Seward, Alaska

Fish anyone?

We made the trip from Whittier to Seward on Tuesday.  We stopped along the way to hike around a lake and to fish in a couple of others.  I did catch a fish but I'm not telling how big it was.  It was small.  This part of Alaska is our favorite.  The mountains, glaciers, streams and lakes give you the feeling you are driving in the midst of a National Geographic Magazine.  Everywhere you point the camera, it is stunning.

A cruise ship snunk in while we were sleeping.  I don't know what they will do in Whittier all day.  There are about 4 restaurants and a gift shop in town.  You can see all of it in about one hour.

Seward is another waterfront community.  It is named after the senator who pushed for the purchase of Alaska.  Back then it was known as Seward's folly.  Who would pay all that money for nothing but snow and ice?  Alaska turned out to be one of the richest places on earth.  Seward had the foresight to see that.  The Russians would like to have it back.  Remnants of the Russian culture are everywhere.  It is an ingrained part of Alaska as inseparable as snow and ice.

One unusual thing about Alaska is that all the beautiful waterfronts aren't covered with condos and high priced hotels.  I guess the season is too short to attract enough business to support those ventures.  The chamber of commerce in Seward has made the entire waterfront an RV campground.  We are lined up here for about a mile along the waterfront.  We have a million dollar view for just $15.00 per night.  There are bike paths all over town so it is easy to get around.  The path runs right in front of our RV between us and the water.  We sit up front watching the birds, sea otters, boats and people passing by.  It is cheap entertainment and it never gets boring.

I think the sea otters are employees of the city.  They swim back and forth in front of the campground all day long.  They lie on their backs cracking clams.  They they roll and spin and look at you like they want your approval.  They are real hams for the camera too.  They stay just feet off the beach so you can get a good shot.

Buddy takes a swim.

The weather is colder than our winter most of the time.  Alaskans tell us this is normal summer for them.  The occasional sunny warm day is much too warm for them.   Today it was in the mid 50s most of the day.  Tonight it may go down to the upper 30s.  We came here to escape the hot Florida summer.  We accomplished our task.  The odd thing is, we are actually getting used to it.  When the sun comes out it does feel too hot.  A guy with a parachute just when by on water skis.  The chute is pulling him along.  We aren't ready to get in the water yet.

 We when down to the docks last evening when the fishing boats came in.  They caught hundreds of halibut, rock fish, code and salmon.  We would like to go on a fishing trip but we don't know what we would do with all that fish.  Our freezer is the size of a large shoebox.  I have done the next best thing.  I am fishing from shore in front of the motor home.  Two guys fishing out there earlier caught a couple of nice halibut and a silver salmon, also known as coho.  They gave me the rest of their bait as they were leaving.  They showed me how to rig up my pole.

I stood out there fishing at low tide as the tide started coming back in.  I was on a large rock.  In just a matter of minutes my rock was surrounded with water.  There are warnings about how fast the tide comes in here.  A fisherman could get stranded.  I am a believer.

Kenai Lake

We will stay here for several days.  Then we plan to go over to Soldotna and the Kenai River.  The red salmon are supposed to start running in a week or so.  I would like to give it a try.  The fishermen are lined up shoulder to shoulder along the riverbank.  The fish swim by in thick schools.  The object is to snag one in the mouth.  They are not interested in eating when they go up to spawn.  You can only catch one if you snag it but the rules are you must snag it in the mouth or you have to throw it back.  The rule is strickly enforced.  

View out our window.