Our 6-month adventure continues as we transition to Seward Alaska for a week of exploring the south eastern portion of the Kenai Peninsula.
This blog post will cover this area of Alaska:
Day 1: Transition to Seward (day 97 of the overall trip)
The drive from Homer to Seward is just barely over 3 hours so we take our dear, sweet time leaving the Pioneer Inn where we have been staying for the past week, We don’t leave until 10:50am and we can’t check in until 4:00pm,
Homer Farmers Market
Before we leave town, we had noticed that there was a farmers’ market on Saturdays (and Wednesdays) near when we caught the float plane to Katmai National Park and decide to check it out. The growing season is short in Alaska, but everything here is locally grown and it’s a treat to walk around for a bit. Nancy ends up buying some jalapeno bread sticks to snack on.
The first 2 hours of our drive back up the Sterling Highway (AK-1) takes us back through Ninilchik where we again see a ton of traffic and parked vehicles. While Salmonfest was last weekend, this weekend is the Kenai Peninsula State Fair at the same location. We do some quick internet research and learn today’s agenda is pig races and a rodeo – with a few live bands thrown in. We plan to attend the larger all state Alaska State Fair in a few weeks, so we just pass through.
Ninilchik was settled around the turn of the 19th century by Creoles, Russians, Aleuts, and Indians who were retired hunters and trappers. Some of their great grandchildren still reside here to this day.
Ninilchik Russia Orthodox Church
Shortly, after passing through Ninilchik, we see a sign for a Russian Orthodox Church we had read about and seen pictures of. We decide to take a peek and learn that it began services in 1846 before the USA bought Alaska from Russia. Tthe present building was designed by local architect Aleksei Oskolkoff and dedicated in 1901.
Lunch in Soldotna
We continue up the road and as we pass through Soldotna, we decide to stop here for a leisurely lunch. We need to kill at least 2 hours since we can’t check into our hotel until 4pm. With a population around 4400, Soldotna is a fairly large city in the Kenai Peninsula, although the city of Kenai just 20 miles away, is even larger with a population of 7500. Homer has a population around 4500 and Seward, a population of 2700. For more context, Soldotna has a Walmart – and since it sits halfway between Homer & Seward, that makes sense.
We find Buckets Sports Grill and while there’s a waiting line at the door, there are two bar seats open (as you know by now, our preferred seating choice) and we get to jump the line and sit. The place is really busy and service is slow – but that works right into our need to kill some time. We got to watch sports on 2 different TVs over the bar and the food is great. Just as we’re settling our tab, we overhear our waitress bemoaning that a soccer team with 20 teens is about to descend on the place and they’ve indicated they all need separate checks. And just as we’re walking out the door, a co-ed soccer team in matching blue jackets starts filling up the entrance.
Copper Landing
Leaving Soldotna, we pass through Cooper Landing which is a one of the top salmon fishing hot spots in Alaska. It’s not really a town but a collection of businesses strung along the Kenia River that support rafting and fishing trips. All along this stretch of road we see people fishing for salmon in the Kenia River. We will be returning to this area in about a week to do a rafting trip while we are in Seward.
Moose Pass Cop Car
Not far from the turn off to Seward is the little town of Moose Pass where the “cop” on the road is something that looks like a cop car with its lights flashing until you get right up on it. It’s an interesting and humorous way to slow people down.
The rest of the drive to Seward
We drive another 45 minutes, then turn onto Seward Highway (AK-8). From there we have another 45 minutes until we get to Seward and the scenery is great.
Arriving in Seward
Seward has three areas. The eastern side of Seward is the most isolated but also has the nicer, pricier lodges and restaurants. We know its area dominated by the cruise ship industry. It’s not really our thing and we never do more than drive through this area while we are in Seward.
Seward Harbor
About 2 miles away is the mid-section at the head of Resurrection Bay where the harbor is located. It is very tourist centric. There are several waterfront seafood restaurants, souvenir shops, kayak, fishing and scenic boat ride tour offices in this area. In between the area where we are staying and the harbor area is a large open area where camping is allowed. There are several waterfront campgrounds – all just giant parking lots with campers packed in like sardines. Factor in all the rain and mosquitos and it is a huge NO THANK YOU!
Best Western Edgewater – Seward
We are staying in the western side of Seward, another mile down the road and still located along Resurrection Bay. It is still tourist centric, filled with restaurants & souvenir shops as well as the Alaska SeaLife Center. Our room has a great view of the bay from our balcony where we can sit and relax. Funny story – we were sitting on the balcony nibbling on peanut butter and crackers and the jar of peanut butter was balanced on the rail. We’d both commented – “don’t knock that off this 3rd story balcony” – and of course, Nancy accidently knocked it over. We look at each other with mouths gaped open, then quickly turned to watch it fall, hoping it didn’t hit anyone on the head. It landed safely on the grass!
