Roadside Falls in Alaska
Jun. 25th, 2024 08:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Alaska Travelog #25
Near Anchorage - Wed, 19 Jun 2024, 12pm
I'm glad we're almost done with our drive back to Anchorage. It's only about 125 miles from Seward but it feels like a lot longer. Partly that's because there have been a few delays for road construction and slow moving vehicles. But even delays are so scenic....

I mean, when you're in a place like this, it's like everything is scenic. I imagine Alaskans must get used to having snow-capped peaks and thick forests around them everywhere they go. I'll bet Alaskans who go almost anywhere else in the US, but especially to places like the Midwest, are like, "OMG, where are the mountains? How can you even live in a place that looks this dull?" 🤣
We've broken up the monotony of the drive this morning by parking and hopping out several times to visit roadside waterfalls.

This waterfall (photo above) is named Seward Highway Falls on one map— coincidentally Hwy 1 is named Seward Highway— and not even marked on another. It's next to a large pullout area so at least it's safe to visit. There's a steep foot trail around the left side (not pictured) that looks like it leads up to the higher tiers. We weren't interested in stopping for too long or taking risks of slipping on a primitive trail so we left it as a mystery.

Speaking of falls being safe to visit, this falls further along the route was barely safe. The small pullout is on a bend in the road and is only big enough for a few cars. To really get a good view of the falls requires standing far enough back from the falls that you're practically standing in the road.
And this falls 20 meters or so away...

There isn't even a pullout for this one. We walked along the side of the road a short distance to get to it. Traffic was whizzing past at 65mph. Fortunately there was a break in traffic (possibly some logging truck was slowing everyone down) so we stood in the road briefly to snap pictures of it.
We made two stops other than these. The photos didn't turn out as interesting. In the interest of drawing this Alaska blog series to a close less than a week after we got home, I'll pass on sharing them.
Near Anchorage - Wed, 19 Jun 2024, 12pm
I'm glad we're almost done with our drive back to Anchorage. It's only about 125 miles from Seward but it feels like a lot longer. Partly that's because there have been a few delays for road construction and slow moving vehicles. But even delays are so scenic....

I mean, when you're in a place like this, it's like everything is scenic. I imagine Alaskans must get used to having snow-capped peaks and thick forests around them everywhere they go. I'll bet Alaskans who go almost anywhere else in the US, but especially to places like the Midwest, are like, "OMG, where are the mountains? How can you even live in a place that looks this dull?" 🤣
We've broken up the monotony of the drive this morning by parking and hopping out several times to visit roadside waterfalls.

This waterfall (photo above) is named Seward Highway Falls on one map— coincidentally Hwy 1 is named Seward Highway— and not even marked on another. It's next to a large pullout area so at least it's safe to visit. There's a steep foot trail around the left side (not pictured) that looks like it leads up to the higher tiers. We weren't interested in stopping for too long or taking risks of slipping on a primitive trail so we left it as a mystery.

Speaking of falls being safe to visit, this falls further along the route was barely safe. The small pullout is on a bend in the road and is only big enough for a few cars. To really get a good view of the falls requires standing far enough back from the falls that you're practically standing in the road.
And this falls 20 meters or so away...

There isn't even a pullout for this one. We walked along the side of the road a short distance to get to it. Traffic was whizzing past at 65mph. Fortunately there was a break in traffic (possibly some logging truck was slowing everyone down) so we stood in the road briefly to snap pictures of it.
We made two stops other than these. The photos didn't turn out as interesting. In the interest of drawing this Alaska blog series to a close less than a week after we got home, I'll pass on sharing them.