July 1, 2009
Seward, AK
Hope, Alaska, that is. We took the small side trip off the Seward Highway to the little town of Hope and found out just how "little" it is - we almost weren't able to turn the coach around! I suspect the town has some sort of claim to fame, but it sure wasn't visible when we were there. On the other hand, it was a very nice drive along the Turnagain Arm (a portion of the Cook Inlet that was a dead end and required explorers to, yes, turn again - kind of how we felt in Hope), and we had our "wildlife sighting" for the day when some sort of jay hung around with us while we stopped for pictures.
Once we arrived in Seward, it was time to search out a place to park. The city provides quite a few campsites along the waterfront, and we quickly realized that we should have arrived several days earlier if we wanted a good spot. With the upcoming Independence Day holiday weekend, things were pretty full and getting tighter by the hour on Wednesday morning. With a little help from the Visitors' Center, we were able to find spots in the overflow area - a converted baseball field. It was level and convenient, although there was a bit of grumbling about having to pay $15/night just to park (no services). There is a dump and water station across the way, so we'll be able to take care of that stuff before we leave. We found out later that the reason the city can offer all these sites in prime real estate is that they've designated this area as a "no build zone" because it was wiped out in the tsunami that followed the 1964 earthquake. Gee, thanks!
Once parked, we needed a plan. Our first priority was laundry, so we found out where the laundromat is (it's a 4-machine outbuilding at a B&B/cabin rental business about 3 miles from town), grabbed two rolls of quarters from the local bank, and packed up three loads. Since it was on the way to Exit Glacier (one of the few land-accessible glaciers in the area), I decided to do a little exploring while Geri did the laundry. Exit Glacier is just inside the limits of Kenai Fjords National Park, only a few miles off the Seward Highway. It was an easy 1/2-mile walk (half paved, half well-maintained gravel), and you get an expansive view of the glacier across a flood plain full of run-off streams. "Oh, you wanted to see the toe of the glacier up close? Sure, go ahead and walk out there". So, nowhere in the tourist guides did they say "bring boots". I was able to cross the first few streams OK, but got a shoe-full crossing the last one. Did you know that glacial run-off is cold? Thought so.
Anyway, not to be deterred, I pressed on and was able to get a few pictures. There was actually a black bear on the ice well above me, barely visible in the picture since I didn't have my long lens with me - and I wasn't about to go back to the car to get it at that point. I poked around a bit before heading back, fording the stream again (shoes and socks off this time - couldn't afford to slip on the rocks and fall while carrying the camera). I'm none the worse for wear, as everything but my shoes dried quickly. for those, it may take a few days.
I made it back to the laundry just as Geri was wrapping up, and we headed back home satisfied we'd put in a good day. We had leftover salmon and rice pilaf for dinner, but it had passed its prime while in the fridge - OK but nowhere near as good as when it was fresh from the river. We'll just have to savor the memory.
As planned, we did the tourist stuff today. This area is big into fishing. Us, not so much, but we still had a nice day checking things out. We drove the Kenai Spur Road from Soldotna to Kenai, then looped back on a drive called Kalifornsky Beach Road. Even though we were near the water (Cook Inlet) all day, we rarely saw it, as the nature of the landscape (flat land and lots of trees) didn't allow for much in the way of scenic views. We did see a few clever signs and some more little churches.
