Our next official destination was Seward which lies on the southern tip of the Kenai Peninsula. Jim’s wonderful sister, Leeann, lived there for a couple years back in the 90’s and we needed to go visit her old stopping grounds. We had a list of things to do and see down this way both from Leeann and from Elise, our new friend from Kantishna, who had spent some years working and playing there as well. And besides, if we were going to take a glacier & wildlife sight-seeing cruise while we are in Alaska, it is Seward from where we would take it.
Our drive to the Kenai takes us right through Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city. We have not seen many traffic lights since Denver so we are not exactly looking forward to heading into the city… but that is where the road goes and so, then, must we. Alaska, by the way, has only about 600,000 residents but close to 70% of them live in Anchorage. The one thing we keep focusing on here is the possibility of cheaper fuel in the city, other than that, it’s right on through. Anchorage also sits at the north end of the Cook Inlet right where it splits into the Knik Arm and the Turnagain Arm. This is a very special place as far as tides are concerned.
The tidal changes in the Turnagain Arm can be extreme and quick insomuch as when there is a large tidal differential (between low and high tides) the incoming wave of the high tide can get to 6’ tall! People actually go out and surf this wave! We got to see a fairly good tidal change and watched the water heading out of the Arm in such a rate that it looked like a river with all the rapids and currents. It was so impressive to watch that Jim told Susan he could just pull up a chair and watch the tide changes for a day. It was getting towards evening and so we looked for a camping spot along the road where we could see the water.
We found a nice spot up on a little landing above the road and parked so we had a clear view of the Arm. Beluga Whales are also a common sight in these waters so we kept a sharp lookout for them as well. All set for the night, we watched the sun set over the mountains as we ate another wonderful meal. Susan recently thought that she should have been keeping track of our dinners as we have had so many good ones. In fact, Tim, who we met at Kantishna, suggested Susan should write a cookbook with all the meals she has made in Thumper.
Our first stop the next morning is a ski-resort town up the road a bit called Girdwood which sits in a Boreal Rainforest and therefore has a much more diverse array of plant life. Elise had told us about a nice little trail there and we figured taking a couple hour hike through the woods would be a perfect way to start our day.
The Winner Trail at first meandered through the forest of tall trees, BIG ferns and mushrooms in more colors than we’d ever seen (including purple!) then through a pretty impressive avalanche shoot. After a mile or so we drop down into a canyon and the trail ran along a medium size creek that grew as we went along. More beautiful mushrooms, glimpses of increasingly fast moving water, then a roar as the creek channels through a steep and narrow gorge tumbling into pools of deep blue, then dropping again, pooling and dropping.
We make a turn at the far end of the Turnagain Arm and head down to visit a small town called Hope which sits across the water from the road we just drove in on from Anchorage. Leeann & Kamaria gave this place high ratings so we figured we should check it out. There was a nice campground at the end of the road there and we find a site tucked back in the woods. A little side note on the road thing… a LOT of roads here go in and stop. There is usually a town at the end, sometimes a campground or maybe an old mine but if you’re lucky… a hot-spring. We figured we would camp here tonight and head to Seward in the morning but after a little discussion on the topic, we decided to continue on towards Seward. You see... It was Saturday afternoon we were getting spoiled. I mean, we have been traveling with very few people on the roads or in the campgrounds. Now, here, on a nice weekend not far from the city, the sites along the water were all taken and, despite the fact that our site was really nice, we couldn’t see the tide changing from our front porch. This is simply not acceptable. Our thinking was that we can head south and explore the outer reaches of the Kenai and then return here mid-week and get a little water-front space for a night or so. We do a lot of thinking and a sometimes it actually pays off. Back on the road and towards Seward we go figuring at the rate we drive, we could get to town with a little daylight to spare.
We were anxious to get to Seward and start uncovering the lost years of my Big-Little Sister. We note The Pit Bar along the main road towards town. This is where Leeann worked while she was in Seward so it was definitely going to be a stop for us… but not right now... we need a camping spot. We go into town still letting *Aunt Alvina’s travel journal guide us and found the City Campground right by at the waters’ edge. After a little civil cnversation about where to set up shop, we find the perfect spot right where we expected it to be. Aunt Alvina spent $1.50 per night here back in 1972… we are spending $15.00. With Thumper backed into place and the heater fired up, we settle in for a windy night. The clouds are low and it’s trying to rain and our little oasis rocks back and forth in the gusts. Somehow, our neighbor has a fire going. We settle in and cuddle up for our first night in Seward.
* In 1972, Jim’s Aunt Alvina, along with his grandparents, Bill & Velma Tribely and his oldest brother, Lou, drove from Pennsylvania to Alaska and back. Aunt Alvina kept a travel journal along the way and we have a copy of it with us. We read about their experiences and where they stayed and we have been trying to revisit as many of those places as we can on our trip. It has been a fun comparison between then and now.
Just when your trip could not possibly look any more magical, PURPLE mushrooms? Nice!
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