Western Seward
After settling in, we decide to walk around this section of town to find see the lay of the land and find a place to grab beer. We aren’t very hungry, so we’ll see how it plays out. This section of town is about 2 blocks by 3 blocks primarily along Fourth Street. We walk up Fourth Street taking note of all the options for food and then start to walk back down Fifth Street (the street our hotel is on) when we spot an American Legion Post. We are members of the American Legion back home in Purcellville, VA and we know this place will be filled with locals and have less expensive beer.
American Legion Post
The American Legion is the nation’s largest wartime veterans service organization aimed at advocating patriotism across the U.S. through diverse programs and member benefits. Some American Legion posts have a bar & restaurant and we’re psyched to see this is one of them. We’ve been looking for posts in previous places we stayed but they either didn’t offer a bar/restaurant or it was not in a convenient location. We walk into this place and immediately, it feels like home. We grab 2 seats at the bar that offers a great view of the bay and talk with our bartender, Dan. We learn this post doesn’t have a restaurant, but every night they offer some meal and the price is “whatever you feel is appropriate to donate”. They have Bingo every Monday. One of the benefits of an American Legion is that beer is generally about half what you would pay in a restaurant so we know we’ll be coming here more than once. There is leftover cake from someone’s birthday party earlier in the day and it is just enough to fill our food craving for dinner.
Day 2: A Rainy Day in Seward (day 98 of the overall trip)
It is a very rainy Sunday and since we have 3 boating excursions planned for this week on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. We consider today as mostly a day off. We’re busy planning our travel route & itinerary for September & October once we leave Alaska and head for home. We do get out of the hotel first for lunch at the nearby Highliner Restaurant and share a fabulous pizza. Then we drive around Seward and get our bearings for where we’ll meet for our excursions later in the week. We drive to Exit Glacier but it is pouring down when we get there and decide we’ll pick a less rainy time to hike. The weather forecast for the entire next 2 weeks calls for rain EVERY day and the locals tell us that August is their rainy season.
Over lunch we speculate and joke about the interesting painting that’s hung on the wall.
Highliner Restaurant
The Russia Store
After lunch we go through the various gift stores in the downtown area. One store we stop at specializes in Russian hats, posters and other items with a smattering of other interesting Alaska Items. The Russian posters are all from WW 2. The Alaska Air posters are from the later 40’s and early 50’s. Let’s just say what’s appropriate to put on an advertising poster has certainly changed.
Back to the Legion for dinner
We decide to head back to the American Legion for dinner – and tonight it is an Italian pasta & meatball casserole, a spinach & artichoke casserole and some chicken wings. Our bartender is Sharon tonight and she’s loaded with personality. We also meet Veronica who is camping here for a week (with her dog) and is entered in the Salmon Derby. We learn a lot of Alaskans are here this week for the Salmon Derby. She hasn’t caught anything noteworthy, but she’s been fishing from the shores. Her Dad is coming up later this week with his boat and she feels more confident about catching a big one then. We also meet Melody, a local that works at the Military Resort in Seward and she loves to come out for the home cooked food at the legion at least twice a week.
Day 3: Two Hikes and a Change in Plans (day 99 of the overall trip)
Our hotel offers a wonderful, hearty breakfast and we fill up hoping to just have a two-meal day with this late breakfast and an early dinner later on. The weather forecast calls for rain, but the skies actually look fairly clear, so we plan to take advantage of clear skies while we can.
Exit Glacier
Exit Glacier is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Alaska. Visitors can hike to the edge of the glacier or take a helicopter tour. Exit Glacier is one of the few glaciers in Alaska that is easily accessible by road. The glacier gets its name from the fact that it is the exit point for the Kenai River. The glacier is about 4 miles long and 1 mile wide. It is one of the fastest-moving glaciers in Alaska, about 20 feet per day. The glacier has been receding since the early 1900s. Today, it is about 3 miles from its terminal moraine, the point at which it reached its maximum size. The glacier is expected to continue to melt and retreat in the coming years.
