Thursday, June 20 - Nature Encounters & Friendly People
We arrived in Seward on the Alaska Railroad Coastal Classic at 11:05 am. (To see photos and info from the train trip, click on the Anchorage tab above and scroll WWAAAYYYY down to the bottom.
A view of the Seward station from the train, with all the transfer and tour vans lined up:
You can also see the Holiday Inn Express, the slate blue building, just across the street from the station. Seward is such a great little town, and very easy to get around, either on foot or using the free shuttle.
Since our bags were being delivered directly to the hotel, we decided to just find some lunch and then locate the Exit Glacier Guides office. I had reserved a prepaid shuttle out to Exit Glacier at 12:30.
We decided to stop in the Marina Restaurant, right across from the Holiday Inn Express, for lunch. It's a no-frills, local place, and we liked it. The cole slaw I had with my sandwich tasted freshly homemade. It was also relatively inexpensive.
I hadn't really realized how far out of town the Exit Glacier Guides office was until I checked a map after we were finished with lunch, so I called them and let them know we might be a few minutes late walking from town. She asked where we were and said they'd stop by and pick us up. Great service!
The shuttle van was pretty full, with one other couple who was just doing the shuttle as we were, and a group that was going ice climbing. The driver and two young guides on board were great, regaling us with stories about their adventures and marveling at the warm weather.
We were dropped off just after 1:00 in front of the visitor center, with a plan to meet there at 3:00 for the ride back to town.
We checked out the trail map and decided to start with the easy Glacier View trail, then keep going to the Edge of the Glacier.
I would love to include the best photo of the trip next, but I was too slow to capture it. We headed off to the left of the nature center, the only two people on that part of the trail:
Well, not thirty more yards down the trail from the photo above, I heard a rustling in the brush to my left. All of a sudden, about 15 yards in front of us, a brown bear just ambled across the path. We looked at each other, mouths open, with the common thought, "Did that really just happen?" Welcome to Alaska indeed! I talked to a ranger later near the glacier, and he asked if it had a hump on its back (yes), and whether it was light brown in color (yes) and appeared quite "fluffy"(yes). He confirmed that there had been some sightings of a brown bear over the last few days. Once the shock of being that close had passed, we added it to the list of awesomeness that is Alaska and were grateful to have seen it, even if I was too slow to capture it with a camera!
The hike to the glacier and back was incredible. Some switchbacks to climb to the base of the glacier, but nothing too overly strenuous, and well worth some huffing and puffing. We enjoyed some friendly encounters (with people, no more bears) along the way, sharing hellos and bug spray and photo opportunities and binoculars when some mountain goats were spotted high on the mountain. The views were spectacular:
The closer we got to the glacier, the more of the gray silty, gravely surface that is created by the glacier's movement covered the paths. Not quite as "moonscape-ish" as at Matanuska, but still a kind of desolate beauty. And the expansive views all around made one feel as if the climb had been thousands of feet rather than hundreds.
After leaving the glacier, you can take the path down to the riverbed:
Excuse the windblown look, but it was worth it. I usually don't like photos of myself (I think that is a big part of why I like being BEHIND the camera), but I do like just how happy I was here, so I included it.
The shuttle picked us up right at 3:00, and we asked to be dropped off as close as we could get to the Sealife Center. The driver said he could not take us all the way there, but it was a short walk from their office. It was starting to drizzle a bit, which surprised us after the warm sunshine at Exit Glacier, but it just goes to show how variable the weather is in AK.
We had received complimentary passes to the Sealife Center when we purchased our Kenai Fjords cruise online. They had emailed vouchers for both activities. The center isn't very large, but it's well done, with some very nice exhibits and a great deal of information.
After about an hour and a half at the center, including a fascinating talk by one of the animal researchers about their rehabilitation and release program, we went out front to wait for the free shuttle downtown, to check in at the Holiday Inn Express. Great mural on the wall of the building across the street:
The shuttle came within a few minutes, a school bus that we took to the Harbormaster stop. We could have stayed on board and be dropped off right in front of our hotel, but it would have been after the bus covered two-thirds of the loop around. Getting of at this stop (#14 on the map) allowed us to check at the Kenai Fjords office to confirm our cruise for the next morning, and to stop and look at the menus for the two restaurants people had recommended - Chinook's and Ray's - to decide where we wanted to have dinner.
Checkin was easy at the hotel, and we picked up our bags from the secure room where they had been stored since being delivered from the train. We loved the hotel, nothing fancy but clean and in an absolutely perfect location on the harbor. The view from our room, including the Silversea Silver Shadow docked at the cruise ship berth where our ship would be the next morning:
Our cute balcony:
Both Chinook's and Ray's looked like good choices, but we tossed a coin and chose Ray's. We got a great table, facing the harbor and also with a great view of a tv showing the final NBA game. Although we did not have a preference between the teams, we had watched several of the games and enjoyed the competitiveness of the series.
The meal was expensive, as we found everywhere in Alaska, but it was outstanding. Starting with sourdough bread with seasoned olive oil to dip and accompanied by a delicious Alaskan blonde ale, I had a fantastic seafood linguine, and Bruce had the cioppino. A superlative meal.
After dinner we walked the very short distance back to the hotel, stopping along the way to admire this catch from an excursion that had gone out that day from the dock next to the hotel:
This one was over 100 pounds!
