RETIRED ON WHEELS: June 2009

THE ALASKAN ADVENTURE Day 43 June 28, 2009 Seward to Russian River, AK

We said goodbye to Seward today and the campsite at Miller Landing.

However before we totally left the area we returned to Exit Glacier.

Exit Glacier is a half mile wide, dynamic river of ice whose source is the 700 square mile Harding Icefield. This outlet glacier flows out of the higher Harding Icefield and down the U shaped glacial valley, a distance of about 3 miles. As the ice moves forward, it also descends approximately 2500 feet to the Exit Creek outwash plain. The glacier moves forward about 2 feet per day, carrying all sizes of rock material plucked from the underlying rock and side walls, as well as material falling from the valley sides and coming to rest on the glacier's surface. Rocks embedded in the bottom of the moving ice continually gouge and grind the underlying base rock to flower size particles that give Exit Creek its milky color.

We planned to hike to the toe of the glacier and then carry on up the side of the glacier to a viewing platform. We changed clothes in the glacier parking lot and headed out. There were sign posts along the trail and it took us awhile to figure them out. OK Kathy figured them out. The first sign was 1917, the second 1929 and the next 1951. The sign marks the spot the glacier was on the year that was written on the sign. The area where the 1917 sign was about 1 mile from the glacier.

As we got close to the glacier we got a surprise. We were going to get wet. To get to the toe of the glacier you had to approach it from the gravel beach that was created as the glacier receded. This gravel bar hosts Exit Creek which is actually a number of little run offs that eventually form the creek. Well these little run offs were about 8 - 20 wide and as we had to cross two of them to get to the toe. We had three choices. 1) Take the plunge and jump in and get wet 2) Take your shoes and socks off and wade across 3 ) Turn around.

We were not going to turn around and as we wanted to continue to hike we needed to stay dry. So off came the shoes and socks and we waded across. Did I mention that this was glacial water, melted 500 year old ice and very, very, very cold. It was so cold it actually hurt.

The good part was that we made it across cold but dry and continued on to the toe of the glacier.

Now that we had seen the toe of the glacier we continued on. The only bad part is that we had to cross the streams again. So off came the shoes and socks.

I cheated a little bit on the way back and managed to use the stones to my advantage. After successful navigating the little bridge and while I was waiting for Kathy my new hat blew off and landed in the middle of one of the streams. I got wet. I had to save my new hat.

We got to the highest view point and hung around for awhile before heading down. One thing we realized was how much colder it became as you approached the glacier. I would guess about a 20 degree F difference. We finished the hike of about 3 miles and then headed down the road to the Russian River. We were not able to get a campsite at the Russian River but we were able to get into the Kenai / Russian River Ferry Campground. Tomorrow we are going back to hike the Russian River Trail.

The above three shots were taken on the way down from the glacier.

THE ALASKAN ADVENTURE Day 42 June 27, 2009 Lowells Point, AK

We got up at the crack of dawn, oh yea, there is no dawn, however it was early. The view that greeted us when we left the camper was absolutely stunning with the sun coming over the mountains.

After a quick breakfast we headed over to the kayak headquarters for our morning jaunt which would be about 3 hours. We met with Brad our guide and started getting things ready and it was quite nice out so I think we were over dressed. However it can get quite chilly out on the water.

We got all of our instructions about what not to do and then we dragged the kayaks down to the water. Only to have it called off. Resurrection Bay had suddenly gotten very rough and we were not allowed to go. So we hauled everything back up and re-scheduled for this evening.

We spent the day just enjoying the area and didn't do much of anything.

The evening paddle went just about the same way. It was a go right up until 6 PM when it was called off as the wind was blowing quite hard and it had started to rain. The really sad part is that by 7PM it had calmed right down, the rain hand stopped and it was a beautiful evening.

All three of these shots were taken when standing in front of the camper.

However we are not going to try again here. We will wait until we are in the Inner Passage and see about doing some kayaking then. Tomorrow we are panning to go to Exit Glacier National Park and hike out to the glacier. However tomorrow will bring what tomorrow brings.

Stay tuned the for the next installment of The Alaskan Aventure.

THE ALASKAN ADVENTURE Day 41 June 26, 2009 Seward, AK

After our exhausting day yesterday of sitting on a boat for 6 hours and enjoying wildlife and spectacular scenery we decided we needed a day of rest.

So we took our time getting going and then we headed up the road to a small Salmon Hatchery. They cultivate the salmon eggs and keep them until it is time to let nature take it course. The hatchery releases them and they head downstream to the ocean and then 5 years later head back up the same stream where the hatchery harvests them for sale. It is government controlled and they insist that so many get through to breed naturally.

The fish are lined up down the river waiting to get over a man made waterfall and it was fun watching them for awhile. They show a tremendous amount of determination.

We were told that the bears come down to feed on the salmon during the night so I think before we leave we will do a late night vigil. It would be nice to get a few more pictures of both grizzly and black bears.

After watching the salmon we headed downtown to do a little shopping. Why does every day we decide to relax cost so much money. We did buy a few things for our day tomorrow and Rod also get a new hat. Had to do something to keep the hair out of my eyes.

We finished up shopping and headed out to our new campsite at Lowell Point. On the way we came across this two little fellows feeding.

The picture taking done we continued on to Lowell Point. The reason we are staying here tonight and tomorrow night is that we are going sea kayaking in the morning. We leave at 7 am and it leaves from Miller Landing which is on Lowell Point. Seven AM, I must be nuts, I have no idea how Kathy conned me into this.

If you don't hear from me tomorrow, send the coast guard.

THE ALASKAN ADVENTURE Day 40, June 25, 2009 Seward - Kenai Fjords Cruise

The cruise and the day was a complete success and there were a number of things that contributed to that success.