We first hike on the 1-mile Glacier View Loop (wheelchair accessible) and then veer off to the .6-mile Glacier Overlook Trail. You can normally get closer to Exit Glacier via the Edge of the Glacier Trail, but it is currently closed (too dangerous). We’ve already seen several glaciers, but each one is unique in its own beauty and this one is no exception. And just as we leave the Overlook, we hear what sounds like a loud car driving nearby – and realize it is the sound of “ice thunder” when you hear the ice making a huge shift in place. We stop to see if any ice will break off and fall but see no signs so we continue on to the Glacier Outwash Plain hike. We pass a park ranger who warns us to be careful in the Outwash Plain, that sometimes “ice thunder” is in fact followed by a breaking of ice that shifts the flow of the Exit Creek water coming off the glacier and into the Outwash Plain. The Outwash Plain was covered by the glacier as recently as 50 years ago, but this glacier is retreating fairly quickly. The Outwash Plain is flat and covered with rocks and pebbles from the glacier and the Exit Creek runs through the area in a braided fashion.
Lowell Point
Next, we drive out to Lowell Point, population 80, that is 3 miles east of Seward. The road is in terrible condition, and we later learn that a 300′ wide landslide wiped out the road back in May. People who needed to go back and forth were forced to travel by boat/water taxi for 15 days until they could repair the road and stabilize the landslide area. We laugh because the news articles say people were cut off from the “resort area of Lowell Point” – yet Lowell Point offers a few isolated lodging spots, a campground and kayak launch points into the calmer waters of Resurrection Bay. It also has numerous hikes within the Lowell Point State Recreational Site, some of which are only accessible during low tides.
Road to Lowell Point
Lowell Point Beach Area
Our first stop is a hike on the beach and although the day is overcast, the scenery is wonderful.
Tonsina Point Hike
We decide to hike to Tonsina Point, a 3.4-mile round trip hike and the posted park signs say there is a 300′ change in elevation. The hike starts on a dirt road and then turns off onto regular hiking path. With all the recent rain, we find ourselves crossing several 1″-2″ deep streams that are just run-offs down the mountain. We also cross a few 4″-6″ deep streams by stepping on rocks to avoid the water. A few streams have a wooden plank or two to assist with crossing. The trail sign said there was no more than 300′ change in elevation, but it doesn’t tell you it goes up 100′, then down 100′, then up 150′ feet, then down 100′, and so on. And when we looked it up to write this post, it turns out the elevation change is 734′! We hike about 1.75 hours and are nearing the point when Nancy notices the last part of the hike is steep switchbacks down to the bay. She knows her limits and that if she goes down, she has to come back up steep switchbacks and still hike 1.75 hours back up/down/up/down/up/down to the truck. Nancy decides to turn around and start hiking back while Harrison carries forward. Harrison reaches the bottom about 6 minutes later and still has to hike another 1/4 mile around the beach. He agrees that Nancy would have been challenged and that she made the right decision for her. Harrison is rewarded with stunning views of the bay with the mountains in the distance.
Dinner in the Harbor Area
As we drive out of Lowell Point, back to Seward, we notice the super bumpy road was re-graded while we were in Lowell Point – and is now smooth. The grader isn’t quite done and we end up in a line of traffic behind it for the lasts 1/4 mile or so.
Breeze Inn Restaurant
We decide that as long as we’re in the truck, we should look for a place to eat our early dinner in the Harbor Area just a mile away from our hotel. Walking a mile to dinner is an option for us, but not after already hiking about 5.5 miles between the Exit Glacier and Tonsina Point hikes. As we near the Harbor Area, we see a large cruise ship in port and just sigh. We’re hoping most of its passengers are on an excursion and not crowding the restaurants in town. Most of the parking in the Harbor Area is either 30 minutes or $10 for however long you want. We find a small lot with free 2-hour parking and grab a spot as someone else is leaving. Many restaurants in Seward open at 4pm and serve dinner only. This is true both in our hotel area and in this area. We finally find the Breeze Inn’s Restaurant & Lounge is open and we grab 2 seats at the bar. We have a lovely view of the harbor and all the boats and split a huge, delicious club sandwich.
Seward Waterfront in the Harbor Area
Nancy’s checks her email and sees that our plans for tomorrow, an 8.5 hour boat ride in the Kenai Fjords, has been cancelled due to a forecast for high seas. We can either reschedule for another day, take a shorter 3.5-hour cruise or cancel. The tour office is across the street so we decide to go in person to figure out a new plan. We finish up our meal and head over. We are fortunate that we have Thursday open and they have availability – so win/win – except now we have no plans for tomorrow, and now we have 3 excursions in a row! This experience emphasizes why you can’t have something planned every day – because weather happens, illness happens, things happen outside your control and you need built in flexibility to reschedule and roll with it.
