Kenai Fjords National Park

June 27
The RV campground in Seward was located on prime real estate beside the shore of Prince William Sound. I thought it was neighbourly of the local folks to let strangers have this scenic waterfront  location. However, given the potential for earthquakes and tsunamis, the RV campground could be viewed as a buffer zone.

We spent a quiet low-energy day exploring Seward. Emma, Sonaa and I were all hurting units and needed a few days to recharge after logging so many miles over the past few weeks. Our first stop was Safeway to resupply and get a goodly quantity of Ibuprofen.
 - Jim right foot and on the limp
 - Emma shoulder pull and could not lift
 - Sonaa left front shoulder, limping but on the mend

 Seward Harbour

We wandered around the harbour and booked our $224 per person boat cruise into Kenai Fjords National Park. This nine hour cruise was specifically recommended for birding enthusiasts so I was pumped. Next we made several calls and finally found a place to board Sonaa while Emma and I went on our excursion.

Orca Islander

June 28
By 6:30 a.m., I was up and preparing the RV for our departure. I do get excited before birding tours and a guided cruise up the Kenai fjords really had me excited. Emma got coffee in bed as well as a goodly quantity of porridge for breakfast.

It was a cloudy overcast day and threatening to rain as we drove out of Seward looking for the homestead where we would board Sonaa for the day. As with all small towns the directions were cryptic but accurate. Drive north out of town, go over three bridges then hang a right. Go 1.2 miles down the road and turn in at our house.

Worked like a charm and we were there by 8:05 a.m. Three friendly dogs and the jovial owner and his two visiting grandchildren  met us at the gate. It was clear that Sonaa would have a good day with lots of pats.

Seward Beach RV Park

By 8:45, we were at the Seward Harbour and walking up the gang plank to our boat. The captain met us as we stepped aboard and I showed him the extensive list of birds that I was hoping to see on our day long cruise. He directed me to Clint, his ornithologist guide, who agreed to signal me when a target bird was in sight.

The small ship left promptly at 9:00 a.m. with 36 passengers aboard. We sailed out of the Seward marina and past a large ocean liner docked at another pier. Along the way we passed by the RV
campground where we were staying.

 6]Sea Otter

Northwestern Lagoon

At first, the waters in Resurrection Bay were fairly calm as we sailed past the mist shrouded mountains surrounding the bay. As we got out into open water the seas became much rougher. It was a good thing that, at check-in, the staff told us to take Gravol. Even so, the sea was rough and I had to concentrate to keep everything down.

By Aialik Cape the seas were very rough, the wind was blowing hard, and our ship was bouncing around like popping corn. Everyone was huddled in the interior cabin, everybody but me. I decided on a quick swing around the exterior of the boat looking for pelagic species. Big mistake.
Rounding the bow of the ship I was hit by a wall of wind and water. My poncho was shredded, my baseball cap took flight but I was saved by the side rail.

Clint hustled out of the wheelhouse and hauled me inside. "Look for the sea birds don't join 'em" exhorted Clint.

Northwestern Glacier

Fortunately, we rounded the cape and headed into the calm waters of Harris Bay then inward to Northwestern Fjord. Suddenly the captain stopped the engines as a rare 36) Kittletz's Auklet floated past the bow. I was walking around the boat and had my binoculars with me but not my camera on this occasion.

Northwestern Glacier and Iceberg

At the inlet to the fjord, a pack of Killer Whales was surging about. They seemed very purposeful in their swimming and did not hang around to engage tourists.

7] Orca

Farther into the fjord, we saw lots of small icebergs with seals resting atop many of them.

8] Harbour Seals

On reflection, they were probably hiding from the Killer Whales with resting as a secondary consideration.

Harbour Seal

The glaciers in Northwestern Fjord were amazing. We stopped for 30 minutes by Northwestern Glacier and marvelled at the rich blue colour of the centuries old ice that was just now falling into the ocean.

Northwestern Glacier

There were frequent sounds of cracking and crashing as large sections of glacial ice calved off into the waiting Pacific Ocean.

