June 25, 2015

We started our day with a cold shower because the boiler was off at the hotel. I think it would have been warmer to wash off in the bay. Needless to say we were well awake when we left beautiful Seward this morning. We rode a bus to Anchorage where we stopped for 45 minutes then got back on the bus for 2 more hours to get to Talkeetna.

Once here we dropped our luggage in our room and took the shuttle into town for dinner. We both had raindeer chili that was pretty good. Talkeetna is a small little town made up mostly of little restaurants and gift shops.

Our room is nice with a great view of the valley with the mountains in the distance. (See attached photo). However the rooms don't have AC and it is a sweltering 71 degrees here. This will be my first project once we open the Aircond office here.

Mt. McKinley hidden behind the clouds and the Chulitna River. This is the view from our room.

June 24, 2015

The heat wave finally hit Alaska. The temperatures today got up to the high 60's. I almost broke a sweat a few times.

Today we went for a 6 hour ride on a 97 ft boat to view wildlife and glaciers. As soon as we left the dock we saw several sea otters floating around on their backs and living the life of luxury. After traveling for about an hour, the captain spotted a group of 11 humpback whales feeding. We saw a few breaching the surface and putting on a great show. I got a video of it that I can share when I get home.
The next thing of interest was the Holgate glacier. It felt like we were right beside it but we were a quarter mile away. The glacier was several hundred feet tall where it touched the ocean and was quite a site to see. While there we saw several small pieces of glacier (the size of our boat) calf off.
We watched the glacier for about 20 minutes then it was off to our next adventure.
We visited several small islands at the edge of the Gulf of Alaskan to see nesting Puffins and Common Murres,both deep diving sea birds. The captain brought us within feet of the cliffs to get an up close view. Next we saw Stellar sea lions basking the sun and waiting for their late night fishing trip as well as chubby little harbor seals.
Last but not least we get to see a pod of orcas swimming around.
The weather today was great, nary a cloud in the sky and very little wind. I don't think it I can come home before fall.

Please keep in mind I am not a professional photographer and English is not my strong suit.

Pic 1 Humpback whales
Pic 2 Map of today's travels (yellow line, give or take)
Pic 3 Orcas
Pic 4 Steller sea lions
Pic 5 Harbor Seals
Pic 6 Holgate Glacier

Tomorrow we catch the bus for our trip to Talkeetna. After seeing all the beautiful sights of Seward I hope I am NOT disappointed.

 

 

June 23, 2015

What a day. We started the day with a hike to Exit Glacier. Very beautiful and informitive. Our guide was great and taught us a lot. Unfortunately we did not see a grizzly on the trail. Maybe next time.
After the hike, we went to Lowell Point just south of Seward for kayaking in Resurrection Bay. We had two guides, Bobby and Author, both were fun and looked after us. There were 10 of us plus the guides. One guy with us was the drummer for the country group Lone Star. Interesting fellow. They were playing gigs in Anchorage and Fairbanks so he and his girlfriend stayed around a few day to catch the sites. Anyway we paddled our buts off for a long time and I thought for sure we were half way to Seattle but when we turned around we were only about 1 1/2 mile from where we started. Again we did not see a lot of wildlife but it was still pretty and lots of fun.
For dinner we went to eat at a nice restaurant where we ate with a new friend, a sea otter. The was swimming outside our window at the restaurant and eating his meal. We had to pay a lot more than he did but we did not have to dive down to the bottom of the bay to get ours. (I wanted clams too but I could not talk Pam into diving down to get them for me.)
Anyway, what a great way to spend my Anniversary. Thanks Pam, looking forward to the next 25 years.

Pic 1 Exit Glacier
Pic 2 our dining companion
Pic 3 kayaking
Pic 4 another glacier viewed from Resurrection bay

June 20, 2015

We made it to Anchorage.
Here is a picture of Mt Rainer. You may have to zoom in to get a good look.

June 21, 2015

 

Well it could not have been a prettier day once we got to Seward. The clouds gave way to a perfectly blue sky. The scenery from Anchorage to Seward was magnificent. We saw a few moose, eagles and there were black bear near by but we did not get to see them. We had lunch when got to Seward then went to the Alaskan Sea Life aquarium.
While walking back we saw two hikers on a mountain. I had to use binoculars to see them. I have included a picture. I think this is the hike Pam and I do tomorrow.
The other pic is of Lower Trail Lake that was taken from the train.

This whole place is like looking at a post card.

That's all for now. Talk to you soon.

David and Pam