Day 4: Another Rainy Day in Seward (day 100 of the overall trip)
The Alaska SeaLife Center
We now have a free day to fill on the worst weather day of the week (that’s why our boat trip today was cancelled). Thankfully, the Alaska SeaLife Center is across the street from our hotel and offers up a perfect thing to do on a rainy day. This place is described as the only facility in Alaska that combines a public aquarium with marine research, education, and wildlife response. The website emphasizes buying tickets in advance for one of 4 timed entry spots. We have purchased the Alaska TourSaver Book (more on that in a minute) and can’t figure out how to get our promo code to purchase tickets on-line – and the phone goes to voice-mail. Since it is only across the street, we head over at 10:30am to purchase tickets for the noon entry. It turns out timed entry is no longer necessary so we purchase our Buy 1/Get 1 Free tickets and immediately begin exploring the facilities.
We head first to the second story which has many smaller aquariums filled with various species of fish, crabs, octopus, sea stars, etc. There are dozens of exhibits about the sea wildlife in this region and talks of efforts to rehabilitate injured creatures. In the center is a “touch tank” which hosts several species of sea urchins, sea anemones and sea stars. We learn they are in the process of rebranding starfish as sea stars because they aren’t fish. They don’t have any bone structure, their gills are completely different, etc. We also have access to the upper views of several 2 story huge habitat areas. One houses sea lions and another has ringed seals and spotted seals. We head onto the Resurrection Bay Overlook Platform and can’t see 10′ beyond. Even the tour guide next to us says the weather hasn’t been this terrible in weeks!
Back inside we head to the octopus tank and are blessed to watch Olivia, a 2.5-year-old octopus freely moving about her tank. The tour guide is in awe, stating over and over that she almost always just sits in the corner. We watch for a good five minutes and she’s really giving a show. We see her swimming in the water, we see her shifting the color of her body from red to white & red to brown and we see her underside when she plants all 8 tentacles on the glass. We learn her beak, about the size of a quarter, is the only solid part of her body – she can squeeze through any size hole as small as the size of her beak!
We leave to let others watch and head back to the main floor. Here we get to watch the sea lions and seals swimming under water. Ducks also inhabit the area and it is fascinating to watch them dive and swim as well. After a few more exhibits and a walk through the gift shop, it is time to move on.
The Alaska TourSaver Book
We promised to circle back to the topic of the Alaska TourSaver Book. If you ever plan a trip to Alaska, it is probably worth your time to look into this great money saving “book” that offers over 90 2-for-1 deals as well as significant discounts off tours, museums, lodging and such in Alaska. It currently is temporarily offering 25% off Alaskan Airlines tickets. You can buy a physical book with coupons you rip out, or you can purchase the on-line version. As of the writing of this entry, you can purchase the on-line version for the entire state for $99, or you can pay less for just a subset of regions within the state. You purchase tickets/make reservations in advance by calling and getting a promo code to use with on-line purchases. We’ve used this numerous times on our journey and with what we have planned, we should save about $500 overall. Sadly, we didn’t learn about this until after we’d already made a particular lodging reservation and it can’t be added retro-actively.
Lunch at the Chattermark
When we exit the SeaLife Center, rain has settled down to a comfortable drizzle. We want a light lunch so we walk a block to the Chattermark Restaurant, one of the few places open for lunch. Their bar only has 4 seats that look very uncomfortable, so we opt for a table. Harrison enjoys a cup of seafood chowder and Nancy has a delicious salad with apples, walnuts and blue cheese. We head back to the room to catch up on some blog posts and to watch a movie.
Dinner at the American Legion
We could cook dinner in our hotel room – that’s why we travel with an electric skillet (and the room has a small fridge and microwave). But why cook when we can get home cooked food at the American Legion for a donation? Tonight’s meal is Mexican – and they have yummy chicken enchiladas as well as make your own shredded beef tacos. Our bartender tonight is Connie and she’s another gem! We have definitely found a place that feels like home and saves us some money.
Pull-Tabs
Here’s where we’ll mention something we’ve seen throughout Alaska that we probably should have mentioned earlier. Back home in Virginia and in most places we’ve been to in the Continental US, the lottery offers “scratch-off” tickets. Here in Alaska, they offer “pull-tabs”. It is a very common practice for folks to sit at the bar and buy a giant stack of pull-tabs. At $1 each, people generally buy between $20 and $50 worth of these tickets. They sit and pull the tabs on each ticket and discard the losing tickets in a basket or bucket. While a few tickets are worth $100, $200, $300 and even $400 – most are $1, $5 and there are a few $20 winners. People keep the money from the big winning tickets, but typically purchase more pull-tabs with the small money winners. When they get a big winner, they generally tip 10% to the bartender and if there aren’t many people at the bar, they may buy a round of drinks.
