Back to Anchorage - #52-16

August 2, 2005 (Tue)
City of Seward Campground, Seward, AK #00 dry $12.00 B-

Moose Pass, AK to Seward, AK (26 miles today 6997 total) Q019302

The sound of rain on the roof and the occasional mournful sound of the Seward to Anchorage train not far off made for a cozy and restful night. There were high clouds when we got up at 6:30 (53°) and it looked as if it might clear. We could see the mountains around us draped in garlands of fog. Beautiful. After a 3 mile walk around the campground we got off at about 9:30 for our long grueling 26 mile drive into Seward.

Ed and Kathy, who had stayed in Kenai last night, pulled into the campground 10 minutes after we got here. Our three units are parked side by side on the water front. We can look out at the small boats (and sea otters) out in Resurrection Bay, and the mountains, glaciers - and right now the clouds and rain!!

After lunch at a Chinese Buffet we all went to the Alaska Sea Life Center. It was a fascinating place. In addition to the usual and expected displays of former (dead) sea life there were habitat simulated enclosures and tanks of live sea animals and birds - sea lions, harbor seals, dozens of interesting fish, crabs, sea urchins, etc. It was well worth the cost of admission.

It has been a peaceful afternoon with rain on the roof (again) and the soft sounds of nature and piano music from the CD "Spirit of Alaska" we bought today.
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August 3, 2005 (Wed)
City of Seward Campground, Seward, AK (2)

The wind came up just after we went to bed last night so Mark had to get out of a warm bed and get dressed before going out to pull the awning in. He didn't put the rug away though (it was already soaked anyway) nor roll up the table cloth. We're going to need a nice sunny day sometime soon to dry everything out!

It rained off and on most of today too. Joy went with Pat to the post office and to check out a few of the stores while Mark and Bob puttered around their respective homes. Later they went to sit outside the Breeze Inn Motel where they had found a free Wifi signal. After lunch we all went out to Exit Glacier, about 9 miles outside of Seward. There is a half mile plus trail there that leads right up to the glacier itself. What an awesome experience it was to stand so near the huge field of ice and realize that the water that formed it had fallen to the earth as snow thousands (maybe hundreds of thousands) of years ago. It's hard to know if the rain added to or detracted from the experience. We do know that we were quite waterlogged by the time we got back to the car and the hot chocolate back at camp really tasted good.
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August 4, 2005 (Thu)
Williwaw Campground, Chugach National Forest #54 dry b-

Seward, AK to Girdwood, AK (147/7118 miles) Q019423

We're back in Williwaw Campground in the Chugach National Forest near Portage Glacier. It's not where we planned to stop but is better. We started out at 7:53 (54.7°) for the tiny village of Hope at the end of a road on the south shore of Turnagain Arm. None of us liked the looks of the one private campground in town and the spaces in the nearby NFS campground were either taken or too small for big rigs. We knew this was a nice place so we came back here.

The drive here was beautiful. The sky was overcast, as it has been the last several days, but wisps of fog lay across the mountains like huge cotton fluffs making the greens stand out in brilliant contrast. We got in and were set up by 11:30, time for lunch.

In Girdwood we found another bake shop/restaurant - a cheeseburger for Joy, fish and chips for Mark, and an ice cream cone each for desert. A good long walk would have been appropriate. Instead we spent the afternoon reading and napping.
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August 5, 2005 (Fri)
Williwaw Campground, Chugach National Forest (2)

We discovered a problem with the black water system this morning. Although we had dumped and flushed the tank yesterday, it appeared and acted as if it was full. Since there is no dump station in this park we had to drive out in search of one. I won't go into the details about what might have happened but it seems OK now. When we got back we went for a 4 mile walk on a trail out toward the Portage Glacier Visitor's Center. The trail kind of petered out before we got there so we didn't go all the way. We'd been there the last time we were here anyway.

After almost two weeks of cold dreary, sometimes rainy, weather the sun finally came out enough today to warm it up a bit. 71° here seems warmer than it does at home - are we developing Alaskan blood? - and as long as we are in the sun it is quite comfortable. We took advantage by sitting outside to read, knit and nap. We also put the patio rug out to dry in the sun. It got pretty wet in Seward when it rained unexpectedly.
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August 6, 2005 (Sat)
Golden Nugget Camper Park, Anchorage, AK #96 e $22 B+

Girdwood, AK to Anchorage, AK (88/7206 miles) Q019511

We're back in Anchorage in the same campground we were in two weeks ago. And the weather has improved greatly. So warm in fact that we have been sitting outside in shorts.

It wasn't so warm this morning when we got up though - 50°. Actually it wasn't bad for a brisk 3 mile walk on the path around the campground. The sun struggled to burn through the heavy haze but the glaciers high above us sparkled. There were salmon in the small brook beside the path and watching them work their way up stream was fascinating.

The Seward Highway to Anchorage was amazingly beautiful with high mountains on both sides and the flat water of the Turnagain Arm between defining the course of the road. Some of the mountain slopes plunged directly into the water and had to be cut away for the road. The layers of rock in the cuts made decorative roadside walls much more interesting than the man made sound barriers we see so often.

We pulled into the campground at about 10:00 and got set up in the site that Ed and Kathy had reserved for us when they came in yesterday. Laundry was the first order of business, then lunch at Red Robin and a shopping foray to Sam's Club, Safeway, and Costco.
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August 7, 2005 (Sun)
Golden Nugget Camper Park, Anchorage, AK (2)

St. Mary's Episcopal Church here in Anchorage is a beautiful modern building with friendly enthusiastic people. When we walked it at about 9:45 the music ensemble - guitar/mandolin, flute, and voices - was practicing, creating a nice backdrop for the friendly conversation we had at the door with one of the parishioners. The sanctuary was more or less square with the altar in a corner. Large windows covered the walls on either side of the altar giving a panoramic view of the mountains. Beautiful! At the end of the service those with birthdays were asked to come up to the altar for a special prayer and blessing. Today is Joy's birthday but she elected not to go up. She may well have benefited anyway.

After church we went downtown to the The Alaska Experience Theater. There were two movies showing. One, on a huge 180 degree domed screen, was about Alaska in general - people, scenery, animals, etc. Many of the scenic shots were taken from airplanes flying over the crest of mountains, and along winding rivers. (Mark could have used some dramamine!) The other (on a smaller screen) was about the 1964 Good Friday earthquake and included "quaking" seats at appropriate times.

Lunch was on our own but dinner was a birthday celebration compliments of Bob, Pat, Ed and Kathy at the Royal Fork Buffet. Ed and Kathy's friends, who were in Homer while we were there, joined us.