Alaskan Memories
A travel report

From Anchorage South

Day 5 - "The road to Portage and Seward is very beautiful, with snow-topped mountains and waterfalls"

We started the day at the Visitor Center, trying to decide how to start our tour. After consulting brochures, fliers and the VC's staff, we arranged a half day tour in Prince William Sound. We had bagels at a cafè for breakfast and then headed south, on a road with wonderful views, arriving in Portage a bit more than one hour after leaving Anchorage. We had time to see Portage Glacier before taking the train to Whittier - it was a great surprise to find a lake filled with icebergs that had fallen from the glacier.

The train trip between Portage and Whittier is beautiful, but the train ran very slowly and we got bored. A van picked us up and took us to the boat. Only seven passangers, the pilot Mark and the guide Joanne. They took us to Blackstone Glacier, but we could see other glaciers on the way, plus waterfalls and a kittywake nesting area. Many other birds are found in the area, including the cute puffin. The snow on some mountains, with green trees on the bottom, was just beautiful. There were icebergs on the bay. We saw some ice falling from a hanging glacier and the engine was stopped so we could hear the glaciers shrieking. How exciting!

It was on Prince William Sound that the Exxon Valdez oil spill took place, but in another part of it. We saw no trace of damage in the area we went through, but I forgot to ask about it anyway. Blackstone Glacier, like Portage Glacier, is fed by Portage Icefield. We were told that the glacier moves at 20 in a day!

After another train trip back to Portage, we went to Seward, farther south. Road works delayed our arrival. But since sunset happens very late, it was still day when we had dinner at 10 pm. We ate at Ray's, whose specialty is seafood. An expensive place, but there was more spicy chicken and salad on my dish than I could eat.

Day 6 - "I loved the small puffins and their orange beeks, flipping they wings quickly while flying so close to the water"

We had planned to make a morning trip on Resurrection Bay, but at this time of the year only one company was doing them in the morning and they had already left. So we arranged one for the afternoon. We had breakfast at The Miller's Daughter, a very nice bakery.

The headquarters o Kenai Fjords National Park is in Seward and we went there for orientation and maps. Most of the park is only accessible by sea and there are full-day boat tours to see them, but it is also possible to see a little portion of it on land. A ranger would be taking people for a guided walk tour departing from Exit Glacier ranger station and we got there in time for it. We learned about the growing of plants in areas where glaciers have once been. Walking along the valley, we reached Exit Glacier, with amazing blue shades on the cracked ice. The ranger pointed out that the glacier at the moment seems to be advancing, after years and years receeding. The ranger then left us and we were free to walk on the trails, and we got close to the glacier.

Back to Seward, we boarded the Star of the Northwest for our tour, departing at 12:45 for a 4 1/2 h roundtrip through Resurrection Bay. A buffet lunch was included and was served as soon as we left, with chicken and salmon. As many Alaskan cities, they live on logging and fishing. But the area is still very preserved and we saw lots of birds, including puffins (can you spot it on the center of the picture at left?), bald eagles and lots of kittywakes. Some unspoilt areas were seen on the way, like Thumb Cove. Once the boat stopped by a volcanic rock - so close that one could touch it. It must be a great place to go sea kayaking - so quiet and peaceful!

Rugged Island was the southernmost portion of the trip. There were some sea lions and a few sea otters - they are so cute, floating with their bellies up! Then the captain told us whales had just be seen on the area. It was difficult to see them: they stayed underwater for long periods. I only saw them once and only their blow actually. According to the captain, they must have been a mother with her calf, probably a gray whale, though humpback and more rarely minke whales are also found in the area.

Bear Glacier was seen on the way back. It has been receeding and is not a tidal glacier anymore. When the boat got close to some rocks, we saw many mountains goats. Dessert was then served and I had lots of cheesecake and brownies - I can't resist them! I had so much food that I only had a soup for dinner.

Day 7 - "What is the difference between caribou and reindeer? Reindeer can fly!"

We had breakfast at The Miller's Daughter again, before driving back to Anchorage, once again through the beautiful road that crosses Chugach National Forest. There are many hiking trails available in the area. We stopped at Portage Glacier again, but on a different part of it this time, even more beautiful. We had an excellent view of Byron Glacier from this road.

Arriving in Anchorage a bit after noon, we saw the Earthquake Exhibit, about the earthquake that destroyed many places in Alaska in 1964, over 9.2 Richter, the worst earthquake ever registered in the Americas. There are amazing images taken by an amateur photographer in Valdez. In a small theater, a 4.5 earthquake is simulated, but it doesn't seem very frightening. After that, we saw the movie "Alaska, the Great Land" at the Alaska Experience Theater, an IMAX movie that make us fly over the mountains and valleys of Alaska. It was great.

We had reindeer sausage hotdogs for lunch. I have no idea if it is really reindeer, but it was good!

Not far from Anchorage there is Palmer, a nice city were we visited two attractions. The first was the Musk Ox farm. Musk oxen were hunt to extinction in Alaska - it was very easy tu hunt them because they don't run from predators. A few years ago, they have been reintroduced through farms like these by both private and official entities. In spring, musk oxen leave off a soft and light wool that is "harvested" and given to native tribes for knitting. During the last Ice Age, musk oxen were found in Florida.

Next we went to the reindeer farm. A family raise them for exhibitions - they are vegetarians and the girl who presented the farm to us wasn't happy to know we had eaten reindeer sausage! Reindeer are docile animals and fed on our hands. One drooled on my camera - yuck! We were amazed to learn that their antlers fall by the end of autumn and start growing again in spring at an amazing rate. Unlike horns, antlers have blood vessels and are covered by a soft tissue until growth stops. Pregnant females don't lose their antlers, though, and thus are used for shows at Christmas time.

Having found a nice hotel in Palmer, the Valley Hotel, at an astonishing affordable rate for Alaskan standards, we spent the night there before heading north.