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I dipped down to Seward to do the whole train route because I am a dork. I went to Kenai Fjords National Park when I was down there, but that will be in my next post.
It's part industrial small town and part tourist trap in a stunning setting, when it's clear.
Seward when I arrived versus the morning I left:
The morning I left I was pretty tired. My room looked cute when I booked it, but was terrible. It had bad venetian blinds which did not block the light. My room was brightly lit at midnight. Still, who needs coffee when the morning looks like this?
One more foggy morning picture:
The fog was a thing. I loved it!
The small boat marina:
I liked the contrast of typical small town life with it's surroundings. Ball field with the view people pay thousands to come see:
The restaurants were catering to the cruise ship crowds. None displayed menus, which makes it way harder for me to figure out if I can eat there. They just look cute and reel in the crowds. Some of the prices are nuts, too. I poked my head in a few and they were not places I could eat. I wound up mostly eating either food from my pack and a container of guac I'd picked up at the store. I really thought I'd be able to get a hold of a nice piece of steamed fresh fish there. Nope. Most places, even the upscale looking places, were mostly fried food.
Poking around the coast:
I always thought 'The air smells sweet' was just an olde timey way of saying 'nice fresh air'. The air actually was sweet, almost sugary. There was tons of wilderness around and the breezes coming in over the tundra and through the forests had a mix of wildflower scents. The air actually smelled sweet most of the time I was there.
On my last day there I walked up to a park above the town to do a hike. I didn't have much else to do as the main tourist activity meant small boats on super choppy water. I cannot with my balance issue. So I wound up hiking a pine forest with small lakes. Being from Oregon, going to Alaska to hike a smol pine forest felt a wee bit silly, but it was great to get out of the sun and dry air.
Also, the park I hiked has a feature not listed on any of the official sites, vintage car wrecks:
The park encompasses an old road that had three abandoned car wrecks with tended trails out to them. This roadster, a 50s era Chevy and an old truck. They were fun to stumble across, but hard to take pictures of in the dappled light.
I thought "I'll come back later when the lighting is ... oh wait..." I was going to be stuck with midday light for the entire trip, which is terrible for photography. There was no coming back during Blue Hour or anything like that. It hadn't fully hit me until this moment.
The bed of the truck:
I wish I'd been able to go directly into Seward but there isn't a way. I was there about 2.5 days just from how the train/bus schedules shook out. There is an airport just 30 miles away, but no shuttle. I found out talking to people in the area that the only way to avoid having to do a double-back to Anchorage involves a $370 cab ride. Some people do that to travel more efficiently.
Part 4: Kenai Fjords National Park.
It's part industrial small town and part tourist trap in a stunning setting, when it's clear.
Seward when I arrived versus the morning I left:
The morning I left I was pretty tired. My room looked cute when I booked it, but was terrible. It had bad venetian blinds which did not block the light. My room was brightly lit at midnight. Still, who needs coffee when the morning looks like this?
One more foggy morning picture:
The fog was a thing. I loved it!
The small boat marina:
I liked the contrast of typical small town life with it's surroundings. Ball field with the view people pay thousands to come see:
The restaurants were catering to the cruise ship crowds. None displayed menus, which makes it way harder for me to figure out if I can eat there. They just look cute and reel in the crowds. Some of the prices are nuts, too. I poked my head in a few and they were not places I could eat. I wound up mostly eating either food from my pack and a container of guac I'd picked up at the store. I really thought I'd be able to get a hold of a nice piece of steamed fresh fish there. Nope. Most places, even the upscale looking places, were mostly fried food.
Poking around the coast:
I always thought 'The air smells sweet' was just an olde timey way of saying 'nice fresh air'. The air actually was sweet, almost sugary. There was tons of wilderness around and the breezes coming in over the tundra and through the forests had a mix of wildflower scents. The air actually smelled sweet most of the time I was there.
On my last day there I walked up to a park above the town to do a hike. I didn't have much else to do as the main tourist activity meant small boats on super choppy water. I cannot with my balance issue. So I wound up hiking a pine forest with small lakes. Being from Oregon, going to Alaska to hike a smol pine forest felt a wee bit silly, but it was great to get out of the sun and dry air.
Also, the park I hiked has a feature not listed on any of the official sites, vintage car wrecks:
The park encompasses an old road that had three abandoned car wrecks with tended trails out to them. This roadster, a 50s era Chevy and an old truck. They were fun to stumble across, but hard to take pictures of in the dappled light.
I thought "I'll come back later when the lighting is ... oh wait..." I was going to be stuck with midday light for the entire trip, which is terrible for photography. There was no coming back during Blue Hour or anything like that. It hadn't fully hit me until this moment.
The bed of the truck:
I wish I'd been able to go directly into Seward but there isn't a way. I was there about 2.5 days just from how the train/bus schedules shook out. There is an airport just 30 miles away, but no shuttle. I found out talking to people in the area that the only way to avoid having to do a double-back to Anchorage involves a $370 cab ride. Some people do that to travel more efficiently.
Part 4: Kenai Fjords National Park.
It is so nice to see the midnight sun again
Date: 2019-06-22 05:44 pm (UTC)From:What is the strange strata at the bottom of the image of the midnight sun - looks like lines?
Re: It is so nice to see the midnight sun again
Date: 2019-06-22 06:18 pm (UTC)From:It's a boat launch. I don't know if it's still in use or just an old one falling apart.