Sunday-Tuesday, July 13-15, 2014
It was time to drive to the end of Turnigan Arm by Portage
Glacier, and make the turn that would take us onto the Kenai
Peninsula, and south to Seward. If the weather stayed good, we
decided to camp for a few days. The highway down the peninsula was
also greatly improved, realigned, and lanes added. Where the roads in
Alaska have to be two lanes, there are now big paved shoulders and
rumblestrips. The journey takes less time, but you zip past the
scenery and wildlife faster! The trip down around the end of
Turnagain Arm on the Seward Highway and then south to Seward is
beautiful, and one of the nicest in Alaska.
 |
| Turnagain Pass |
 |
| Kenai Lake in the interior of the Kenai Peninsula |
We hit the outskirts of Seward sooner than we expected. It has
grown, too! Seward used to be a small town, that depended on fishing,
and the summer tourists who came to ride the tour boats out to the
Kenai Fjords National Park to see the marine wildlife. Once we got to
Resurrection Bay, we discovered a cruise ship from Holland America
Line docked at the small boat harbor. Lots of new shops lined the
road and docks, and many more private boats, fishing charters, and
tour boats were docked. The shore of Resurrection Bay is lined with
RV's. The city got smart and created a half dozen campgrounds,
including one with hookups and one only for tents. We were charged
$15 a night for our waterside campsite and had access to water and a
dump.
 |
| Parking lot camping with a view |
 |
| Resurrection Bay from our Seward camp |
 |
| Our view |
 |
| Swimmers were scarce at the beach. Water temperature was probably in the 40's. |
 |
| Freight barge coming into port. Several big RVs on top of the shipping containers. |
 |
| Rain at camp, sun in the mountains |
It was misting and raining lightly as we walked around town and
had dinner at Chinook's. I won't tell you what Greg had, but it
starts with an “f”. We decided not to tour the Sealife Center.
The description sounds great, but $20 each is a bit steep for things
we've seen other places. This morning we awoke to sunshine, wind, and
a few clouds. In other words, a rare, glorious Alaska day. We decided
to stay put. Greg spent the morning disassembling the dashboard to
get to the inverter. We use it to plug in electronics and charge them
off the truck battery while we drive. It decided to blow the fuse,
stop working, and send up a plume of smoke after we plugged things in
on our drive to Anchorage. The previous owner of our rig did a lot of
modifications himself. This is the second “improvement” that put
up smoke while we were using it...
 |
| Charter crew displaying the catch of halibut and rockfish |
 |
| Fish cleaning station with a fish waste barge underneath |
 |
| Lots of yachts and cruise ship in the harbor |
 |
| Mural remembering Exit Glacier before it disappears. |
I've been glad for a day to slow down. Catching up on my writing
was a good way to spend the afternoon, and after Greg determined the
inverter couldn't be fixed, he took a walk around town. Now we are
watching the fishing and tour boats that sailed out this morning
return to dock. The cruise ship left last night. The human parade
continues on the walkway between us and the water. The otters are
rolling around and floating in the water in front of us. The
mountains across Resurrection Bay are wonderfully etched in the late
day sun. The hanging glaciers across the water are entrancing, and
even with the crowds, Alaska's natural wonders still take my breath
away!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your comments encourage me to keep posting!