July 28 – 31
We arrived in Seward late Sunday afternoon after having made several stops along our route to this town on the eastern side of the Peninsula. One of our stops was to the small Russian fishing village of Ninilchek. An interesting village to say the least. We didn’t stay there too long! It did have a pretty little Eastern Orthodox Church on the edge of town. We camped at the Army Seward Military Resort for 2 days. It was a lovely facility with lots of activities & amenities for active & retiree military to use. On the 3rd day we drove into town & were able to secure a campsite right on the water’s edge on Resurrection Bay. It is a breathtaking view & is so much fun to enjoy watching the boats & cruise liners come & go. Our Chesapeake Bay friends will be interested in knowing that both Kachemac (Homer) & Resurrection (Seward) Bays have depths of 500 to 700 feet & they have some of the largest tidal swings of any bodies of water in the world – 18 to 26 feet! In 1964 Seward experienced a 9.2 earthquake for 4-5 minutes followed by a tsunami which basically destroyed Seward. That same earthquake caused major damage in the city Anchorage as well. Fortunately for us campers the old railroad tracks that ran along the bay in Seward are now camping areas! Guess it’s easier to evacuate campers than permanent dwelling. Interestingly Resurrection Bay was formed by the melting of 2 different glaciers coming off of 2 icefields. The water is beautifully clear & blue.
Late morning on the 29th we drove the BF to the base of Exit Glacier where we visited the Visitors’ Center & then took a 3 mi. hike along an established path to the foot of Exit Glacier. It is amazing to note how much this glacier has melted during the past 30 years! We have more plans for glacier tours as we continue our travels. On the 30th we visited the Ocean Life Museum on the edge of the town & of the bay which had huge tanks, fed directly by the bay waters, of fish & sea mammals. It was a most interesting research museum with lots of knowledgeable staff to answer visitors’ many questions. On the 30th we also rode our bikes around town & late in the afternoon we found an internet café where I was able to upload some pictures to the blog. We’ll stop by there again today before we leave for Anchorage to update it again. We enjoyed a very delicious fresh salmon dinner with lightly roasted fresh vegetables at Rays Bayside Restaurant. Another lovely view & fabulous meal!
Today we’ll be returning to Anchorage for a few days & we’ll be staying with the Pools in Eagle River. On Saturday, Aug. 2nd, Steve & I have reservations for a train trip from Anchorage to Whittier where we will take a boat trip to a glacier field. We’re looking forward to that adventure. We’ll most likely leave Anchorage on Tuesday & head south to Haines to begin our ferry trek through the Inner Passage to Prince Rupert. Guess that means we’ll be homeward bound when we reach the Alaska Marine Hwy!
