Monday, June 16, 2014

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

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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

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Nature Center.  We learned a little more about

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glaciers and ice fields. And, just how they are

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formed.

Time to hit the

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trail.  We walked

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this way and

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that way.

Seeing that in

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1961 the glacier was at this point.

Less than a mile on up the trail, we found

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the trail that led us on to the face of

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Exit Glacier.

Up close we could see

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the beautiful blue ice and

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water falls that have formed from the melting ice.

From our view point, we could see clearly down to

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Exit Creek and Washout Plain.

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

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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

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Mark had arrived to stay for a few days

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

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

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the river, where we begin to see the

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Sockeye Salmon.  They are making their way

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

First stop...

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Bear Lake Weir.

Here, we watched them jump

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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

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inoculated and tagged

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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

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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

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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

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campfires burning bright! and were enjoying a beautiful evening.

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

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took a walk into town.  By the time we reached

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

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all the catches of the day.  As well as these

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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

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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

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  about the Iditarod.

  We played with the

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dogs. Saw

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where they live and train.

They were all excited

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

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to take us on a ride.

We learned a lot about the

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

We got to see and hold a new litter of

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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

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building constructed of shipping containers.

And, we found this

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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

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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

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view of watching the cruise ships come and go...

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is now nothing more than a blur!

We have enjoyed our stay here in Seward, lots of good halibut and chowder, ice cream, and sightseeing.

  Tomorrow, weather permitting, we plan to pack up and move to Soldotna.  See you back here real soon with the next Alaskan adventure!

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