Emma at Northwestern Glacier

Reality check! In addition to being beautiful, it was also cold.

Nothwestern Glacier

It was fascinating to see the ice quietly plunging into the ocean and then a few seconds later to hear the crashing sounds.

Northwestern Glacier Calving

As we backed out of Northwestern Fjord we cruised by the much siltier Ogive Glacier.

 Ogive Glacier

Ogive Glacier

Ogive Glacier

Cataract Cove

With the steady rain, the captain made the best of it by maneuvering into Cataract Cove. The steady downpour was ideal for highlighting the cascading waterfalls in the cove.

38) Pigeon Guillemot

Throughout the cruise we saw a wide range of marine mammals and birds.

29) Horned Puffin

The Horned and Tufted Puffins were particularly fun to watch as they paddled about displaying their brightly coloured bills.

30) Tufted Puffin

The captain was kind enough to cruise into a small inlet that was home to the elusive 37) Parakeet Auklet. There were dozens of these small sea birds rocketing about and singing as they flow. They were aptly named as they do sound like parakeets as they bolted about the inlet. Sad to say none ventured close enough for a good photo op.

Kenai Fjord Cliffs

The step cliffs provided ideal nesting sites for sea birds clinging to the sheer walls and for Stellar Sea-Lion nurseries at the base.

33) Black-legged Kittiwake

9] Stellar Sea Lions

Stellar Sea Lions

10] Mountain Goat

A small group of Mountain Goats were quietly grazing on the precipitous slopes of a grassy mountainside. Even the kids seemed quite at home on the wet slippery terrain.

Nanny and Kid

It was a great trip but by the end we were exhausted. It was a combination of the roller-coaster boat ride through open water combined with the driving rain and the kaleidoscope of new and amazing experiences.

Bone weary we went to pick up Sonaa. She seemed very happy after a day of playing with the grandkids. We drove back to our beach campsite and collapsed for the rest of the day.

31) Common Murre;  32) Rhinoceros Auklet;  34) Double-crested Cormorant;  35) Pelagic Cormorant
39) Harlequin Duck

11] Humpback Whale

June 29

We woke up to a steady drizzle when we looked out on mist shrouded Prince William Sound. With lots of pictures to process, we did not leave our Seward campsite till noon.

Without further adieu I popped two Advil, fired up the RV and headed back up Highway 9 toward Anchorage.

Highway 1 - Seward to Anchorage

On this misty rainy day, we only made a few photo stops. This was in keeping with our usual compromise. There were far too few photo stops for me and far too many for Emma.

Highway 1 - Seward to Anchorage

When we arrived back at Potters Marsh we stopped briefly to enjoy a short birding walk.
40) Alder Flycatcher

Bald Eagle

Roosting American Wigeons

Valdez to Seward June 22 - 26

June 22
We drove south along Highway 4 toward Valdez. The road was amazingly beautiful with high, snow-covered mountains crowding in on both sides of the highway.

 Highway 4 to Valdez

We found a pull-out and walked down the highway to a good overlook where we could take a panoramic picture. A nearby trucker hopped out of his cab and hustled over to us. He told us that minutes before three grizzly bears had crossed the road where we were standing. We had neglected to carry our bear spray for this quick roadside photo op but would not make that mistake again.

 Mountain alongside Highway 4

At the Worthington Glacier, we stopped and took the short hike to the base of the snow pack.
18) Common Redpoll  19) Wilson's Warbler 20 Black-billed Magpie

The magpie was poking about on top of our RV. Often ravens and magpies learn to pry open the plastic caps on top of RVs so it's best to shoo them away.

Worthington Glacier 

Shortly before Valdez we stopped at Bridal Veil Falls and had lunch beside this misty waterfall.

 Bridal Veil Falls

Valdez Harbour 

On arriving in Valdez, we drove to the docks and looked out over Prince William Sound. Across the sound, you could see the south terminus of the oil pipeline from Prudo Bay.

