Exiting Alaska

Our cruise yesterday didn't actually take us within the boundaries of Kenai Fjords National Park, but our first stop today would remedy that. After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and headed over to the Seward Chamber of Commerce to get the passport stamp for the park. The Exit Glacier Area is about 10 miles outside of town and is the only part of Kenai Fjords NP that is accessible by car.

☑ Unit #211 for me, #205 for R, and #156 for M/J

On the drive in to the Nature Center, we saw year markers along the road indicating the position of the Exit Glacier terminus since the end of the Little Ice Age in 1815. Amazing (and kind of sad) to picture the changes that have taken place as it retreated over the past 200+ years. Just a small blip on a glacial timescale... 

The Nature Center closed for the season last week after Labor Day, but the trails were still open. So we started the hike out to Glacier Overlook about 9:45AM. 

Outwash Plain

Exit Glacier

20 years ago the glacier extended to this point

The wayside next to the 2005 marker is visible in the distance

On our way back to the parking lot, we hiked down to the Outwash Plain. Because it had been raining for a bit, the creek was starting to rise, so we didn't venture out very far.

I had looked into a couple options for things to do on our return drive from Seward to Anchorage. We stopped at the Chugach National Forest Ranger Station to pick up another passport stamp for the Iditarod National Historic Trail, but decided to skip getting the stamp from the Begich Boggs Visitor Center in Portage Valley. Since it was rainy and overcast, we figured there wouldn't be any scenic views from the aerial tram at Alyeska Resort. So we settled on visiting the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center located at Mile 79 of the Seward Highway.

The center serves as a wildlife sanctuary for orphaned and injured animals which are kept in enclosures on the 200-acre grounds. But having already seen so many in the wild during our trip, this stop was a little anticlimactic. Here are pics of a few that we hadn't encountered yet...

Wood bison

Muskox

After finishing up our visit, we grabbed a quick lunch in Girdwood and then continued the drive back to Anchorage. For our last meal in Alaska, we went to Ray's Place, which was featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. We were happy that R's cousin K could meet up us with again, especially since the restaurant is run by her in-laws. Excellent Vietnamese dishes, especially the pho!

fresh spring rolls, egg rolls, pho (beef & chicken), Vietnamese beef salad,
combination fried rice, beer duck 

Tomorrow we head home. What a great adventure we've had here in the 49th State! Look forward to coming back again!