An Amazing Two Days in Seward!

Our final adventure of our time here on the Kenai Peninsula was a trip we planned to Seward.  I had heard about bear sightings at the Skilat National Recreation Area that was along our route to Seward so we incorporated a visit as a side trip. Twenty miles of dirt road...heaven for me.  We stopped at the first of many lakes and saw a cow moose eating along the shore.  A few miles further along, and I finally had a glimpse of the state bird, the Willow Ptarmigan in summer plumage.

After more miles of dirt, and some spectacular Alaskan views, we saw a sow Black Bear and her cub.

Sadly, we spooked them and they quickly ran away.  After getting back onto the asphalt, we continued our drive until we saw a lot of cars parked along the road.  Thinking it may be more bears, we too stopped and walked toward the stream that went under the road, Quartz Creek.

This is what we found...the Reds, Sockeyes, on the last leg of their journey.  It was bittersweet, so lovely, yet we did see some that were in the end stages of dying.

        

    

  

      

The pictures are so artistic that I can't resist putting these five into the post.  There are more but perhaps these are the best.

Finally on to Seward itself, procuring our camping spot at a Natioanl Forest. Ptarmigan Day!

                              We took a measure of the tall trees again in the campground.

                                   

After lunch, we visited in the town of Seward and then the Alaskan Sea Life Center, one of the premier spots to visit in Seward.  And here is our own highlights from "Vanna".

The second day of our visit will be one of my favorite memories of Alaska!  We boarded the ship, the Coastal Explorer, as part of the Kenai Fjord Nature trip.  We quickly met some new friends to share the trip with, and listened as our Captain Reene dispatched her duties of sharing safety information etc.

Off we went for a six hour trip into the fjords of Resurrection Bay, a chance to visit glaciers, and the opportunies to see sea birds and mammals.  The weather was picture perfect and thankfully the water was calm so we could sight in whale blows and dolphin antics.  Again here is some of what we saw on this exciting day.

The playful Sea Otters...

    The many eagles...

                            

The far away resting Dall Sheep...the one in the foreground had a lamb behind her.

The first of several Humpbacks...

The Stellar Sea Lions...

The Horned Puffin...

The Common Murres...

The Tufted Puffin...

The Holgate Glacier...one of the many arms of the Harding Ice Field.

This Harbor Seal was taking a sun bath on the ice...

Another group of Sea Lions on a "pull-out"...

The start of the Humpback Whale Show...

One of 8-10 breaches we saw from this "happy" whale...

I was so excited I kept forgetting to take pictures...eventually it was a fluke goodbye.

What could have been a better end to this amazing day! Another dream come true for me!

We have been so blessed during this trip to Alaska with so many natural wonders and beauty. I wanted to have a picture of this sign to remind me of the wonderful Fireweed and other flowers we have enjoyed for these two months of our time here.  The animal and bird pictures will be part of my golden treasures.

We will leave on Tuesday, August 5 to start our slow journey across the northern tier of the lower 48 back to New England and our children and grandchildren.  Thank you for following our trip of a lifetime to Alaska on the blog.  The glimpses I have been able to share have made me happy when I think of you sharing them with us.  We will certainly have a special time of reflection as we travel toward "home".

            May we be a clear as the picture below taken on the Seward waterfront.