Today we drove about 100 miles from our camp spot at Bird Creek Campground to Seward. We will be here for a while as we explore the area and take a couple of fun excursions.
Just south of Anchorage, the Seward Highway hugs the shorelines of Turnagain Arm, said to be one of the most beautiful stretches of highway in America. Chugach State Park's 3000-foot mountains jut up on the left. On the right, the sprawling, Turnagain Arm stretches to the opposite shores of Cook Inlet, with mammoth sloping mountains. Turnagain is characterized by remarkably large tides of up to 40 feet which are the largest tides in the United States. The flood tide often begins with a tidal bore especially on large tides with a strong east wind, which has a height of 6 feet at times, and runs in from the west at a speed of 5–6 miles an hour. People surf the bore tides, and sadly, someone recently lost his life while doing so.
Since it was rainy with very low clouds today, we couldn't see much of the mountains we passed. Once we arrived in Seward we went to the harbor to check it out. We watched the many boats leaving and arriving,
and we visited the Mariners Memorial,
and took advantage of the free services at the guest restroom area for getting fresh water, and to empty our 5-gallon cassette toilet - the realities of living on the road that nobody talks much about... It was a very clean and nice facility and was a welcomed site for us since ER150's fresh water tank (85 gallons) was down to only 10% remaining.
Filling the fresh water tank with clean Alaska potable water was a treat. Our water tank access is located on the passenger side of ER150 and has a lockable cap. We keep our fresh water hose mounted to the rear of our passenger side swing-out storage box held with a bungee for easy access. We will soon be upgrading though to one of the newer tri-flex expandable hoses we have seen others use like this one.
ER150 has a 5-gallon lightweight cassette toilet for bathroom use. It has a lockable exterior access door and can easily be removed and emptied into most any kind of toilet encountered when traveling such as at a rest area toilet, a pit toilet, a porta-potty, or even a home toilet with no mess to be made. The beauty of this is that we don't ever have to find and visit a dump station and pay fees or wait in a line to empty it. It is a very simple, and clean process which is a big improvement over other Truck Campers we have owned in the past.
so that we can be at the Major Marine office at 7:30 in the morning for an 8.5-hour glacier and wildlife boat tour. We are excited!
This is the overview of the trip from Major Marine's website:
Cruise Overview
Our 8.5 Hour Northwestern Fjord Cruise travels farther into Kenai Fjords National Park than any other cruise. Ideal for photographers, birders, and whale-watching enthusiasts, this small vessel adventure cruise explores the remote, untouched area of Northwestern Fjord in Kenai Fjords National Park. This cruise travels with a smaller group for a more intimate cruising experience, providing the best opportunity for up-close views of wildlife including humpback whales, orca whales, Steller sea lions, harbor seals, seabirds, otters, and more.
The 8.5 hours spent on the water will fly by as the captain seeks out the best wildlife viewing in the area. You will spend time in front of the impressive Northwestern Glacier, an actively-calving tidewater glacier, and you will also cruise by Anchor and Ogive Glaciers. This tour is fully narrated by our experienced captains. The smaller group size gives you the best opportunities to interact with and ask questions of our experienced, knowledgeable crew.
Today's journey:
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