Neither of us are much into gambling and rarely buy scratch-offs at home. But today, we decided to do the Alaska thing and buy $20 worth of pull-tabs. Sad to say, we won absolutely no money, but we are winners of the experience and the memory.
Day 5: Rafting the Kenai River (day 101 of the overall trip)
Rafting the Kenai River
We wake up to pouring rain, but we’re doing a float trip on a river and that’s just water too. We’ve signed up for the 2-hour late morning scenic float trip that involves no paddling on our part. We bundle up in multiple layers and drive an hour to Cooper Landing to the Kenai Riverside Lodge for our rafting trip with Alaska Wildland Adventures. It isn’t raining as hard here and we are so grateful. After checking in (another TourSaver deal), we head to the raft launch area to be fitted with rubber boots, bibbed overall rain pants, a rain jacket and a life vest. Our enthusiastic guide, Clarissa, is oozing with excitement and energy. She gives us the safety talk and assures us it is highly unlikely anyone will fall out of the raft – but if we do, she discusses what to do. One by one we get into the boat with Harrison and I in the front, a group of 4 who are traveling together sitting in the back, and Clarissa in the middle with the paddles.
Clarissa is a summer worker that did NOT find her job via coolworks.com. Just after graduating from college, she got a 6 month job in the Antarctic with a science research team – where she made connections with folks that run Alaska Wildland Adventures. She’s fallen in love with Alaska and thinks she’ll return next summer. She eagerly shares information with us about the Kenai River wildlife and history.
As we travel down the river, we pass by numerous people either salmon fishing or trout fishing. Most are shore fishing, but some are in small boats. We learn that with river salmon fishing, a point where the salmon are no longer feeding, just focused on getting back upstream to their spawning grounds, you just fish with a bare hook and hope the hook takes hold when they open their mouth to take in water. We see at least 12 bald eagles including one juvenile that doesn’t yet have the iconic white feathers on its head. We see schools of red sockeye salmon moving up river. Clarissa knows this river well and expertly maneuvers us around obstacles such as “Preacher’s Rock”. The rain tapers off and actually stops for the final 1/2 hour of our ride. Two hours has just flown by and soon we’re off the river, out of our rain gear and in a van headed back to where we parked our vehicles.
Dinner & Jewelry Making at the American Legion
Once back in Seward, we stop at Safeway to buy some fried chicken for lunch as well as food to take with us for lunch on Friday’s all day ocean fishing charter. Since it is once again pouring rain, we eat our chicken in the room and settle in to watch a movie.
We head to the American Legion around 5pm. We know tonight’s dinner theme is Cajun, but we also know some ladies will be making earrings together at 6pm. Once again, our bartender is Sharon. We also run into some folks we’ve met on other nights we were there. We also make new friends. We meet Norm that is the Harbor Master in Seward, Todd that owns one of the local bars and Eddie. After enjoying their delicious pork and dirty rice, Nancy heads to the jewelry making area. While Nancy’s gone, Norm, Eddie and another guy “buy out” the remaining pull-tabs in the Moose on the Loose box. There are around $1425 pull-tabs and Norm writes a check to cover the purchase of the tickets – assuming they win more than the $1425, he will be able to rip up the check and the three can split the winnings above the buy-in amount.
Meanwhile, Nancy meets Carol (who is teaching the jewelry making class) and Claire. Melody and Connie, from the other night are also participating. Nancy’s brought her pink box that has all her unwrapped stones, wire and tools and they ask her to do a demo of how she wire-wraps the stones. Nancy makes one pair of earrings and then goes on to make 2 more necklaces. The ladies make a variety of earrings and bracelets. We share delightful conversation and the whole time together is just amazingly comfortable.
All the ladies head back up to the bar area around 8pm just as the guys are tallying their winning tickets. Luck is with them and they win $721 above the $1425! Norm rips up his check, Sharon collects the winning tickets and hands out the cash winnings. We sit around for another hour and the place starts to shut down around 9pm.
