Seward

Stan: Soldanta July 13, 2005

Well, it’s Wednesday and we’re still in Soldanta. Yesterday we took a drive to the other side of the peninsula to Seward, about 90 miles. It was a bit cloudy when we started out, and we did run into some rain, but not much. Of course rain very seldom stops us from sight seeing.

Nice view on Seward Highway.

I think I’ve mentioned before that the Seward Highway is a designated National Forest Scenic Byway. And it does fulfill most of my expectations for a pleasant drive through the countryside. Since the clouds were low, we missed some of the snow covered mountain peaks. We’ll be taking the same drive in the morning when we leave here and go to Cantwell, maybe the weather will cooperate. We’re bound and determined to see McKinley. When we drove from Fairbanks, it was too smokey and cloudy, so we’ll try again. The weather report shows tomorrow and the next day as mostly clear. We’ll cross our fingers and give it a try.

Bird on a pole in Tern Lake.

Lily pond, but no moose.

Back to yesterdays side trip. Seward, like Homer, is fishing, camping out and tourism. Homer bills itself as the halibut capitol of the world and holds an annual halibut derby. However, a world record halibut, Close to 400 pounds, was caught in Seward last week. I liked Seward more than Homer Spit. Seward is a bit more laid back, less frantic than Homer. Seward is famous for the annual Mount Marathon Race, a Fourth of July endurance race to the top of Mount Marathon (elev. 3,022 ft.) and back down. The race is said to have begun in 1909 with a wager between 2 sourdoughs as to how it would take to run up and down the mountain.  The race now attracts competitors from every where, and thousands of spectators line the route each year. I understand Seward is wall to wall people for this event, one reason we didn’t try to go there during the July Fourth weekend.

Seward street scene in the rain.

One of many gourmet eating establishments in Seward.

On the way back from Seward we took the 8 mile side trip to Exit Glacier National Park. The Exit Glacier is three miles long and flows from the north end of the Harding Icefield, a remnant of the Great Ice Age. At fifty miles long and thirty miles wide, the icefield is immense and covers a large portion of the Kenai Mountain Range. All of the Kani glaciers flow from this huge icefield.

Exit Glacier.

Exit Glacier.

Exit Glacier at one time may have extended all the way to Seward. Within the last two centuries, glacial evidence in the valley, shows it extended down-valley to within one-half mile of Resurrection River.

From the Visitor Center, it’s a .5  mile walk to a fork in the trail. One fork leads to the foot of the glacier, but it is still covered with glacier melt. The other fork goes up the north side of the glacier for about .7  mile and then back down, a niece easy loop. We took it and, on the way down, met a ranger who advised us to return along a nature trail leading back to the visitor center. This trail follows the river created by glacier melt, and provides several open viewing areas to take pictures of the full glacier.  It was a nice hike, not windy or cold. At one point we thought it might stare raining, it had sprinkled on and off all morning. The weather held and we kept or powder dry.

We’ve had an easy five day layover in Soldonta, but the open road calls, and  tomorrow we’re off to see the big mountain, weather permitting.

Johnna:

July 9, 2005

Departed Anchorage about 7:00 AM. Got out of town before traffic was heavy. This was really too early for best scenic viewing due to a bright glare from the rising sun on the Turnagain Arm of the Cook Inlet. Stopped to observe a rip tide taking place. It was only a foot or so high. Not the dramatic scene created by a high tide which is due later this month. The atmosphere was also quite hazy. The haze had lifted a little by the time we reached the summit lakes on the Seward Highway. Noted a lot of die out of spruce trees in some areas. Reminds me of regions in Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico where the bark beetle has devastated whole forests. Took a wrong turn when we got to the Sterling Highway Junction. Had to go almost to Moose Pass before we could turn around. The drive along the Kenai Lake and River to Soldotna was uneventful. There were fishermen shoulder to shoulder where the Russian and Kenai Rivers join. Got set up at the King Salmon Motel & RV Park at about 12:30. Went down the street to check out the Saturday Market. We were too late to get fresh produce as it had already been sold out. Picked up a jar of really good homemade salsa though. Took a nap after a late lunch at Frosos Restaurant.