We slept well after another amazing day, but one warning about the harbor view rooms: the blackout curtain worked fine on the window, but there is only a flimsy, thin blind on the door to the balcony, meaning the room was never completely dark. I was up a couple times in the night, although I am not sure whether that is because of the light or because of the excitement of the next day.
FRIDAY, JUNE 21 - Wildlife Galore and a Floating Hotel
I peeked out about 2 am, and it was dusky (as dark as it got on this, the longest day of the year!); and again at 4:30, when it was very light. And this was the great sight that greeted me as I looked over the harbor:
The complimentary breakfast was quite good, with a great view:
We went back to the room to pack everything up and leave it with the front desk while we took our Kenai Fjords wildlife cruise. Bruce taking one last look from the balcony:
When we checked out and asked about leaving our luggage (the wildlife cruise was 8:00 - 2:00), the desk clerk told us that they would deliver it directly to the ship for $2 per bag. SOLD! We had originally planned to get a taxi, which even for that short distance would have cost us more than $6, to be sure, not to mention the convenience factor. The only possible drawback was that in addition to our two suitcases, we had a bag with 12 water bottles and 2 wine bottles, which are permitted on Royal, but not usually advised in checked luggage. Oh, well, it would be no big deal if we didn't get it or had to retrieve it, so we put our ship luggage tags on all three bags and hoped for the best.
We walked the short distance to the Kenai Fjords tour office and checked in about 7:20 for the 8:00 tour. The office is very well organized, with several friendly staff members checking everyone in for the numerous tours they do each day. We received a small laminated card indicating our tour number and boat name - the Coastal Explorer.
The ship is large, but comfortable, with bench seats and tables inside and plenty of space on the viewing decks outside.
I can't recommend this tour enough. There were three young crew members and the captain. I cannot find enough superlatives to describe Captain Dan. Knowledgeable, funny, passionate, engaging -- he was a true advocate for the wildlife of Kenai and communicated that in a manner that was both entertaining and enlightening. We would do this again without question.
The weather was much cooler and overcast this morning, but no rain. It was quite cold out on the deck, but we had brought our layers and were fine. Drinks and snacks were offered for purchase throughout the cruise, and a simple tasty lunch of a chicken caesar wrap (veggie wraps also offered), carrots, and granola bar was included. They brought around cookies later, too.
Our first wildlife sighting was this little guy just floating around:
And several bald eagles flying nearby:
We soon saw some "lazy" humpbacks (as Captain Dan described them) - just some spouts and backs:
We stopped at Fox Island to pick up a couple of passengers:
Captain Dan then took us by several islands and peninsulas where we saw puffins and many other birds, as well as harbor seals and sea lions.
We got a treat at Hobart Glacier, where even though the ice field was rather heavy, Dan got us within a quarter mile or so of the face. We heard some loud cracking and ended up seeing a sizeable calving, including a couple of columns toppling over. Even the crew was quite impressed!
We saw a bear on the shoreline near the glacier, as well. Dan then took us very close to a rocky face with numerous birds.
It was overall an outstanding experience. We had some wonderful chats with fellow passengers, including a German couple and a brother and sister from Colorado who were running in the Anchorage Marathon the next day. The crew was fantastic, with answers to all our questions and great service.
The time flew by, and soon we were in relatively open water heading back toward Seward. But Dan hinted that he thought we might see one more "large animal" if we kept our eyes peeled. The crew had told us that their captain was known as "Orca Dan", so we had a clue what he was talking about. Sure enough, we soon spotted several large fins:
Dan said there were both "locals" and migrating groups of orcas in the area, and that he worked with the local researchers tracking their locations and activity.
I put together this sampling of our viewing for the day:
Searching for the orcas made us about 20 minutes late coming into Seward, but no one was complaining. I sat out front as we approached the harbor.
NOTE: Neither of us is prone at all to seasickness, but with this excursion and a whale watch in a small boat in Juneau, I decided to bring precautions just in case. We wore sea bands, and I also had some ginger gum with us. I have no idea whether the sea bands worked their magic or we would not have gotten sick anyway, but we never felt a twinge of discomfort on either cruise, in spite of quite a bit of rocking and rolling. The seas were smooth on both tours, but between crossing wakes and moving around to see wildlife, there was movement.
We had planned to use the free city shuttle bus to get to the port, but we just missed one. There was a shuttle bus out front with the Kenai Fjords tour logo, so we asked where they were going. The driver said the ship, so we said, "That works," and hopped on. We were at the port in just a couple minutes, and it was the easiest embarkation we have ever had.
No line at all anywhere, we walked right up to the desk with our Setsail pass and passports. We filled out the health survey and had our seapass cards in just a few minutes. After that it was a quick trip through security, then we walked onto the ship.
A couple of views of Seward from the ship:
We loved Seward and are very glad we chose to spend the extra day there.
Click on the Radiance tab above for more info about this lovely ship!
LINKS INCLUDED ON THIS PAGE
Alaska Railroad Coastal Classic
Holiday Inn Express Seward Harbor
Seward Walking Tour
Seward Free Shuttle Schedule & Map
Exit Glacier Guides
Exit Glacier
Exit Glacier Trail Map
Alaska Sealife Center
Kenai Fjords Tours
Chinook's Bar & Grill
Ray's Waterfront
Sea Bands
Such great information and fabulous pics! Thank you!
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