Category: Alaska

 

We really wanted to see puffins — and we did see some on our dinner cruise out of Resurrection Bay,  but not close enough to get decent pictures.   A couple of days after the cruise, we went to the Alaska Sea Life Center   (on the same Bay — in Seward) and I took all of these pictures there.  

 

 

The horned puffin above is the kind we saw from the boat … and the kind we were hoping to see.  Didn't even know there was such a thing as a Tufted Puffin  (like the one below) until we visited the Center.

 

 

(Looks like a real bad hair day.) 

 

 

I still hope to be able someday to spot and photograph puffins in the wild, but the Sealife Center is the next best place.  And  we have at least seen the horned puffin in its natural state so I can add it to my list.

 (When I first became interested in birds, it was pre-digital camera, so back then whenever I saw a new bird it was a great day.  Nowadays, I don't quite feel like it counts unless I get a picture.)  

 

LINKING TO:  WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY brought to us by Stewart, who hosted his 100th edition of WBW while we were traveling.  Belated congratulations and, as always, thanks for hosting Stewart.   

 

 

 

      

 

We hiked to the edge of Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park.  It was a pretty good little jaunt for a couple of great-grandparents …  Had we been here only a few years earlier, it would have been easier.    The chart below, seen along the trail, shows the glacier's retreat.

 

 

Although it has been receding since the end of the little ice age, it has lost mass at a much faster pace in the last few years as shown.  

 

 

 

 

 

Small signs as you walk along the trail from the parking area show where the edge of the glacier would have been in earlier years.  The distance between them was an excellent visual of  how clmate change  has affected the glacier.

 

 

 

 

Linking this post to NATURE NOTES (Thank you to Michelle) and to OUR WORLD (Thank you to Lady Fi and the other wonderful bloggers of the OWT team).

 

 Everything about Northern Sea Otters is so darn cute.    I could watch them all day (and almost did). The bay was full of Otters.

 

Looks like he might be saying grace before dinner (or praying for a good catch).

 

And  it worked.  A few minutes later —  after a quick backflip underwater  – he was up again and enjoying a yummy shellfish dinner! 

 

Time for an after-dinner nap!

 

Northern Sea Otters are a member of the weasel family.  They are the only marine mammal that does not have blubber to keep warm.  Instead they rely on their very dense fur [1200 hairs per square inch] which keeps their skin dry.  That rich fur contributed to their near-demise after hunters nearly wiped them out  by the early 20th century.   They are now protected and the species has rebounded.  But they are still considered an endangered animal because of habitat loss.

The next day we visited the sealife rehabilitaion center and learned more about them.  Sea otter diet consists of shellfish.  Due to their high metabolism and the cold they eat about thirty percent of their weight daily.  At the center, we were told that they eat more than a Sea Lion, and are much more expensive to feed [shell fish vs herring type fish] They are one of the few mammals to use tools — they sometimes place a rock on their chest and pound the shellfish against it to crack it.    

 

LINKED TO SATURDAY CRITTERS.  Thank you to Eileen for hosting.

 

 

 

 

 

We went on a dinner cruise to see Kenai Fjords National Park from Resurrection Bay.   (You know you're boat people when you are ready for another cruise after only getting off the ferry three days earlier. )  

 

 

We saw this colony of stellar sea lions, whales, dolphins, and birds.  All of which (except these lazy guys) moved too fast for me to get pictures from a moving boat.  

 

But the salmon/prime-rib buffet dinner (prepared on board) was delicious and the scenery amazing.    

 

 

This is one of the isolated places in the bay where men were stationed during WWII to man radar or anti-submarine equipment.  Gives new meaning to living 'out in the middle-of-nowhere'.

 

Several companies offer similar cruises.  The one we chose,  Major Marine,  has a National Park Ranger on board to provide narration and answer questions.

 

LINKED (I hope) TO: SCENIC WEEKENDS  and  OUR WORLD TUESDAY.  Thank you to the hosts.

 

 

As usual when we are on a roadtrip, I am about a week behind on posts.  We are currently exploring the Kenai Peninsula in our camper-van, but this is about last week's journey to get from the "lower 48" to Alaska.  We traveled on  the Kennicott, part of the State's Ferry System.  

 

 

  We loved this way to travel.  The spectacular views along the Inside Passage (from Bellingham Washington to Whittier Alaska) were the best part of the journey.  We had short  amounts of time to spend off the boat at each port of call (just while the crew unloaded and loaded cars and passengers).

 

We also quite enjoyed just being on the ship.  This kind of travel is  casual and laid back … perfect for us.   Lots of sunny lounges with lovely windows for the view  (or to read …  some people played cards or did puzzles).     There's a walk deck all around the ship as well, with a couple of quieter reading lounges on the upper decks too.    

 

 

 

The food on board was good, with way more fresh fruit and vegetables than we expected.  Lots of fish, salad bar, soups.  The cost of meals is not included in the fare (it's a ferry boat, not a cruise ship) and this actually suited us fine because we could choose what we wanted without the niggling feeling of not getting one's money's worth because everybody else is eating more.   A small bar/cocktail lounge was next to the dining room — no liquor was allowed anywhere else on the ship, including in the dining area.  

 

 

 Sleeping arrangements on the ferry were adequate, not luxurious.  You are not allowed to sleep in or use your RV or vehicle, but there are two or three time each day when you can go below for fifteen minutes if you need to get something out of it.   We had a stateroom with our own (small) bathroom.  I appreciated having our own   temperature control.   Some people just camp out on the upper deck, in tents or they sleep on lounge chairs or the floor (as if they were on a Greyhound bus or a train).     

 

 

We had less than an hour in the remote fishing village of Yakutat, but were able to climb up a small hill to buy a latte from a shop that pretty much relies on twice weekly ferry visits for income.  We also found a (rare) sandy beach.   We wished we'd had more time here.  

Shortly after we left port, our  Captain took a bit of a detour in order to move close to a glacier and ice field near Mt St Elias.   A scenic highlight in a trip filled with wonderful scenery!

Linking to OUR WORLD  and MOSAIC MONDAY with thanks to the hosting team.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

North to Alaska! 

 

(Alaska State Ferry System photo)

 

On Saturday afternoon we boarded the Alaska Ferry in Bellingham Washington.  (We've  been planning this adventure since last winter —  unusual for us  to make RV reservations that far ahead of time — but these ferries fill up fast!)

We'll be on the boat for five days; then camping and exploring throughout Alaska for as long as we can.    (As long as we can stand camping in the Roadtrek and/or as long as we don't get too cold.  Whichever comes first.)

 

 

 I would say we plan to stay until we've seen everything, but I know there is no chance of that.  We have spent months in  states much smaller than this one and still wish we could visit again because we missed so much.  But we will do our best.

We are SO excited to have  this chance to visit this new (to us) State.   And can't wait to experience for ourselves the wonderful animals and scenery that we've read and heard so much about.   And can't wait to share our pictures.

 

BUT there is no WiFI on board the ferry.  So I will  not be able to link or post (or visit any blogs)  until we disembark and reach our first campspot.  

 

   

 REVISED MONDAY morning.  I may be able to link this post to OUR WORLD TUESDAY.  We are in Ketchikan for a couple of hours  and have cell service and can use our personal hotspot. I will try to link  up as Alaska  is four hours earlier than Eastern time, so this week's OW might be up before we hit open water and lose our phone connection.  We've already seen some beautiful scenery and the boat has everything we need!

At any rate, we have now set foot  on Alaska soil — walked an hour after we docked — but  had to be back on the boat an hour before we're scheduled to take off again.