Seward, AK, Resurrection Bay

The Alaskan Railway, August 13, 2024

There are probably hundreds of Alaskan tours to choose from. We chose our own way, without the RV this time, to save on travel time and get a little experience in the 49th State. We linked our ideas to a professional Land and Sea tour from Holland America Cruise Lines. You know, Alaska is huge with it’s eight National Parks, 34 mountain ranges, and more coastline than the entire lower 48. So where to start? The major airport is in Anchorage, so we flew Tampa to Seattle to Anchorage. We rented an Airbnb near the Alaskan Railway Terminal. This is not a great part of town and we’d do it different next time but we did need easy access to the trains. We landed on a Sunday evening, crashed after a full day of travel then used Monday to recover and prep for a train ride Tuesday and two nights in Seward, Resurrection Bay and Kenai Fjord National Park.

***Alaskan Railway Terminal, Anchorage, AK***

***The largest tidal range in America occurs here at 30.3 feet at Turnagain Arm.***

***Be very careful, you can really get stuck in the mud!***

https://www.travelalaska.com/destinations/cities-towns/seward

The Ride!

The train ride was fabulous. We got up at 4:30, grabbed our backpacks, entered the train terminal at 6:00, grabbed some snacks, then the train took us south at 7:00. Huge fun for us! The train has everything you need, comfy seats, casual snacks, coffee, even fancy sit down dining. You are free to move about the train to the viewing cars, snack bar and restrooms. Well prepared, we just had snacks. We traveled along the coast through Turnagain Arm past Beluga Point where Beluga Whales spawn. It’s four and half hours to Seward, traveling just over 100 miles.

***We really loved this peaceful train ride through all of the amazing scenery on a moody day.***

Stunned

https://www.alaskarailroad.com

The train stops a few minutes in Girdwood, for back country hikers this time, then continues through the foggy dripping forest wilderness. A couple hours later, the trees opened up and the sun lit Resurrection Bay. It’s an amazing sight under the spotlight, surrounded on three sides with mountains and the ocean as far as you can see. We hopped off the train, walked a couple of hundred yards to the dock and our tour boat with Major Marine. The bay was jammed full of working boats, tour boats and a couple of big cruisers. Fishermen, tourists and birds were going every direction. We took off with about another 100 people for a six hour tour of the bay that included lunch, sandwiches, and salads. Beverages included Brewskies, Vino, Pop and Caffeine Fuel.

***Tourists and professional fishermen fill the bay with activity.***

***Locals told us we really got lucky with the weather. I believe it!***

Home

Dense Ice

The end of the Harding Ice Field is Exit Glacier. We are 1/4 miles away. It stands 400′ tall.

***There are approximately 38 glaciers in Kenai. We saw some light calving.*** ***Bring gear!***

The Boat Ride $225 per adult (6 hr)

I was wary of our six hour boat tour but good gosh there were great sights in every direction. Even at mid-August the peaks were capped in snow. Only ten minutes out and our Captain, over the PA, announced Killer Whales right ahead! I was a bit skeptical but we went to the front of the boat and there they were, no joke, Orca! On the way to glaciers, we saw many Orca and a Humpback, Sea Lions, Otters, Eagles and the funky Puffins! A good Zoom lens is helpful here. These tourist boats at 95′ can really transport you so dress accordingly. With the wind and speed, you really need smart layers. I used a hoodie and a good raincoat.

Kenai Fjords National Park https://www.nps.gov/kefj/index.htm

The Animals did not disappoint!

***Our tour with Major Marine was fantastic and exceeded our expectations. Book early!***

***Despite it being a little late in the season, we saw a few Eagles.***

***A Colony of Steller Sea Lions were loving the beautiful sunny weather. We were very lucky!***

The Otters paddle around on their backs, some mommies holding their babies. They keep their toes up as those are the only parts not covered in dense fur. Sea Lions were lazy in the sun, barely moving off the floating chunks of ice. We did see a little bit of calving from the glaciers from about 1/4 mile away. On the return to the docks we came across more Orca and two swam right to the boat then ducked and swam under just playing with us.

***Otters have more fur in a square inch than a German Shepherd has on it’s entire body.***

No surprise, we slept great at the newer Gateway Inn in Seward! It’s modern, clean with any amenity you need including a pretty good breakfast. Everything is within a few miles so we could walk to the Bay, shops, grocery and the town center that offered some good restaurants and the Alaska Sealife Center. We spent about two hours here with checking out the animals and some fun exhibits. They have a great deck overlooking the bay and the celebrity bird, the Puffin!

***Puffins are known as better swimmers, underwater to 200′, than fliers.***

Our return trip was quicker by motorcoach along much of the same route. We returned to downtown Anchorage and the Anchorage Museum. The collection their from the Native People is stunning beautiful. There is so much to do but cut out two hours for this one. Sometimes it’s the little things. Now we relax, refuel, regroup, and get ready to join 30 others on the Holland America Land Tour that starts with another train ride on the Alaskan Railway from Anchorage to Denali National Park.

Anchorage Museum $26 adult ticket