Karaoke at the Yukon Bar
Nancy’s learned that the Yukon Bar has karaoke tonight so we head there to check it out. The walls and ceilings are covered with dollar bills, the lights are low and the place is packed. We luck out and grab 2 bar seats at the end near the stage just as 2 people leave. As is typical of dive bars in Alaska, it is a cash only bar. Karaoke can be hit or miss. Sometimes there are just 4 or 5 singers and sometimes there are 20 to 30 singers. Sometimes the singers have talent and sometimes you hear singers that make your ears hurt. The guy running karaoke is dressed in drag and seems a little disorganized. Nancy manages to be the 3rd singer and gets a warm reception from the crowd. The singers that follow are all over the map. Some have talent, some are duets, some are drunk groups and some can’t carry a tune in a bucket. It doesn’t matter about talent – everyone is supportive of people putting themselves “out there”. Sadly, it takes 2 hours to get back on stage, so we leave immediately after the 2nd song knowing it will be way too long to wait to get up again.
Day 6: The Kenai Fjords Cruise (day 102 of the overall trip)
Today is the day of the rescheduled Kenai Fjords Cruise and as instructed, we arrive at the Kenai Fjords Tours company office at 9am. We learn not only was this cruise cancelled on Tuesday (our originally scheduled day), but also yesterday. We walk around the area in the drizzling rain to pass time until we can board at 9:45am. They offer 4 different cruise tours and we’ve chosen the 8.5 hour tour that includes dinner on Fox Island. We learn this is the final cruise for 2 of the crew members. They are heading back to college so we know the summer tourist season is winding down. And by the way – it rains ALL day.
We grab 2 seats on the main level near the rear door to the outside decks so Harrison can quickly duck outside for optimum photography. We are warned that the seas will be a little rough today for about 30 minutes when we cross the Gulf Of Alaska and the boat is more stable on the main level. We leave the docks and within 5 minutes we spot a bald eagle perched on a post. Within 15 minutes, we spot a lone sea otter floating in the waves. Shortly thereafter, a humpback whale is spotted so we hang out for a while and watch it surface 3 times including a few great dives with the tail wave at the end.
Education time
- a fjord is a body of water that has filled a glacier created valley that has high, steep cliffs and very deep water.
- The 700 square miles of Harding Icefields cover most of the Kenai Mountains.
- You can think of the icefield as a lake and all the 30 glaciers that flow out from it as rivers.
- The Harding Icefields are named after President Warren G Harding. He was the first president to visit Alaska, specifically coming to drive the final railroad spike in the Alaskan Railroad. He became ill while visiting and never recovered. He died shortly thereafter of “heart problems”, although they never performed an autopsy.
- President Obama is the only other president that has visited Alaska.
As we approach Aialik Cape, we see a beautiful double arch in the rocks. This is where we will enter those rough seas of the Gulf of Alaska – for about 30 minutes. We can see 6′ and 8′ swells and a few people aren’t handling it well. The boat hands bring ginger ale and saltines to those passengers, but we’re totally fine.
Landscape
Aialik Glacier
We head toward Aialik Glacier. It is about the same size as Mears Glacier that we saw a few weeks ago but there’s not as much smaller ice in the waters as we approach the glacier. There are a few very large pieces floating in the water and our boat captain reminds us they go way below the surface. We see a few small “ice calvings” and hear a lot of ice thunder. Just as we are about to depart, a large chunk of ice calves off into the ocean so the captain turns the boat back around. The most interesting part of this break off is the wave caused by the ice falling into the water. It causes those large floating ice chunks to almost rollover so we get to see just how large they are.
Harbor Seals
At the foot of the glacier are 100’s of Harbor Seals just hanging about of the ice.
Ice in the Water
According to what we have learned, most to the ice that falls off the glacier melts within 24 hours. We see a lot of ice in the water which means its shedding constantly and we hope to see some of it split off.
Normally the trip also goes to Holgate Glacier, but the boat captain says not only are the seas rough to get there, but that glacier hasn’t been very active for ice calving. She’s going to fill the time with as much wildlife viewing as possible. Indeed, we see 3 more humpback whales and a stretch of shoreline with sea lions. We go to two areas where Puffins are known to hang out and we are able to spot them floating in the water as well as flying up to their nests in the cliffs. In that area we are blessed to see a HUGE smack of jellyfish (smack is the term for a group of jellyfish) – there must have been 1000+. Most of them are clear & white moon jellyfish that are harmless (no sting) with a few yellow/orange/red lion’s mane jellyfish thrown. The lion’s mane jellyfish can grow to 8′ wide and 120′ with tentacles – but we don’t see any more than about 1 foot across.
