few weeks ago that originally told us about the school host program.

The downside to being behind the school is that we have only 20 amp power.  This morning the heat pump came on (62 degrees) and promptly threw a cricuit breaker, and, it was inside the school.  So we waited until around 9 when the maintenance man showed up and found the breaker.  Now we will just use the propane heater in the AM.

We took a drive around the town, had dinner at a Chinese restaurant, and, then came back to the school for the evening.

Today we just hung out.  Tomorrow we will be going on a 7.5 hour tour of the bay.  Should be fun.  Will report more later...

Kenai Week 2 (cont'd)

We are leaving Kenai today for Seward so I decided I'd better get up early and get this one completed!

We did manage to get to another Oilers baseball game.  It was on Friday night and this time we wore our winter coats.  The game went 13 innings and this time we stayed until the end - Oilers lost.  The local brewery - Kassik Brewing was serving beer and that was good.

We got back to the school, watched a little TV, and before we went to bed (11:30 PM), I went outside and took this picture of the sun setting in the west:

And it doesn't get much darker after that!!

We did some more sightseeing on Sunday after church.  Kenai Landing is considered the mouth of the Kenai River.  Archaeologists have uncovered evidence of two different groups of people using the available resources of this region as early as 1,000 B.C. - the Riverine Kachemak people (1000 B.C. to A.D. 1000) and the Late Prehistoric Dena'ina (A.D. 1000 to European contact.  Two sizable native villages existed here until a cannery was built at the mouth of the Kenai River in 1882 and people moved to that site.    Libby, McNeill & Libby built their fish cannery on this site in 1912.  Records show that they shipped 36,000 cases of salmon that first year and was immensely profitable for many years.  Fish traps were used extensively, and, when Alaska became a state in 1959, one of the first acts the AK State Legislature did was to outlaw fish traps.  Following that law, Libby sold its AK canneries because they feared that new regulations would render their operations unprofitable.

Anyway, there are a number of buildings left.  Some of the buildings that housed the workers have been converted to a hotel.  This was the main building where the canning took place.

Found a small Japanese cemetary with some gravesites of those who worked at the cannery. 

Hope you had a HAPPY 4th:

We went to the local parade.  A beautiful sunny 60 degree day!! 

There were alot of people lined up and down the street.

The guy in the red t-shirt was wearing shorts and is obviously a local - they wear summer clothes here whenever they can, regardless of the temperature!  Under my coat, I wore a sweatshirt!!

Smokey the Bear made an appearance.

There were alot of motorcycles in the parade as well as old cars.

This one was really nice.

This is an old Farmall (series H) from 1951.  I can remember using one of these when I helped my uncle on the farm.

This was the theme of the parade.

Nice '57 Chevy.

The Oilers' mascot, Scoop, and the team were there.

An old 50's Hudson:

And, bringing up the rear - horses of course.  Notice the guy with the shovel behind them - I don't know what he planned to do with whatever he had to scoop up!!

Since we have been camped here at the school, there has been NO end to the number of 'float' planes that fly over us.  In the morning they are headed east, and in the evening, they come back.  I guess they are taking people fishing, on tours, etc. 

Next stop - Seward!

Kenai Week 2

Well, let's see - it's been awhile since I last wrote anything.

We are still at the Middle School in Kenai.  This week has gone by fast even though we didn't do too much.
On Monday I think we tried to recover from Sunday's fishing trip.  And on Tuesday I was feeling the affects of leaning over the side to reel in my fish - my back hurts!!
Anyway, one afternoon this week we drove up the coast line to the end of the road - Captain Cook State Park - all of about 26 miles. 

We didn't get much of a look at the park but did see a nice lake along the way.

It was a fairly clear day and we could see the mountains/volcanoes in the distance on the far side of the Cook Inlet.
Here is the map again:

Unfortunately, by the time we found a place to take pictures, the clouds moved in, so we only got this one:

This is Mount Redoubt which is an active volcano in the largely volcanic Aleutian Range.  It towers 9,000 feet above the surrounding valleys.  and is the third highest within the range, with nearby Mount Torbert, at 11,413 feet, being the highest and Mount Spurr at 11,070 feet being the second highest.
Mount Redoubt has erupted five times since 1900: in 1902, 1922, 1966, 1989 and 2009. The eruption in 1989 spewed volcanic ash to a height of 45,000 ft and caught KLM Flight 867, a Boeing 747 aircraft, in its plume (the flight landed safely at Anchorage). The ash blanketed an area of about 7,700 sq mi.  I hope we get out of here before it decides to erupt again!!

We also made a trip to Sodoltna which is a town about 8 miles away.  This is one of the areas where they fish the Kenai River when the salmon are running.  We always go to the Visitor Center first in each town to get the latest information.  Some good carvings outside:

Behind the Visitor Center was a great fishing spot; unfortunately no one was fishing.  The salmon are very late coming up the river to spawn.

We found a very nice park for the kiddies:

This sign was nearby and on the way toward the river.  We thought it was interesting that you could actually borrow a life jacket!

 While driving around, we saw this car - 56 Mercury, I think.

On another day this week, we were about to leave the school.  I was behind the truck doing something while Judy was getting in the truck.  She hollered at me and I came to the front.  Here were two female moose trotting across the field behind us.  They stopped for a second (for us to take their picture, I suppose!) and then continued on.

You just cannot predict when you will see them!!

When we drove to Homer to fish, we saw this sign before we even left Kenai:

In one year  252 moose were killed - can you imagine how many were on the road, but DID NOT get hit?  We actually saw some skid marks on the road, a truck along the side, and, on the other side was a dead moose

More later...