RVing With Poppa: Seeing Seward...

June 14, 2014

We have no real plan for how long we are staying in Seward. But, knowing the guys have a fishing date for Monday, we decided to take advantage of our weekend. So, this morning, along with Bob and Molly, we decided to explore the

Kenai Fjords National Park.

After a stop in town at the Park Headquarters for our official park stamp and sticker, we drove a little ways out of Seward to the Exit Glacier Road. Nine miles out the Exit Glacier Road, we found the

Nature Center. We learned a little more about

glaciers and ice fields. And, just how they are

formed.

Time to hit the

trail. We walked

this way and

that way.

Seeing that in

1961 the glacier was at this point.

Less than a mile on up the trail, we found

the trail that led us on to the face of

Exit Glacier.

Up close we could see

the beautiful blue ice and

water falls that have formed from the melting ice.

From our view point, we could see clearly down to

Exit Creek and Washout Plain.

And, across from the glacier, we saw the beauty of

of the mountain range.

Great day hiking in the mountains.

After lunch, we drove out to Bear Creek RV Park where Wallace and Wanda are staying. We were surprised to find that

Mark had arrived to stay for a few days

Wallace wanted to take us to see the salmon, so,

we walked down the road from the RV Park, stopping by

the river, where we begin to see the

Sockeye Salmon. They are making their way

up stream...their last trip to Bear Lake.

First stop...

Bear Lake Weir.

Here, we watched them jump

an artificial falls.

During May and June, millions of smolts are released into Bear Lake and swim down Bear Creek to salt water at the head of Resurrection Bay. Between July and September, some 10,000 to 20,000 sockeye salmon swim seven miles up the creek.

Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association monitors the migrating salmon at the weir.

Here, at the weir, the male and females are separated. The females are

inoculated and tagged

before they are sent up stream to the lake where they spawn.

As for the males...so many are allowed to head up steam, the rest are sent on to the

processor.

Very interesting...the life cycle of the salmon.

We said good night to Wallace and Wanda, Bennit and Bea and headed into town where we planned to have dinner at

Thor's. This is nothing more than a little lounge, but, the food is outstanding. Mark and I shared a bucket of "buts"...halibut that is. It was a bowl of 14 halibut chunks. He had a baked potato and I had a salad. Awesome!

By the time we retuned to the campground, the folks parked along the beach had

campfires burning bright! and were enjoying a beautiful evening.

Mark and Bob found some locals to visit with while Molly and I

took a walk into town. By the time we reached

pier, the fishing charters were back in the harbor. We got to see

all the catches of the day. As well as these

guys waiting for their dinner.

A great day in Seward.

June 15, 2014

Happy Father's Day

After a leisure morning, we decided to walk into town. We did a little shopping at the hardware/fishing store. We saw Wallace, Wanda, Bennit, Bea, Bill, and Judy who were waiting for their

tour to the Fjords.

Since we had already done a similar trip, we decided not to go with them. Instead, we chose a trip to go see a sled dog team and learn

about the Iditarod.

We played with the

dogs. Saw

where they live and train.

They were all excited

and barked loudly wanting to be one of the 16 chosen to

to take us on a ride.

We learned a lot about the

musher's life during the 1000 mile Iditarod trip from Willow to Nome.

We got to see and hold a new litter of

puppies.

This particular team of dogs is part of the Seavey Family. They are now four generations of musher's and are celebrating 50 years of mushing. They are indeed Iditarod champions.

Thanks for sharing your lifestyle and dog team with us.

Also, while we were out driving around town, we found this

building constructed of shipping containers.

And, we found this

beautiful little creek on the other side of the bay. I love the reflection!

We have enjoyed our weekend in Seward, and beautiful it was.

But, this morning, as the

guys headed out to meet Wallace, Bennit, and Mark to go fishing, the weather began to deteriorate. And, due to some unseasonable system that rolled in from the Pacific, it has gone downhill all day.

Tonight, our beautiful