Wildlife
Indeed, we see 3 more humpback whales and a stretch of shoreline with sea lions. We go to two areas where Puffins are known to hang out and we are able to spot them floating in the water as well as flying up to their nests in the cliffs. Also in that area we are blessed to see a HUGE smack of jellyfish (smack is the term for a group of jellyfish) – there must have been 1000. Most of them are clear & white moon jellyfish that are harmless (no sting) with a few yellow/orange/red lion’s mane jellyfish thrown. The lion’s mane jellyfish can grow to 8′ wide and 120′ with tentacles – but we don’t see any more than about 1 foot across.
We make our way to Fox Island, also known as Renard Island (Renard is the French word for Fox) for dinner. It is a mountainous island with a long flat rock filled beach, stones perfect for “skipping”. At 3.4 miles long and 2 miles wide, it was first used for fox farming in the early 1900’s when fox fur was quite popular. But the great depression of 1929 put fox farming out of business and today, not a single fox remains on the island. In fact, we learn the only mammals on the island are porcupines. Our tour company has built a dining lodge for its boat passengers and we get treated to a cafeteria style dinner with salad, corn casserole, mashed potatoes and your choice of either salmon or chicken. They usually have beer and wine available, but they are out of it at the moment and since it is near the end of their tourist season, they just don’t offer it at the moment. After our meal, we walk along the beach hunting for Alaskan Jade and watching folks skipping stones.
Once back on the boat, we uneventfully head back to port and our day ends.
Day 7: Ocean Fishing for Halibut & Salmon (day 103 of the overall trip)
We checked in at the Fish House office yesterday, so today we head straight to our boat at 6:15am. There are 12 other passengers plus the captain and two crew. Almost everyone is in full rain gear with pants and jackets – and we’re all dressed in layers. It is all male passengers except for Nancy and the mother in a family with 2 boys around 7 and 9. A few folks have entered the Salmon Derby with hopes of reeling in a winner. The boat has an indoor area that can seat about 9 people with 1 table in the center. The rest of us sit outside on the 2 small double seats in the back and one person stands. Two of the guys get sea sickness and vomit overboard.
Scenery
Our first site
After 2.5 hours of running at full speed, the captain positions the boat and we’re given instructions for halibut fishing. Each pole has a 2-pound weight and a huge hook with half a bait fish already on. The crew puts on all the bait and when you catch a fish and reel it to the surface, they take it off. Each party is given a colored zip-tie and we are given green. They put them on the fish you catch. The instructions are to lower the line until it hits bottom, which is 200 feet down, then pull the line taught and then crank the reel three times. You don’t want your bait on the bottom because the skate (the sting ray family) hang out there and those get thrown back in. With halibut, we’re told to watch the end of your rod and when you see a slight “tap, tap, tap” motion, it is time to crank the reel to set the hook. If you get one on the line, you need to crank slow and steady to the surface. When you hook a fish you yell “Fish On” and as it reaches the surface, you yell “Color”.
Right away, Nancy hooks a fish but unfortunately, it comes off the hook just as it reaches the surface. Nancy drops her line in again and immediately catches another. The 22-year-old guy fishing 2 spots away comments how good I must be at fishing. The limit for halibut is 2 per person and it is a small one, so they throw it back in. Meantime, Harrison pulls in a nice size one and people all around us are reeling them in. Harrison catches his second after about an hour at this spot so he’s done but doesn’t quite understand that. When he catches a third, we claim it as Nancy’s first, but they instruct him to stop fishing at this spot.
Meanwhile, Nancy snags a skate and that typically means nearby lines get tangled together – and sure enough they do. As the boat rotates around the anchor and the boat rocks up and down in the swells, her bait must have touched the bottom. Skates are heavy and fight, so they take a lot of energy to bring to the surface. Since her line is tangled with those on both sides of hers, it takes about 10 minutes to get the skate up, released, the line re-baited and back to fishing. She catches a second skate and tangles lines again. She still hasn’t caught a decent size halibut. In the last 1/2 hour of the 2 hours at this spot, only 4 folks haven’t hit their limit. Those that have hit their limit are inside eating lunch, including Harrison. Nancy manages to snag yet another skate and this one is huge. Harrison has to take over reeling it in and it takes every ounce of his energy. It is so big that one of the crew joins him by manually pull the line while he cranks. When it finally rises to the surface, not only does she have a skate, but there’s a halibut on the hook too! There’s a huge tangle of lines and weights, but its old line/weights from others past fishing trips where they just cut the lines and let the skate go. This skate is almost 4 feet across and it has apparently been snagged many times and has been carrying around a knot of line & weights for a while! The crew try to take off as much as possible and let it go.
