GOODBYE TO SEWARD

OUR LAST DAYS IN SEWARD

A heads up to take a look back at Betty's blog post...lots of pictures have been added!

What an enchanted place!  I am so glad that we took extra time to stay in Seward because we added some great memories into our Alaska Odyssey book of remembrances!  We explored the other side of Resurrection Bay; we visited the Exit Glacier; we took a ride down the west side of the bay because of hints of sea otter sightings (thank you, Ron Jones, for the notes in your book!) but found none; we ate at several restaurants with good food and interesting vignettes; and we had a great time at the Ididaride "ranch" of the Seaveys!

As mentioned in Betty's post, the Seavey family is now legendary in Iditarod racing lore.  (Note the clever alliteration of their dog sled ride/tourista venue:  Ididaride!)  Ray, Tam, and I stopped into their kennel after visiting the Exit Glacier and got the particulars on their activities.  Once Jack and Betty were back with us, we waited for an "almost perfect day" and called for reservations for a morning sled dog ride.  NONE of us were disappointed:  it was a highlight of our trip so far for me and I think for everyone else!  But then, I am an animal lover--as are the others!  Watching those dogs perform pulling a sled which must have weighed in at almost a ton was something special!  Here are some shots not included in Betty's blog:
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Eric, our tour director, explains a bit about the Iditarod race.

The group--minus one!--in front of the Iditarod map

Our "musher" has the full 15 dog team hooked up...and we are ready to ride and they are ready to pull!

Look at those dogs lean into their harnesses...they really want to run!

Tam and Betty check out some tired guys after pulling a "huge" sled around the premises!

A typical "old" sled from the Iditarod past

Champion Mitch Seavey's sled built with fiberglass hockey sticks

Eric dressed one of the young riders in typical -50 degree outer wear 

Ritchie says "Mush" and nothing happened...but at least he stood in the champion's sled!

Betty thinks, "Wow, can't take much gear in this little thing!"

Seward is nestled on the shores of Resurrection Bay.  As noted in an earlier blog, it contains a large marina for both private vessels and fishing boat charters.  In its early days, it served as a port of entry for goods going off into the "interior".  The first transportation was by dog sled until the Alaska Railroad built a connecting line from Anchorage.  The original Mile 0 of the Iditarod was on the shoreline just off of downtown.  Here we are at the marker:

Jack says, "Hey, Betty, this is nice!  Mush on, Lady, mush on"!

The scenery in Seward is just flat out spectacular!  Mountains surround the bay on all sides except the outlet to the ocean.  Glaciers abound!  We could clearly see the Godwin Glacier across the bay from the campground:  amazingly, this glacier is only at 3500 or so feet above sea level!  Compare that to the level of the Blue Ridge Parkway--around 3000 feet!  I thought, "Holy Cow!  Old US 52 coming down from Fancy Gap to Mount Airy--that could be a glacier in ages past!"  Here are some pictures of the mountains across from the campground:


Note the tree line stops but the green continues to the snow line

Often, the sun would shine on the bottom section of the mountains across the bay in the late afternoon

The white to the left of the picture is the Godwin Glacier...the mountain to the right is just over 3900 feet!  The spot just above the glacier is a sea gull!!

We have come to expect a bit of the eccentric in Alaska:  far too often, as we drive along the highways, we see residences with a very large collection of "junk" in the yard!  Old cars, trash, scrap metal, broken down machines, you-name-it!  The well kept places are minimal and stand out because of it!  This has been a disappointment to me because of the pristine beauty of the land around...maybe they only see it for a few months in the Summer and then it all gets covered in snow!!  Anyway, in Seward, one family (or individual) has created a perpetual garage sale in their yard--it is the Hulk Hogan of garage sales!  It is just up a few blocks from downtown, and trust me, if you can't find it here, you probably can't find it anywhere in Alaska!  It was a bit drizzly the day I took these photos, so to protect the merchandise, out came the tarps!!

 

Can you imagine living to the left or right of this place?  Better yet, if you can zoom into the picture above, you will see a vertical sign to the left of the door which says, "Private Home"!  So how about living here, eh?

As I think has been established, the campground was right on the shores of Resurrection Bay.  There were four rows of camping sites running up from the bay--two on the first level, and two on the second.  All the "front row seats" were occupied when we pulled in, so we found three sites up on the "front row" of the second level--we still had a great view of the bay and the mountains across the way.  Down on the front row--mostly Class Cs, which seem to be highly popular here in Alaska--there was a public path between the campground and the fire pits.  As I walked along the first night, it occurred to me that they might be "assigned" to the front row, so I asked a group around a fire ring about that:  "Nope, first come, first served!"  Unfortunately, we never paid the high price for firewood at $7.99 a package of 5 logs, so we never did a fire by the shore!!  Lots did...here is a shot of the path, the fire pits, and Row 1 of the campground:

Fire pits, public pathway, and Level 1 of the campground--ocean is beyond those distant mountains!

As I publish this, we are in Homer...and do we have some tales to tell about our first day here!!  As the saying goes out in the Dakotas, "You betcha!"  I will look forward to posting some comments and pictures--and I am sure there will be other blog posts about this first day now some 5500 miles from VanHoy Family RV Park in Harmony, North Carolina!  A big shoutout to Casey and Mike!

Hope y'all are enjoying our posts...we are sure 'nuff enjoying Alaska!
More to come!!