1) The weather co-operated and was a nice sunny day
2) The winds were calm and therefore the water was fairly calm.
3) Due to the calm waters Rod was able to keep his breakfast to himself.
4) We saw miles and miles of beautiful but rugged scenery
5) We saw whales and dolphins and sea lines and a lot more
6) We saw a glacier calfing
7) Rod was able to keep lunch where it is supposed to be.

The day started out with us doing a lot of nothing waiting for the cruise to start. I caught up on the blog and Kathy read and did a few chores. Again, good distribution of duties.

We got to the dock about 2:30PM for a 3PM departure and we went out on a boat called the Orca Voyager.

The two people in the picture are Liz and Kenny who are two of our on board crew.

We got away in time and shortly Seward started to fade into the distance.

The captain and narrator of the ship gave us some history on Seward that was interesting. Seward is located at the end of Resurrection Bay which is an ice free harbor even in the winter.
It was the major sea port until the earthquake that hit Alaska in 1964 devastated the town. The town sits on gravel bars at the base of the mountains and when the three earthquake following tsumui’s hit, it pushed the town about a mile inland. The oil tanks and diesel tanks that were there to support the shipping exploded and Seward and Resurrection Bay were on fire. The city never recuperated from this blow and Anchorage and Whittier became the major sea ports for both commercial shipping and tour boats.

We made a short stop at Fox Island to pick up dinner. Fox Island got its name because the island was originally used to farm foxes. Prior to World War Two when the Sea Otter population was almost extinct the hunters and trappers still needed to survive. They tried populating the island with foxes as foxes hate water and do not swim well. Once their pelts matured they were harvested just like any other farmed animal. There are no foxes on the island today because when the war started transportation back and forth was curtailed for security reasons.

The route we were following today is to continue out of Resurrection Bay into the Gulf of Alaska. It was while we were into Resurrection Bay that we saw our first large animal of the day. A Humpback Whale, as least that is what they told us we saw. I got a few pictures but it was hard to get real close to them. We did get close enough to realize just how big they are.

Not long after we saw the Humpback whale we came across a pod of Orca’s or Killer Whales. There are two types of Killer Whales and the friendly, fish eating ones are called residential whales. These are the whales that we spotted.

After leaving the whales and Resurrection Bay we entered the Gulf of Alaska and when we passed Aialik Cape we were in the North Pacific Ocean. It was a little choppier and a little queasiness did creep it but I was able to keep things under control.

I thought the landscape was rugged and beautiful when we were in Resurrection Bay but once we got to the Gulf of Alaska I was truly amazed. The rugged peaks, islands, bays, hillsides that are all part of Kenai Fjords National Park cannot be described. We were treated to spectacular views that we could not have seen anywhere except of this cruise.
It is truly breathtaking.

After passing Aialik Cape we turned west and moved up the coast to the Chiswell Islands where we ran into these fellows.

The first two we saw had a slight territorial dispute but it was settled quickly as size always wins.

After viewing a slew of sea lions and sea birds we headed into the Aialik Fjord ( I think ) and headed straight to the end to view the Aialik Glacier. On the way we passed Bear Glacier and Pederson Glacier, however we could only see Bear Glacier. Aialik Glacier is the only tideside glacier that can be seen on this cruise. The nine hour cruise is a glacier cruise and you can see 5 glaciers in one Fjord.

All the glaciers in the Kenai Peninsula are run offs from the Harding Icefield which is the largest in the world. It is reported to be 20 miles wide, 30 miles long and 1 miles deep in some places. That’s a lot of ice.

We stopped when we got to the Glacier for about 35 minutes and watched ice move. Actually you listened for the large cracks of sound like thunder and tried to gauge where the next piece will fall off. Talk about trained. Fifty people all standing on the boat watching a chunk of ice and hoping to get a picture. The ice shifts and cracks and 50 cameras move into position. The harbor seals that were playing in the fjord were probably thinking that they were at a zoo.

I jest at the situation but the fjord was still amazing. It took three pictures to get all of the fjord into view. We also did see the glacier calfing but it was hard to get pictures of it.

The Aialik Glacier was far end of the tour so we turned around and headed back to Seward. Along the way we did see a couple of more whales, stellar sea lions and lots of birds. Mostly we just sat back and enjoyed the coastline and it stupendous beauty.

The day as a whole was a screaming success. We were told today was the calmest day they have had this year. ( thank you, thank you, thank you ) We arrived safely back into port, took the shuttle to the car park and headed back to the RV park.

Live is good.

THE ALASKAN ADVENTURE Day 39 June 24, 2009

The day started with a drive away from the coast into the Chugach National Forest and in no time at all we were back in the mountains.

Not far into Chugach National Forest we entered into Kenai Fjords National Park which is where Exit Glacier is located. It’s a good thing that Exit Glacier was our destination this morning as that is as far as the road goes. We received the information on the different hikes and are planning to come back on Friday and hike out to the Glacier.

After leaving the mountains we headed back towards Seward and the Alaska Sea Life Center. However we did stop for a Starbucks and as we could not take them into the Seal Life Center we continued past the Center to see how far the road would go down the coast. Not far. We came to Lowell’s Point which consists of a State Park, a RV park and headquarters for Sea Kayaking, Fishing etc. Kathy went in and checked out the Kayaking and if time and weather permits we may go for a little paddle.

Lowell Point is on a point that juts out just enough to give you a view of Seward from a different prospectus. So we did what all good tourists do. We took a picture.

It was an interesting experience to see how the Bering Sea and the animal life had changed over the years. Salmon are over 10,000 years old and at one time there was a Sabre Toothed Salman that weighed up to 600 lbs. Imagine hooking that on a 25 lb. test line.

We met Skittles a Sea Otter that is here on a rehab.