SEWARD, ALASKA
I have to apologize first off for the lack of postings in the past couple of weeks. Internet has been almost non-existent for the most part, time has been short, we have been so busy, I have been exhausted and I have to admit to being “blogged out” for a while. I am trying to get back into the groove. I do enjoy sharing our pictures and our adventures, however it is very time consuming (I’m not that good at the technical side of things and picking out the pictures takes a while) and also requires good internet service. Even when we have “internet” service it can be very, very inadequate for uploading data and pictures. So I may have not been productive but my mind has been writing the words!! Thanks for hanging in there and still taking the time to check us out.
We had enjoyed our time at the Homer Spit very much but woke up on July 23rd to a drizzly, cloudy, cool day but very excited to be on our way to Seward, AK. After perusing the literature on Seward and the events planned we were looking forward to this stop on our travels. We were traveling 168 miles, which isn’t bad but after it took us all day to go 88 miles to Homer, we had to laugh at the time we might be arriving in Seward!! LOL
The sun never really did make an appearance that day but we still enjoyed a very incredible journey through Alaska’s wild and vivid lands. This section of road takes you to the gateway of the Kenai Fjords National Park. Terrific fun! We share some of our excitement through these pictures….are you getting a taste of Alaska yet? Is it making you want to put this one on your “Bucket” list? Those of you who have witnessed the beauty I’m sure will agree it should definitely make the list. I’m having an amazing time, what an experience!!
We of course made a couple stops for photo ops, the Wetlands Wildlife Viewing area, quick lunch, rest break and another moose!! We did arrive at camp in time to set up camp and settle in for the night.
The bus picked us up at 10AM the next morning to take us to “Kenai Fjords Tours”. We all loaded onto this nice size catamaran for a 6 hr sightseeing tour. The advertisement was – “Seek out tidewater glaciers, puffins, whales, Dall Sheep, porpoises, sea lions, otters, harbor seals, seabirds and more!” It really was a rainy, cold and dreary day. I looked over at Bill when we had been on the boat for a short while and said, “I don’t think we are going to see whales today.” He said, “Negative, negative!!” I just smiled and was resigned to once again “not see whales”. On our honeymoon cruise everyone kept saying they saw dolphins and whales but I missed them every time…no matter how much time I spent on deck or tried to capture a sight. So I was prepared to just enjoy the ride.
Let me tell you this turned out to be the most awesome boat trip I had ever been on! Not that I’ve been on that many…but still! We saw so many otters, sea lions, harbor seals, puffins, bald eagles…it was so fun. Everyone kept going outside for pictures even in the rain and cold wind. The captain was great, he would watch for wildlife and stop for a time so everyone could get a good view, photo or video. Then, yes, you guessed it – WHALES!! Humpback whales and then Orca whales!!! They were everywhere – I kept trying to capture it on film and was getting very frustrated as by the time I could focus on them they had gone back under. Bill kept telling me to give up and just enjoy. But it seemed such a shame not to capture it on film. For proof you know (and a reminder) --- well, we have some pictures but have resigned ourselves to borrowing other pictures from the group. LOL. That’s a plus for traveling with other people.
We promise better whale pictures and a video or two later... trying to get this posting done while in the library in Jasper...we are very past due in posting. We were enthralled with the whales...you will be too when you finally see video!
Now, all that excitement, but get this ---- we saw 3 humpack whales “bubble net fishing”! I had never heard of this until Bill and I watched the Discovery Channel’s “Life” series. We can’t remember whether they were filming whales, dolphins or sharks but we were impressed with it at the time. This is a most inventive technique. A group of whales swim in a shrinking circle blowing bubbles below a school of prey. The shrinking ring of bubbles encircles the school and confines it in a ever-smaller cylinder. The whales then suddenly swim upward through the “net”, mouths wide open, swallowing thousands of fish in one gulp. This ring can begin at up to 98 feet in diameter with the cooperation of a dozen animals. It’s a team effort and amazing to watch, especially since these whales are usually solitary hunters. The captain said this is a very rare sight, he had never witnessed it with a tour before. When it was over he actually said he would have to “go change his pants” as it surprised him so much. Really, 3 of them came up only yards from the boat. WOW. We will take cold, windy, rainy day anytime we are planning to go “whale watching”! He got us back to the dock a little late as he couldn’t pull himself away from the action. We did not complain.
Now, all that excitement, but get this ---- we saw 3 humpack whales “bubble net fishing”! I had never heard of this until Bill and I watched the Discovery Channel’s “Life” series. We can’t remember whether they were filming whales, dolphins or sharks but we were impressed with it at the time. This is a most inventive technique. A group of whales swim in a shrinking circle blowing bubbles below a school of prey. The shrinking ring of bubbles encircles the school and confines it in a ever-smaller cylinder. The whales then suddenly swim upward through the “net”, mouths wide open, swallowing thousands of fish in one gulp. This ring can begin at up to 98 feet in diameter with the cooperation of a dozen animals. It’s a team effort and amazing to watch, especially since these whales are usually solitary hunters. The captain said this is a very rare sight, he had never witnessed it with a tour before. When it was over he actually said he would have to “go change his pants” as it surprised him so much. Really, 3 of them came up only yards from the boat. WOW. We will take cold, windy, rainy day anytime we are planning to go “whale watching”! He got us back to the dock a little late as he couldn’t pull himself away from the action. We did not complain.
The tour had provided us with a chicken ceasar wrap lunch and a lot of excitement. We got back to camp and went to George & Joan’s for dinner and then watched a “National Geographic film of Alaska”. It is a great video and very special for us as it featured so many sights and places we had already experienced. We plan to put this one in our video collection. We will be able to relive our trip to Alaska when we start missing the mountains and all the rest God blessed this area with.
The next day was Sunday and we found a small congregation to attend, they were all very friendly, the lesson and the song service were great and we were uplifted. Again it was a very rainy and cold day. We had planned to walk up to the “Exit Glacier” but never did get that in. We picked up two single ladies from our group who don’t have a tow car and drove to the “Sea Life Center”, the only public aquarium in Alaska. They had an outdoor area for the seabirds and Megan we were able to get a real nice picture of a puffin for you. Actually the Black Guillemot was showing off, at first I thought there was something wrong with it, then I realized they were all doing this little “roll, flap, diving dance”. It was really fun to watch them. Bill has a couple videos of their performance. It is a nice attraction and well worth the cost of admission and time.
After we had returned from the aquarium we decided that was it for us in Seward. Time to have dinner, relax and prepare for the next day’s journey of 166 miles to Palmer, AK. Looking forward to our next stop but not sure what, if anything, can measure up to the adventures of Seward!!
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