Seeing Our Country
Sunday, July 31, 2005
7/29/05. If you have never seen one of these teams in action, you have not seen everything. 16 dog are on this sled and they hated to be stopped so we could take pictures and force them to rest. Even while stopped, the competitive edge was so strong they were continually straining against the harnesses. This was a thrilling ride, as we sped throught the forest with Fred, our musher, giving orders for turns and such; and then watching the dogs respond to those commands. Remarkable. Afterwards we talked with Fred a while and he let us know to be watching for him in the 2008 Ididerod, he was going to win. A fun and educational visit. As we headed back to camp, we talked of how much we enjoyed this trip and wondered what lay ahead when we leave tomorrow for Valdez with an overnight stay in Grandview.
After walking passed the overlook, the path will bring you to the foot of the glacial wall. The big ice chunks in the lower left of the picture calved earlier this morning. As a result, park rangers were around to keep people from going up to touch the blocks. this piece threw ice for about 20 yards straight out when it hit the ground, so the rangers were a bit nervous about people getting to close. That chunk sitting on the ground probably weighs close to 4 or 5 tons.
7/29/05. Yesterday really pooped out mom, so she stayed home today. Christa and I headed for Exit Glacier located about 10 miles north of Seward. Supposedly, the glacier got its name when scientists first started studying the Harding Ice Field. This glacier proved to have the easiest way off the ice field and so was named "Exit Glacier."
After Christa and I finished the Sea Life tour and did a little shopping downtown, we headed back to camp to see if Mom and the others had returned. What we found were a bunch of tired yet excited faces. They had caught there fish. Rusty here, came in with the big catch for this group landing this 80 pound beaut.
7/28/05. Mom and many otheres have gone out fishing on a special services charter from the nearby Army Rec and Resort - Ft Richardson FamCamp. Christa and I opted for visit to the Seward Sea Life Center located downtown. The weather looked iffy so I put off kayaking until tomorrow. Anyway, we went to the Sea Life Center and really enjoyed this place.
7/27/05. Getting a taste of some fishing, kayaking, and touring in general, we all pack up and head over to our next stop - Seward, AK. I forgot to mention in the earlier posts that a group of the carvaners went out on a charter for halibut. This was the same day that I went solo kayaking. The day was pretty rough for me, but they were a lot further out. Reports have it that many were not up to snuff for the trip. Landlubbers!!! The trip turned out to be less fun than they hoped, but a few did manage to catch some fish. Here in Seward, they hoped for a better day of sailing. I hope to go kayaking again as well.
7/26/05. Afterwards we paddled into the mid day and this is when we came across the Humpback breaching. I couldn't capture him with my camera, but you can just make out the plume about one third from the left. It looks like a bit of mist. I wish we could have gotten closer. After this we headed back to Rick's base camp (and home) to await the water taxi to tke us on the 45 minute ride back to the spit. A great day full of just what I needed.
We stopped on a remote beach for lunch. Beautiful. This was a particular treat because the Nick (the guide) was going to prepare a beach stew for us. The stew would be prepared from foodstuffs available on the beach. We had already grabbed some kelp from the our morning paddle. Once ashore, Nick set out to gather wild herbs and plants from the bush, while the rest of us gathered mussels from the exposed tide walls. Once prepared, I found this to be a delightful treat. Tasty and warm, just what the doc ordered.
I was teamed up with Nick, our guide for the day. A fine young man just graduated from high school. He has been working up here the last few years learning the guide trade from Rick and is hoping to have finished his captain quals by next year so he can operate the water taxis (its where the money is). Cool dude and proved to be a very good guide.
7/26/05. The day breaks with better weather. That means it wasn't raining - yet. I joined up with Rick (owner/operater, in blue jeans) and Nick ( in the white shirt) of Smokehouse Tours. $130 for a day long paddle including lunch. We used fiberglass tandem sea kayaks for the trip. I'm not fond of the tandem thing, but rules are rules; and these were founded by the insurance company. Christa had wanted to come, but it was pretty cool.
Finally made it to the barge. I could tell the lapse in time since my last paddle and it seemed a lot further than I had estimated, but I made it and turned to return to shore. A good thing to as a I could see that the weather was looking to turn worse. I power stroked all the way (well, maybe a couple of rest breaks) and only got pounded by the rain a little bit. A good work up for the paddle I had planned for tomorrow. I will be taking a kayak tour with a local company for a day trip. I hope the weather is better.
7/25/05. Today, Christa and Mom went to look at the town. Others put their hooks in the water to continue there dream of fishing salmon out of the waters of Homer, AK. I had one thing on my lind, however. My first open water paddle, I was pretty excited. Unfortunately, the weather was pretty excited as well; wind, rain and moderate chop was the order of the day. I was not to be deterred though. Donning rain gear, snacks, water, life jacket (of course), and a wide brim hat, I set out to the bay following this 15' sloop.
Saturday, July 30, 2005
We stayed at the Heritage RV Park on the spit. When we were first told how much the per night cost was, we freaked. But, then we got there. This was a terrific spot, sitting right on the edge of the shore (and when the tide came in, it closer than we would have thought). Jeanne and Donna are already enjoying the veiw, and Ted has his waders on and giving the water a hard look.
7/24/05. Having left Anchorage and Hatcher Pass behind, we headed for Homer, AK. This was our first glimpse of this area - breathtaking. To the very left of the phot, but still in the water, you can just make out the Homer Spit. This where our nxt camp is to be. I bet there is a kayaking experience awaiting me there.
At the top of the pass, we encountered many people enjoying these mountains in as many different ways. There were those who, like us, enjoyed the scenery from the relative comfort of their vehicle. We also saw a group of young lads hiking up the back side of this slope loaded down with snowboards. This would be a very strenuous climb and 30 minutes later we noticed them about a third of the way up to the top. On this side was a beautiful glacial pond. Clear as glass and cold as ice.
Up to the mine the road on the Palmer-Fishhook side of the pass is paved and in pretty good shape. That ends there. A very steep climb on loose gravel road greets the traveler on leaving the park. But the views change dynamically as well. Though this is a well used road by locals and tourists alike, the scenery surrounding the road is tundra and wild looking.
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