Our big adventure for today was the 6-hour Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise with Major Marine Tours. Since the tour didn't depart until 11:30AM, we headed out after breakfast for a look around Seward.
At the southern end of town is the beginning of the Iditarod National Historic Trail. Established by Congress in 1978, the trail celebrates the route that first connected Native Alaskan villages and later served mining camps, trading posts, and other settlements founded during the Alaskan Gold Rush Era (1880-1920). Sled dog teams were the only reliable means to transport goods and people along the route in winter. Most notably, when a diphtheria outbreak threatened the residents of Nome in 1925, the only way to get them enough serum for inoculations was by train from Anchorage to Nenana, and then mushers and their sled dog teams (have you heard the story of Balto?) relayed the precious cargo the final 674 miles in less than 5.5 days.
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| 938 miles from Seward to Nome |
On the way back to the hotel, we stopped by the visitor center for Kenai Fjords National Park, but they were already closed for the season. But there was a note on the door saying that the passport stamp was available at the Seward Chamber of Commerce, so I should be able to get it tomorrow before we leave. Phew!
The hotel where we're staying is also owned by the tour company, so we just waited downstairs until it was time to board. We were assigned a table in the interior cabin on the 2nd level, so it was nice to have a designated spot to park our stuff.
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| Skana |
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| We followed the teal-colored route |
After leaving the Seward Boat Harbor, we all went outside to the deck to take in the views of Resurrection Bay.
We caught a glimpse of Bear Glacier, a tidewater glacier, as we passed by around 12:30PM.
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| Bear Glacier is the longest glacier in Kenai Fjords NP |
A few minutes later, the captain stopped the boat to point out some harbor seals relaxing along the shore. We also spotted a pair of bald eagles on top of a rocky point nearby.
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| The one on the left looks like it's working on its core |
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| Zoom in to see the observation post on the left, a remnant of World War II-era coastal defenses |
After traveling on the relatively calm waters of Resurrection Bay, we encountered much larger waves on the open ocean in the Gulf of Alaska for the next half hour or so. Thankfully, my scopolamine patch was doing the trick, so I only felt slightly off-kilter, unlike the handful of passengers who were clearly suffering. One lady was so ill that she was lying down on the deck, curled up in a ball - poor thing!
We passed by the Chiswell Islands and entered Aialik Bay, eventually approaching the Holgate Glacier around 1:45PM. The timing was perfect because the glacier calved right in front of us!
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| 📷: J |
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| 📷: J |
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| Wow! |
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| Ice from the glacier |
While there in the Holgate Arm, we followed a small pod of orcas for about 20 minutes. We also saw a couple of bears which came to the shoreline during this time.
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| Mama and three cubs |
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| Five dorsal fins! |
Altogether we spent about an hour in this area. As we continued on our way in Aialik Bay, we saw the most adorable sea otter!
Fifteen minutes later, we stopped for the next photo op in Three Hole Bay...
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| Three Hole Point |
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| Artsy pic by M |
Around 3:30PM, we had our next wildlife sighting - sea lions!
We arrived at Spire Cove a little after 4:00PM, where we saw puffins and kittiwakes before we got a better view of the namesake formations. (To be accurate, the cormorants were perched on a rock near the sea lions, but I needed another panel for the collage - ha!)
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| Puffins, cormorants, and a kittiwake |
Around 4:30PM, we passed by Bear Glacier again and spotted another orca between Rugged Island and Hive Island a few minutes later.
As we got closer to Seward, we were greeted with this view...
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| What a great way to end our day! |
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