Kenai & Seward

Thursday night we drove to Soldotna where we stayed at the Longmere Lake Lodge. The rooms were very comfortable and the french toast breakfast was excellent. In the morning we woke up and drove north through Kenai to Captain Cook State Recreation Area (new entry #110). It is just about 30 minutes north of town and is one of the least visited accessible parks in Alaska. From there we walked out onto the beach for some great views of Mt Spurr

and Mt Redoubt (the volcano that delayed our move and two of the first mountains on the Aleutian Range).

After a nice rest and some pictures we drove East to the Russian River to try our hand at fishing for salmon. While we were there a black bear roamed the shores looking for fish carcasses left behind.


However, the reds weren't running so after everyone getting a turn we packed up and continued heading to our final destination on the trip: Seward.

That night, after we checked in to our own apartment at the Harborview Inn, we made fresh halibut for dinner. The next morning we were all supposed to take a Northwestern Fjord Cruise into Kenai Fjords National Park. However, the weather did not look promising so Rebekah and I decided to stay behind. The weather cleared up nicely and on the trip they saw orcas,

puffins,


humpback whales,

sea lions,

harbor seals,

waterfalls,


glaciers (they are wearing Glacial Camouflage - sold at any good Alaskan outfitters),


and many other types of wildlife and scenery. While they were on the cruise Rebekah and I explored south of Seward and found a couple of sea otters playing in the surf.

That night when we were all back together we drove over to Exit Glacier for an after dinner hike.

With only one day left in our trip (and 8 hectic days down) we were very tired and got some much needed sleep so we could enjoy our last day!


Steven