Tales & Trails of a Traveling Wiseguy

It's time to go back to Alaska. Topically, that is. It feels like my trip there was two months ago even though it was literally just two weeks ago. (The last day of my trip was Wednesday, June 17.)  One thing I've been meaning to write about since even before I embarked on the trip is a retrospective on how I planned it: How I finally got to Alaska.

Alaska has been on my list of places to go for years. It's actually on two bucket lists I have: One is to visit all the states in the US— which I've now done, Alaska being #51 out of 51. (It's 51 because I include Washington, D.C.) The other is to visit all the national parks in the US. There are currently 63 parks, eight of which are in Alaska. Until recently I had 11 parks left to go— including all 8 in Alaska. (Now it's 10 and 7.) Clearly I was going to have to go to Alaska!

I've been saying for several years now, "This summer I'll go to Alaska." It's an easy thing to say, a slightly harder thing to do. But it's not logistically hard. There are commercial airline flights to multiple cities in Alaska. And it hasn't been a money issue; not for the last umpteen years, at least.

Too Many Good Ideas

The part that's been hard is the planning. It's hard because it's not simply a matter of, "I'll book and pay for this flight to Anchorage." I want to do stuff in Alaska— fun stuff, worthwhile stuff— not just tap a foot on the base on leave. Like, Denali is there, the highest peak in North America. And countless other things.

Ultimately the hard part with planning was the superabundance of great things to do. I'd be, like, "Okay, we'll fly to Anchorage and drive to visit Denali National Park. But there's also stuff to do near Anchorage before and after. But maybe before, because after visiting Denali we could drive further north a visit another park. But the only way in is via chartering a flight, so maybe we do that from Fairbanks. And...." It became analysis paralysis.

Simplify!

The solution to analysis paralysis is to simplify: reduce the scope of the question. Rather than solve for, "How do I plan a perfect 9-10 day trip to Alaska that hits all the high points?" I changed the question to, "How do I plan a fun 4-5 day trip to Alaska that hits one great thing?" And that's how I focused in on Kenai Fjords National Park.

BTW, this was the same approach that got us to Australia last December. For years we've been wanting to visit Australia, but the complexity of planning a "perfect" trip has always left us putting it off. I mean, it's a whole freaking country and there's so much to do! Last November we decided to simplify: We decided we'd focus on one major city (we picked Sydney), find just enough stuff for a solid one-week trip (which means 10-11 days including travel time), and look for clusters of enjoyable things within a 2-3 hour driving radius. It worked. It worked beautifully. And of course we'll have to go back to Australia at least a few more times to see & do everything we want to see & do. Just like we're going to need to visit Alaska a few more times. But that's the strength of the approach rather than it's weakness— because now we've been there once and have better insights on how to go back!

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.

Alaska Travelog #24
Leaving the hotel - Wed, 19 Jun 2024, 8:30am

It figures. Of all the days we have a nice sunny morning in Seward, instead of being socked in with fog until after noon, it's today, the day we leave. Well, at least we won't miss the room we've made our home for the past 4 days.



Why didn't we like it? Let me count the ways. The shower runs cold. The sink runs hot. The heater doesn't work. And there's nowhere to sit except at a tiny table facing the corner.

So why did we stay? Two things. First, any better looking place was twice the price, or higher. We know; we checked, multiple times, the night we arrived and the next day. Second, once we unpacked our stuff I really didn't feel like packing back up to move. So we stayed and made the best of it. We took quick showers. We found that the room was always mysteriously hot even with a completely dead heater and outdoor temperatures barely into the 60s as highs. Like, we were routinely opening the sliding door— which has no screen door, of course— to cool off. And I made up for the tiny table in the corner by alternating between sitting there and stretching across the spare bed.

We've got a 2.5 hour drive back to Anchorage ahead of us. Our flight's not 'til 4pm, though, so we've got an extra few hours today. We figure we'll stop at some of those roadside waterfalls we saw on the way down here Saturday.

