I haven't felt well today so it is a little shorter than usual.
7/9/10
7/8/10
A Whale of a Day!
We woke early this morning to head down to the harbor. We had an 8am departure on the Kenai Fjords Tour. Last night we were unsure if we were even going to go since they were issuing weather warnings. That’s that the seas are high and that the boat might not be able to make it around the cape to see everything. If it turns back early then we get a partial refund. We had the option to get a full refund if we decided not to go. Since it had stopped raining and it looked clearer out in the bay, we decided to go. The water was rough and the weather never cleared so we didn’t get to go all the way out to the glaciers, but we did see quite a bit of sealife. One of the first sightings was a California Humpback Whale. It was amazing! It even got pretty close to the boat at one point and Dori got a good view of it. Not long after that we saw 2 humpbacks swimming together. They seemed to be showing off for the boat and we got some incredible shots. We also saw seals, sea lions, otters, puffins, bald eagles and lots of interesting birds. There were some Dall Porpoises at one point, but we didn’t see them. One of the crew members said that sometimes there are not any whale sightings, so we felt pretty lucky. Maybe he was just saying that…IDK. We were thrilled with what we saw and were fine with the cruise getting done early. I took a (less-drowsy formula) Dramamine before starting out and I never felt sick. I always get motion sick and the boat was really rolling at times. I think being outside in the (brisk) wind was very helpful. Just before lunch time all the guys were filling ill, but they took a Dramamine and had lunch. They felt so much better after that.
After the tour we went up to see the Exit Glacier at Kenai Fjords National Park. Once again Dori earned a junior ranger badge. She should have had 3 by now, but we never went back to the ranger station in Talkeetna. We bought her a National Parks Passport book and she is enjoying getting her stamps from each park. We had about a 2 mile hike round trip (with some pretty steep parts) to the edge of the glacier. There are year markings along the way which show where the glacier used to be. It’s receded a lot!
We had planned on going to the Alaska Sealife Center after we got back from the glacier, but we were so tired (from getting up early, Dramamine, and hiking) when we got back that we napped. We were SOOO cold and tired! It was around 50 degrees out, but we were COLD all day. Even with our winter jackets on. After dinner we walked around town for a few hours before crashing for the evening.
After the tour we went up to see the Exit Glacier at Kenai Fjords National Park. Once again Dori earned a junior ranger badge. She should have had 3 by now, but we never went back to the ranger station in Talkeetna. We bought her a National Parks Passport book and she is enjoying getting her stamps from each park. We had about a 2 mile hike round trip (with some pretty steep parts) to the edge of the glacier. There are year markings along the way which show where the glacier used to be. It’s receded a lot!
We had planned on going to the Alaska Sealife Center after we got back from the glacier, but we were so tired (from getting up early, Dramamine, and hiking) when we got back that we napped. We were SOOO cold and tired! It was around 50 degrees out, but we were COLD all day. Even with our winter jackets on. After dinner we walked around town for a few hours before crashing for the evening.
7/7/10
From Magnificent to Miserable
OK...maybe it's not that bad...but it's pouring rain in Seward. The day started out with magnificent views of the mountain. We drove about 230 miles south (through Wasilla and Anchorage) to Seward. It started really clouding up and misting around Anchorage. It was SUPER windy driving down the Seward Hwy. A few times the rig got blown over the center line. Eric was a super driver and we arrived safely.
We are supposed to get up early for the Kenai Fjords boat tour tomorrow. If the weather is crappy then we are going to cancel and try again later in the day or on Friday. We joined up with our friends that we met in Talkeetna.
7/6/10
The MOST glorious day yet!!
After we slept in (again!) I ran up to Talkeetna Roadhouse and grabbed some cinnamon rolls for breakfast. I got a raspberry roll instead and it was divine! Around 11 we went to the Talkeetna Historical Society Museum and the Denali Ranger Station. At the 1pm presentation we ran into the friends we met at the playground last night. Their sons are 8 & 12 and the kids really enjoyed playing with them. We went back to the playground with them this afternoon before they boarded the train south to Anchorage. We found out that they are renting an RV and then heading down to Kenai for a week. The kids got along so well that we decided to tag along with them. So tomorrow we are headed to Seward (about 230 miles) and will be staying at the same RV park they are at and then going on the wildlife/glacier tour with them on the next day. The plan is to just kind of wing it and figure out where we are going to go in Kenai together. Fun!
As we were heading out to dinner tonight we noticed that quite a bit of sky was showing and the sun was actually out. We drove up the road about a mile to a high spot and saw the mountains. We were quite excited! Eric looked at Mt. Forracker and thought it was Denali (McKinley) but Denali was actually way higher up in some clouds. Those clouds started to clear and we were so excited! The kids were getting really hungry so we headed to dinner and decided to go down to the river to see the mountain after dinner.
We had a great dinner at West Rib & Pub. We sat outside and the sun was sooo warm! It felt good after it being cool and rainy for so many days! Eric & I had caribou burgers (which were pretty good) and Jake had a McKinley burger that was fabulous. For dessert they all picked up some ice cream and I had a big piece of carrot cake from the roadhouse. I am STILL full!
After that we went down to the beach, which is actually riverside at the edge of the town and we got GREAT views of Denali. It is very impressive. We stayed down there for 90 mins or so and the kiddos played in the water and sand. We met several tourists and a few locals when we were down there. It was a lovely evening. We are so glad we waited out all these days of rain and saw the mountain!
As we were heading out to dinner tonight we noticed that quite a bit of sky was showing and the sun was actually out. We drove up the road about a mile to a high spot and saw the mountains. We were quite excited! Eric looked at Mt. Forracker and thought it was Denali (McKinley) but Denali was actually way higher up in some clouds. Those clouds started to clear and we were so excited! The kids were getting really hungry so we headed to dinner and decided to go down to the river to see the mountain after dinner.We had a great dinner at West Rib & Pub. We sat outside and the sun was sooo warm! It felt good after it being cool and rainy for so many days! Eric & I had caribou burgers (which were pretty good) and Jake had a McKinley burger that was fabulous. For dessert they all picked up some ice cream and I had a big piece of carrot cake from the roadhouse. I am STILL full!
After that we went down to the beach, which is actually riverside at the edge of the town and we got GREAT views of Denali. It is very impressive. We stayed down there for 90 mins or so and the kiddos played in the water and sand. We met several tourists and a few locals when we were down there. It was a lovely evening. We are so glad we waited out all these days of rain and saw the mountain!
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