Seward (7.12.15 - 7.14.15)

Wildlife preservation, viewing, and conservation are a really big deal in Alaska. While we get really excited to see animals in the wild, it is often a distant view and not accompanied by any information about the animals. We do go the the wildlife conservation centers to learn more and to support the research and education efforts.

Wood Bison pelt:

Aiming for Seward mid-week, we were hoping to land a camp site on the waterfront Resurrection Bay city campground. The topography of Seward changed quite a bit in the 1964 earthquake. The area where the campground was eventually built, had been a heavy industrial center about 11 feet higher from where it sits today. The camp sites are reportedly beautiful, they are close to town, and relatively inexpensive (without water or electricity). That plan worked. We loved our site (note the view out our bedroom panoramic window) with a continuous view of a very active harbor. There were even cruise ships in town, just like where we were about 10 years ago. Now we can enjoy this town at a more leisurely pace.

Water based touring options abound. We signed up for a 4 hour tour that looped through Resurrection bay, and stopped at Fox island for a salmon lunch. It was a pouring down rainy day, and we still saw so much (very wet kayakers, harbor seal, an unbelievably cute sea otter, puffins and humpback whales, and haunting landscapes). It was a wonderful day.

There is a sealife museum in Seward managed by the same parent company that manages Baltimore Aquarium. It was a wonderful center of education and exploration.  The bird habitats were especially good.

 We learned about a pre-historic water animal that we'd never heard about before. It had a 'circular saw' type of jaw, the structure of which is found in fossils. Fascinating.

Seward has two parts of town – the historic old town and newer part of town where cruise ship passenger can 'be a tourist'. It's walkable, or there is a free shuttle that loops through the town, with a stop right at the campsite.

We had lunch at a local favorite grill that boasts the best hamburgers in town. The setting is in a school bus set up like a 1950's diner. The caribou berger was massive – perfectly sized for sharing.

Kris wrote on the 'Before I die' board in the center of town.

Seward has 14 large murals sprinkled around town.

Seward is the starting point for the Iditarod national historic trail upon which the annual dog sled race is run. The trail was used by native Alaskans for hundreds of years before Russian fur traders arrived in the 1800's.

Seward is the site for the Mt. Marathon mountain race. It is a very popular foot race – 3.1 miles up and down a steep 3000 foot mountain, on 4th of July every year. Leaders complete the course in about 40 minutes. Racers run and tumble down the hill, crossing the finish line cut, bleeding and covered in mud. The race attracts runners from around the world. Seward is a wild and crazy town on that weekend.

Seward participates in a 'Kids don't Float' program we have seen all over Canada and Alaska. Around recreational ponds, lakes and ports, there are stations to borrow a childs lifevest. What a great safety idea.

We had so much fun in Seward. It is a lively town with lots of personality which turned out to be one of our favorite stops. 

Night Night Seward. 

 Next stop - Bears, Bears and more Bears.