Alaska Travelog #22
Outside Seward - Tue, 18 Jun 2024, 2:30pm

On our drive out of Kenai Fjords National Park after hiking there today we took a slight side trip to visit the Resurrection River. The park road runs along the glacial outwash stream until where the state highway crosses it a bit above the head of Resurrection Bay. In a few places the embankments along the side of the flood plain are low enough that vehicle trails have been made through them. We drove out on the rocky wash.



In the photo above we're actually a fair distance, as far as 4x4 situations in riverbeds go, from the bank. Out here the surface is fairly flat, and the rocks are fairly uniform in size and rounded smooth from the action of the glacier that's now retreated several miles upstream. Yes, this is the outflow from Exit glacier which we visited earlier today and also yesterday (different hikes each day).

After we got back on the road we stopped another mile or two downstream when we saw a large nest high up in a tall tree— with a bald eagle in it!



Bald eagles are native to this habitat. They tolerate the cold weather well, and there's abundant fishing nearby. We see them occasionally near our home (where there's not cold weather) though only a few sightings a year. Out here in Alaska you can see bald eagles a few times a day.

Alaska Travelog #20
At breakfast at a gas station - Tue, 18 Jun 2024, 11am

Today has been another foggy morning in Seward. Instead of lazing around the room all morning waiting for it to lift, though, we got going around 9am. So just a bit of lazing. We figure it'll be clearer up in the mountains away from the bay.

Speaking of lazing, yesterday evening was lazy, too. We got back from our amazing hike to Exit Glacier and went straight to dinner. Since  it was early-ish (only about 7pm) we had our choice of restaurants open. But at the dining choices in Seward are weak, we decided our best bet was a highly rated hamburger stand. Reader, they had a 4.5 star rating on Yelp yet served cooked-from-frozen hamburger patties. That tells you how weak the choices in this town are. Well, at least we improved upon the evening by going to an ice cream parlor afterwards. The ice cream was really good. And it was funny waiting in a line out the door in 55° weather to get ice cream.

This morning we had our usual in-room breakfast. I microwaved a couple of Hot Pockets I bought at Safeway last night, Hawk ate crackers and cheese. I tell you, if this room had an oven— like was common at small motels in New Zealand— we'd have bought better eats at the grocery store and skipped playing restaurant roulette simply to cook here.

We did a bit of gift-shopping in town before heading out for a day of hiking. Gift shops are mostly tourist traps, so we didn't expect to buy much. We were there to see if anything caught our fancy. ...Which means mostly rocks and rock art for Hawk, and commemorative stuffed animals for both of us. We bought an eagle! I'll share a photo later as I'm composing this blog at a gas station.

Yes, I'm sitting at a gas station right now. For breakfast. Well, second breakfast. ...Okay, more like brunch.

We were hungry for more eats before heading out hiking for the day, but it was before 11am so few of the town's restaurants were open yet, and they all suck anyway. (Except ice cream. But 10:45am is too early for ice cream.) So we headed to a gas station with a convenience store and ready-to-eat hot food.

The first gas station didn't have the eats we were looking for, but the second one, right next door to it, did. Fortunately Seward is just big enough to support two gas stations! 😂 I've chowed down on a beef-and-cheese burrito rolled by some guy in the back.  It was... passable... especially in a place where "South of the Border" means British Columbia, Canada. 🤣

Now it's time to get rolling toward today's adventure.

Alaska Travelog #18
Kenai Fjords National Park - Mon, 17 Jun 2024, 4pm

Today we've hiked the trail toward Exit Glacier and the Harding Ice Field in Kenai Fjords National Park. After starting out easily from the visitors center the trail forks in various directions. We took the fork that goes up, up, up.



The climb was... well, I don't want to say tough but it sure wasn't easy. We've climbed about 1,300 vertical feet over the course of 2 miles. That's far from the toughest we've ever done, especially because there's no altitude acclimation challenge here. And the beautiful views in all directions helped us keep focused on the reason for the hike rather than the drudgery of it.



As we climbed ever higher the views opened up more and more. And the sky was so clear. We could see there was still fog hanging over Resurrection Bay in the distance. But out here it was sunny and even warm. I'd stripped off my heavy sweater after 10 minutes of hiking. The little thermometer I clipped on my pack reads 72°. And yes, in the photo above that's a patch of snow in the small trees below us.

