Saturday, August 20, 2011

Seward and Beyond

Seward/Anchorage/Willow/Talkeetna, AK – Sunday, August 14 thru Saturday, August 20, 2011

We ended up only 43 miles from Seward, AK on the 13th, so we got into town around 12:30 (early for us). We found the Iditarod City  RV Park with only 10 sites right on Resurrection Bay. No hookups, but only $15/night, right next to the Alaska SeaLife Center and walking distance to downtown.  Weather was overcast with rain. We only have one night here because we have to be in Anchorage on Monday night for our Tuesday (7:30am) appointment for BG generator oil change, so off we went to explore.

P1050698P1050699

P1050702P1050703P1050704

Seward is known as a city of murals, so we went to search for some.

P1050706PICT0001

PICT0004PICT0005

We took this picture on our walk, it is not a mural, but a glacier in the mountains seen over the tops of the buildings.

P1050707

Back to camp to dry out and relax. Great views and remnants of pilings. Seward sank about four feet due the 1964 earthquake. We also had a few otters swim by. And saw the cruise ship leave.

P1050708P1050716P1050717

Some people don’t have sense enough to come in out of the rain, but when you have a great fire going on the beach, umbrellas work fine.

P1050712

We decided to do the SeaLife Center on Monday thinking it would be less crowded. Turns out, not really. We are amazed at how busy things still are this late in the season. This was a really neat place. EJ wanted to see Puffins on this trip and she got her fill, up close and personal at the Seabird habitat. There were several types, rhino, tufted and horned. They are real show offs at times.

P1050734PICT0006

P1050733PICT0003

P1050752

Here are some other exhibits we enjoyed.

P1050730PICT0001

PICT0011PICT0012

P1050772

P1050749P1050766

We went out on the observation deck and looked out in the bay. We saw this otter just floating alone. We watched for awhile and thought something was wrong, but luckily he was just sleeping. When he got close enough to the shore, his head popped up and he looked like “where am I'” or “how did I get here?”

P1050756P1050758

P1050760P1050761

After a great time at the SeaLife Center we headed out to Exit Glacier in the Kenai Fjords National Park. Great hike right up next to the ice.

P1050776P1050777

P1050780P1050784

Didn’t get on the road to Anchorage until after 6pm. One advantage to going so late is the scenery has a different look.

P1050786P1050788P1050789P1050791

Made it to Anchorage around 9:45 at the Cummins service center. Parked and called it a day.  Tuesday we spent getting maintenance done. Big Guy generator oil change, dash AC checked (working now, but not sure why), and Elemente 'oil change. We got through around 4pm and headed north hoping to miss the heavy traffic.

We went through Wasilla, but Sarah wasn’t there. We ended up in Willow, AK at the Willow Trading Post to camp. Not many sites and no one else was there, but it worked for us. They have a laundromat, and we are in need, so that’s what tomorrow will bring. We had two Sandhill cranes land near our site and found some interesting mushrooms at the edge of the woods.

P1050795P1050796

P1050804P1050806

Ended up spending two nights in Willow then off to Talkeetna, AK, an important Denali activities center and otherwise tourist town. We stopped at the visitors center at the Parks Hwy and Talkeetna Spur Rd to get some info. There are a few RV resorts down the road, but in town would be a little tight for BG. They told us we could camp there and take the car in (14 miles). Nice spot, the price was right (free), works for us. Of course it is still raining some, but off we went.

It is a very small town, about 5 streets long and 3 streets wide, but it has a lot going on. The Alaska Railroad comes through, it is on the confluence of 3 wild, glacially fed rivers (great fishing), and it has an interesting past with mining, trapping, trading, and mountaineering. Many of the original buildings are still in use today.

P1050808P1050809

P1050812P1050821

P1050815PICT0002

We had lunch one day at the Wildflower Café. Interesting building and Frank really enjoyed the variety of beers on tap they offered. The wall behind the bar is actually the side of a storage container that the taps are mounted on and the kegs are inside.

PICT0003P1050810

P1050811

The town is really quaint and they are proud of their heritage. They moved and reused many of the old structures and one business is even run out of an Airstream trailer.

P1050814P1050817

PICT0005PICT0006

P1050820P1050813

Things close up early, so we ended up staying another night just to enjoy more of the town. We missed the Denali Brewing Company yesterday and had to try their sampler.

P1050819

Time to head out, Denali is calling. The drive up the Parks Hwy is really beautiful. We stopped at a rest area that had a wonderful Alaska Veterans Memorial.

P1050822P1050827

P1050824P1050825

We stopped about 50 miles south of Denali at a wayside camp area. The sun came out and we walked around and checked out the fireweed. This plant grows everywhere and is used as a weather predictor. Supposedly when the flowers are all gone and the stems turn brown, winter is here. From the looks of the ones we saw, we better get moving.

P1050831PICT0002

image

BG Miles Today

361

BG Total Miles

6953

Eat Out total $

833.05

BG Total Fuel $

3827.34

Entertainment total $

487.88

Total Camping $

1020.91

E Miles Today

121.9

E Total Miles

2189.6

E Total Fuel $

461.07

Day # of Trip 75 - 81

No comments:

Post a Comment