21) Glacous-winged Gull 

 22) Fox Sparrow

June 23
We started with an early morning hike along Nineral Creek Trail. Grizzly bear sightings were frequent here and I shared this news enthusiastically with Emma. That was a mistake.
My vision of photographing grizzlies was quickly dashed as Emma insisted on a less dangerous hike, preferably in the centre of Valdez.

We settled on a short walk up a hillside in the centre of town. No grizzly photos for me today, however,  the beauty of the verdant mountain slopes crowned by an icing of snow soon lifted my spirits.

 Horsetail Falls

By late morning, we were driving out of Valdez on route to Anchorage. Our first stop was at Horseshoe Falls. It took a little imagination but I thought the name appropriately described this waterfall.

It was a cloudy overcast day that got quite foggy at the top of Thompson Pass. Visibility at the summit was down to 10 metres so we were happy to descend the highway and return to the Visitor Centre at Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.  Lunch and an afternoon nap refreshed us and we headed west along Glenn Highway.

 Glenn Highway to Anchorage

The extensive mountain range south of the highway was an ongoing panorama of beauty.

 Sheep Mountain

Nearby Sheep Mountain stood out prominently as the light reflected the gold and copper hues of the minerals. This mountain was beautiful but, sad to say, no sheep were observed on this occasion.

 Matanuska River

At dusk, we stopped for the night at the Malamuska Glacier Campground. We spent a quiet night in our secluded 10-site campground  and went to sleep to the patter of rain drops gently falling on our roof. This was welcome news as it meant no mosquitoes were flying about.

 Matanuska Glacier

June 24
We started the day with a hearty aerobic hike that took us beside the Malamuska River and up to a nice overlook of the Matanuska Glacier.

There were several overlooks of the river valley as we wound our way down the Glenn Highway to Anchorage. At noon, we stopped at Alpine Historic Park. This site was the location where the US Navy built a coal plant to fuel its fleet. However, before the coal plant was operational the navy switched from burning coal to using oil in their boilers. The coal plant was never completed but the historic buildings remain.

 Moose near Anchorage

As we entered the outskirts of Anchorage we briefly saw two moose grazing in an open meadow.
When we stopped the RV for photos they beat a hasty retreat.

 Exit stage left

Downtown Anchorage was an interesting place to walk around. The buildings were only a few storeys high and build like cement bunkers. This architectural style was likely dictated by the frequent and strong earthquakes experienced here.

 Anchorage Historic City Hall

The 24 hour summer sunlight made for excellent growing conditions. Flower gardens and hanging baskets were plentiful and beautiful.

 Visitor Centre in Anchorage

Flower gardens and hanging baskets were everywhere in Anchorage 

By 6:00 p.m., we were in our Golden Nugget RV Park located in East Anchorage.

June 25

In the late morning, we drove across Anchorage to Earthquake Park. A few small sculptures and displays highlighted the past earthquake activity around Anchorage.

 Potter Marsh near Anchorage

At 7:00 p.m., we went to Potter's Marsh and jointed an evening birding tour. One would not expect a birding tour to start so late in the day. However, this was Alaska in June so no problem with the light.

 22) Arctic Tern

 23) Lesser Canada Goose

 28) Greater Yellowlegs

 Common RedPoll

By 10:00 p.m., we were back in our Anchorage campground.

June 26
The destination today was the city of Seward on the southern coast of Alaska. The highway south followed the coast along Turnagain Arm. The tide was out and you could see sandbars stretching far into the inlet.

 Turnagain Arm

Rounding the edge of the sound we headed inland to Turnagain Pass. The summit was clothed in shades of green as the flora of the valley flowed up the sides of the surrounding mountains.

 Turnagain Pass

Late in the afternoon, we arrived at Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park. We took the short hiking trail to the edge of the glacier.

Exit Glacier

The weeks of wonderful hikes were catching up with us and I had to shuffle down the trail. Somewhere along the way I had injured my right foot and was hard pressed to keep up with Emma. 
It was good to know that our next adventure would be a quiet boat cruise along the Kenai Fjords.