July 10, 2005

Decided to take a day trip down to Homer. Although the highway follows the coast most of the way, there were only a few pull outs where one could see the Redoubt Volcano and Mt. Iliamna on the west side of the Cook Inlet. The atmosphere was hazy and with he distance (40-50 miles), the views were not very clear. Views of the coast line are limited by the thick vegetation on both sides of the highway. Where the highway follows the Anchor River for a few miles, one would think you were somewhere in the southeast because the trees are large and undergrowth is dense. The trees are primarily cottonwoods with some paper birch and spruce. Alder makes up most of the brushy undergrowth. Road sides still exhibit numerous blooming wild flowers with fireweed beginning to make a showy display. In the boggy areas inland from the coast, growth is stunted with spruce trees gaining only 10 to 15 feet in height.

The wind began to blow in strong gusts as we approached Homer. Hoped that the wind was not blowing as hard in Soldotna as we had left the awning down on the trailer. Drove all the way to the end of the Homer Spit. Turned around and found a parking spot close to the Mariner’s Memorial. Walked the dog along the beach until we got tired of the wind. She would have stayed there the rest of the day if we had been willing. Walked up and down the boardwalks looking in at many of the shops. Most of them were selling the usual touristy junk, but a couple of them had some interesting but very pricey stuff. On the way back to Soldotna, stopped again at the pull outs with views of the inlet. The haze had lifted a little, but not enough to get a distinct view of the volcanos.

July 11, 2005

Took a down day to do laundry, some house cleaning, grocery shopping and get hair cuts.

July 12, 2005

Day trip to Seward. Started out with skies a little on the cloudy side. Stopped at the lake located at the Sterling/Seward Highway Junction. Hundreds of arctic terns were nesting there. It’s a very pretty place. The clouds moved lower and lower until there was no view of the mountains. By the time we got to Seward, the clouds had turned to drizzle. Could hardly see across the bay. The city of Seward runs a campground called Waterfront Park. There are many RV (guess 200 plus) sites right on the waterfront. Many with hook ups. This facility is little known to first time travelers as it is not mentioned in any of the vacation guides I ordered or picked up at visitor centers. There is only a passing mention in the Milepost Guide. After lunch started back to Soldotna.

Took a chance that the weather would clear up and drove up the road to the Exit Glacier. The clouds did lift enough to view the head of the valley where the glacier was descending from the Harding Ice Field. Walked the trail which overlooked the glacier and then returned to the parking lot by the trail which followed the river created by the glacier. Was impressed by the reflection of blue light from the glacier ice. The park ranger told us that we were lucky to be walking those trails on a cloudy day. He said that the bugs would have made us very uncomfortable on a warmer day.

Blue Ice.

The sun was breaking through the clouds when we reached the west side of the mountains. Stopped at several places to enjoy the scenic mountain views which were now visible. I still wonder at the bright greens of the vegetation in this country. Took the Skilak Lake Road on the way back to Soldotna. There was a fire on either an island or spit on the lake. By the time we got back to the rv park, the air was heavy with smoke.

Fire

Strange plant, only grows on tundra or in an alpine setting. These are going to seed. They twist up after they blossom and then  form this  dandelion  like  head.

July 13, 2005

Took another down day and did nothing but hang out and go down to the Kenai River  public access to watch the fisherman. Learned that the best time to fish for salmon in Soldotna was about 6 to 8 hours after high tide on the inlet. It seems that more salmon come into the river on a high tide than at other times. Started a stew to have handy tomorrow after our long drive up to Cantwell. The weather is forecasted to clear up a bit for the next couple of days. Maybe we will be lucky and get a good view of Mt. McKinley.