Speaking of snow, there'd be more to come.



As we approached Marmot Meadow, which a ranger at the visitors center below advised us is as far as we should go, we crossed a few larger patches of snow.



Marmot Meadow is where we were advised to turn around as going farther involves entering areas with increased snow/ice hazards and danger of avalanches. Indeed we'd already seen a small avalanche happen high up on the snowy cliffs an hour earlier. Such warnings didn't stop a lot of hikers who'd gotten this far. Even we pressed on just a bit further, as long as the trail was dry and clear.



This was the view at our turnaround point. From here the trail drops down the side of the cliff to meet the side of the glacier. We didn't feel like going down only to have to come back up. 😅 But like I said, some other hikers up here did exactly that. Some of them even had the appropriate gear for it. (Our not having crampons and ice axes was one reason we planned not to go further than this.) Indeed, in the photo above you can see a small group of hikers on the glacier. They're just above the crevasse near the bottom center of the picture.

Up next: Coming back down from Exit Glacier

Alaska Travelog #16
At the hotel - Mon, 17 Jun 2024, 10am

The way it's light so late at night here in Alaska is kind of disorienting. Don't get me wrong; it was nice having twilight until 1am when we landed in Anchorage and drove to our hotel. And it's nice not worrying about about finishing our daytime activities outdoors before dark. We'll almost certainly run out of energy before the day runs out of daylight. But the sun not even starting to set until after 10pm throws off my sense of time. It's interesting to learn how many things are aligned to a kind of circadian rhythm. Like, I forget to eat dinner.

I forget to eat dinner. That's certainly not a sentence I ever thought I'd write! While some people I know easily forget to eat, when I haven't eaten in a while my body reminds me approximately every 3 minutes that food is delicious and would fill a void in my stomach. But here with sun not even dropping behind the mountains until 10pm, I've been like, "Woah, it's after 8pm already, I should get dinner!"

Unfortunately the choices for dinner in this small town of Seward are few. There are a handful of restaurants at the low end of the spectrum, dive-y type places serving small-town America staples like burgers, pizza, and chicken fingers with your choice of barbecue sauce or ranch. Then there are high end, or at least high end-looking places with steak and seafood and prices that promise a tab of $50-70 per person after adding a drink, tax, and tip. We're not the spendy-dinner type of people, especially when traveling in small towns where all the food looks kind of suspect, so we've eaten at the dive-y joints. And that— not being disoriented by the sun— is why I've had pizza 4x in 36 hours.

No, I didn't buy pizza 4 times in 36 hours. I bought it two nights in a row for dinner. But each time there were leftovers. And since I have a thrifty streak from childhood I can't quite outgrow (and also the pizza wasn't disgusting) I ate the leftovers for breakfast both yesterday and today.

But hey, back to the midnight sun thing. You'd think that the flip side of midnight sun would be early morning sun. Like, blazing sun preventing sleep at 4am. Well, here in Seward, there's been morning fog. So yay being able to sleep in 'til a morning hour. But boo not being able to get out and enjoy the daylight right away.

Today we're planning to hike up to Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park. Just like yesterday's cruise in the fjords started out with hours of heavy fog that left me uncertain we'd get to see anything, so too does today's fog make me reluctant to head into the park until I see evidence the clouds are starting to burn off. And here it is 10am already... which means the sun's been up— not that we can see it— for almost 6 hours! Well, it's a good thing there's another 13 hours of daylight left for us to go hiking later today. 🤣

Alaska Travelog #14
Asea in Resurrection Bay - Sun, 16 Jun 2024, 5:30pm

Our day cruise to Kenai Fjords made good time on the trip back to Seward. Partly that was to make up time for losing an hour to engine trouble in the morning. Partly it was because we'd already seen a lot of wildlife in the morning, too. I mean, we saw a bald eagle before leaving the marina, playful sea otters a few minutes later, and a breaching humpback whale not long after that. (In fact, the captain speculated that it was during all these stops that seaweed got into the cooling intake and gummed up the works.) Later we saw killer whales and a bunch of different birds. On the way back, already late, we did stop for another pair of humpbacks. One was a juvenile who seemed to be literally jumping for joy. Unfortunately none of my photos or videos of this turned out as good as I hoped. Just catching good views of whales is tough; getting good photos of them is even more difficult.