Once everyone has their limit for halibut, we head out to another fishing spot to catch rockfish and salmon. We have no idea how long the transition will take and walking on a moving boat is tough, so Nancy decides to wait to eat lunch until the boat stops. We have different rods & reels with different lures & bait. The instructions for rockfish are to lower your line for 15 seconds, then stop. People are throwing their lines in and catching fish right and left. Nancy decides she better stop eating and heads out to fish. The limit for rockfish is 4 per person and Harrison has his within an hour. Once you catch your limit, you switch to fishing for silver salmon where the instructions are to lower your line for 7 to 8 seconds. Harrison manages to catch 3 more rockfish that have to be thrown back in. Nancy catches 3, but one is too small to keep. Just after Harrison catches a silver salmon, she’s gotten her other two and switches to salmon fishing.
No one is catching anything so the captain sets sail to reposition the boat. We think it will just be a short repositioning, so we stay outside by our reels on the side of the boat near the front. After 5-10 minutes of holding tight to the rail with your butt on boat and feet on the rail to stabilize yourself, we realize this is a longer repositioning and we slowly and precariously make our way to the back of the boat. Once we get to the new location, everyone is salmon fishing again. The 22-year old guy brings in a super-size silver salmon about 3 feet across. He said he watched it follow his line as he was cranking it up to check his bait and he hooked it when the fish was just about 2 feet from the surface! We check the Derby statistics a few days later and he caught the 15th largest fish! We fish and fish until time runs out and neither of us catch any more salmon.
We manage to grab 2 seats inside the cabin for the 2.5-hour boat ride back. We’re drenched, exhausted and almost everyone naps as we move across the water back to the dock. The crew have sorted the catch by zip-tie color and we’re all invited outside to get photos of our catch. After everyone has their photos, we go back inside and the crew filet everyone’s fish (except for that one large silver salmon because the guy plans to enter it into the salmon derby. In fact, he and his Dad and Grandfather check the latest derby stats on their phones and learn today’s largest catch was 10 pounds 2 ounces. His fish will definitely beat that and he is so excited.
Once back at port, one of the crew has all the fish in a wheelbarrow. The locals are just taking it home but the tourists need to have it processed and shipped home. We head to the fish processor and learn we’ve caught a total of 27 pounds of fish! The processor will cut it into portion size pieces, vacuum seal it, flash freeze it, then ship it out. We’ve pre-arranged to have it shipped to a friend back home who is helping to watch the house. She will put into our freezer and offer to let her take some for her time.
Dinner & Good-byes
It is steak night at the American Legion and not only do we want steak, we want one last night to say good-bye to all the fabulous friends we’ve made during the week. The Legion has a pile of 16 oz rib-eye steaks. For $25, you get steak, salad, a baked potato and rolls. You cook the steak yourself on one of the three grills outside on the deck. They sell about 80 each Friday. We go back to the room to change clothes and freshen up, then head to the Legion. The place is packed but two folks at the bar leave as we come in. The steak is fantastic (we split one) and almost everyone we met is there. With a full belly and lots of hugs, we are off to our room at 7:30pm for some well-deserved sleep. I’m pretty sure we were both asleep within 5 minutes of our heads hitting the pillow.
Summary
Seward would be a lot more fun when it’s NOT the rainy season. We had 7 days in a row of almost constant rain, but we made the best of it. Even when not raining, cloud cover is so thick we don’t remember seeing the sun (but maybe we did). The city itself has a wide range of restaurant and bar choices. We were very fortunate to hook into the American Legion for many nights of home cooked food and great conversations with local people. If you want to ocean halibut fish, we’d say do it out of Homer instead of Seward because the fish are closer (shorter boat ride)…but do fish somewhere.
Up Next
We’re headed slightly north again, off the Kenai Peninsula to the ski resort town of Girdwood, about 45 minutes south of Anchorage. Even better, some friends from home are flying up for the week to join us! We will be there for 10 days.
Prior Legs of the Journey
Part 1 – The Trip to Key West is located here.
Part 2 – Cross Country to Bellingham Washington is located here.
Part 3 – The Alaska Ferry Inner Passage to Juneau is located here.
Part 4- The Alaska Ferry Inner Passage to Haines & Skagway is located here.
Part 5 – Haines to Fairbanks Alaska is located here.
Part 6 – Three weeks in Fairbanks is located here
Part 7 – Fairbanks to the Arctic Ocean is located here.
Part 8 – Denali National Park is located here.
Part 9 – Denali & Richardson Highways (Central Alasks) is located here.
Part 10 – Wasilla Alaska Area is located here
Part 11 – Homer Alaska Area is located here
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