Wednesday, June 29, 2022

Seward-Soldotna-Homer

Saturday, June 25, 2022 - I've been too busy to post, so just a warning that this has LOTS of pictures.  Sorry, but just scan through what you're not interested in!  Today we went to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center for a few hours.  We had been 10 years ago when we visited Alaska and it has grown quite a bit since then.   It was great to get to see some of the wildlife we've been seeing in the distance, up close.  After lunch we drove to the Byron Glacier Trailhead and did a 2 mile round trip hike to the glacier, where we got to walk in the snow at the bottom of the glacier.


moose and a mountain






A barn full of caribou









The Smiths had a grizzly encounter




A herd of elk




the lupines are everywhere




Hike to Byron Glacier




Byron Glacier in the distance




















campfire at the Smith's site after dinner




Sunday, June 26, 2022 - Today Janet, Bob, Kevin and I left early for Seward, to take the Major Marine Kenai Fjords National Park Tour.  The day started out a little foggy but it turned into a beautiful sunny day, (but a bit chilly on the water).  We saw all sorts of wildlife (humpback whales, orcas, puffins, common murres, eagles) and lots of glaciers.  We left Resurrection bay for the Alaska Bay (which was quite rough and caused some sea sickness).  Then we went into the Aialik Bay to the very tip to get up close to the Aialik glacier.  It was amazing!


A walk around the Seward Wharf before the boat tour











a little foggy on the way out of Resurrection Bay








My pic of the puffins wasn't too good




we saw lots of humpbacks




the end of a tail flip











lunch for some...notice my sandwich is untouched








it was cold on deck




Aialik glacier





















the Aialik glacier calving























Eagle's nest on the tower








a walk from the campsite to downtown Seward










cheers at the brewery




mush!





Historic Mile 0 of the Iditarod







Monday June 27, 2022 - Today was a 2 hour drive from Seward to Soldotna.  We are staying at Gene & Gerry's friends' house (Brian & Gail).  We stopped outside of Seward at Exit Glacier (which is part of the Kenai Fjords National Park), for a quick hike.


Resurrection Bay Campground








Another foggy morning




A view of Exit Glacier  on the drive in










On the hike to Exit Glacier they show where the glacier was at different time periods...1961 was a good year








A view of it in the distance
















lunch break at Kenai Lake which runs into the Kenai river








we're on the lookout for moose




A great place to fish, just a short walk from Gail & Brian's




the hike to the Kenai River






our campsite at Gail & Brian's for the next 3 nights (and a game of cornhole)




Tuesday, June 28, 2022 - Today Janet, Bob, Kev and I drove to Homer for the day (an hour and a half from Soldotna).  It was a fun day of exploring, lunch out and lots of views.




a view on the drive to Homer








Moose on the Loose donuts for the road trip









it was hard to get a pic but the lupines along the road were amazing




Kachemak Bay



















It was a busy day in Homer







no explanation





flowers, flowers and more flowers






a bench for flowers










catch of the day








bear bench




a beautiful garden with a view




the Homer wharf








we drag the Smiths into our need to take pics whenever there is a cut-out




Kev & Janet had the best oysters they ever ate!


















processing halibut




the lupines!




a hike out at East End Rd, with a glacier view (on the drive out we saw the road to the Kilcher's homestead)











































































































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