One of the crew amused me with an annotated chart of where we'd gone and what we'd seen during the cruise. Well, he didn't do it just to amuse me. He did it to amuse everyone. I think I was the only one who liked it, though. 😅

As we steamed back toward Seward I watched the views out the windows. It was miles and miles of snow-capped mountains, some with glaciers, on both sides of Resurrection Bay.



Heres' a photo of Seward as we approach it from the west (above).



And this is a photo looking north at Seward. This is what's behind our hotel. See the view looking across the bay from our hotel in my Saturday night blog.

In almost any other place mountain views like these would be wondrous. Here they're so abundant they've became almost hum-drum. As much fun as this cruise has been, we'll be happy to be back on dry land in a few minutes.

Alaska Travelog #12
Asea in Kenai Fjords NP - Sun, 16 Jun 2024, 2:30pm

Finally, the moment on this day-cruise I've been waiting for came. ...Well, two moments came. First, the dang fog lifted. Finally we could see the mountains around us in Kenai Fjords. And by "see" I mean see more than the first 100-200' above the water. We could see thousands of feet up... and blue sky above! And second, we reached some of the glaciers.



Even better than just reaching a glacier we reached one that hasn't always been that easy to see. That's quite a statement when 100+ years of global warming have sent glaciers worldwide into rapid retreat. The story with Northwest Glacier, in the photo above, is that it used to be past a gravel bar enclosing the bay. A major earthquake in 1964 shuffled that gravel bar under about 60' of water. Now ships can cruise right over it and reach close to the foot of the glacier.

And yes, those are chunks of ice floating in the water. No, we didn't stop as soon as we reached them. We cruised right on in... through what I called The World's Biggest Margarita. It was fun listening to the *thunk* *thunk* *thunk* of ice chunks bouncing off the hull of the ship. ...Was it also scary, in a Titanic sort of way? Not really. I figure the mistake the crew of the Titanic made was playing chicken with ice the size of the ship.



We weren't the only ones floating around at the foot of Northwest Glacier enjoying the sunny weather. A bunch of seals were out, sunning themselves atop the ice.

Alaska Travelog #9
Seward - Sun, 16 Jun 2024, 9am

Today we're embarking on one of the centerpiece activities of our Alaska trip: a cruise through the fjords to see Northwest Glacier. Friends and relatives who've been to Alaska all tell us that the view of glaciers is so much better from aboard a ship, that you really can't see much of them while touring on land. So here we go.



After a stunning day yesterday, with brilliant sun and temperatures up in Anchorage reaching the mid 70s, today is a letdown weather-wise. Kenai is all fogged in, and the temperature today may not break 60. Of course, here at 8am as we boarded it was closer to 50.

"It's actually a sunny day today," the ship's first mate told us.

"Yeah, the sun is always shining, just today we can't see it," I snarled. That was a joke one of my high school teachers made every day the weather was cloudy or rainy. Every. Single. Day. The students all loved Mr. Rumberger... despite that overused joke.





We saw a fair bit of wildlife as we motored out into Resurrection Bay. The first, this bald eagle (above), we didn't even have to leave the harbor for. It was perching on a breakwater.

As we motored out further into the way we saw various other birds (though no more eagles) and a few sea otters. I noticed this group of 4 otters playing together and got my fancy camera up with a long zoom lens in time to capture it.


Link: Watch video on YouTube

A few fun facts about sea otters: First, they grow up to about 100 lbs., so even though they often look small at a distance they are the size (and weight) of fairly large dogs. Second, they stay warm in the chilly water because of their extremely dense fur. They have upwards of 1,000,000 strands of hair per square inch (150,000 per square centimeter). The average adult human has just one-tenth as many hairs on their entire head. Third, sea otters are members of the weasel family. Thus we really should call them sea weasels. 😅

Stay tuned, more (much more) to come!