Seward
Saturday, August 30, 2011
Alaska Rail Road trip from Anchorage to Seward and boat tour of the Kenai Fjords
We woke up early to catch the 4 hour train ride from Anchorage to Seward. Travelling in and out of valleys, mountains, next to lakes, over creeks and rivers we saw sights you couldn't see from the roads. When we reached Seward we boarded a boat that took us out in the Kenai Fjords to see glaciers and wildlife and just a whole bunch beautiful stuff!
Leila and me in front of an old steam engine that is across the street from the Train Station just before boarding the train to Seward. We had to be at the train station by 5:45 to get our ticket. It was an early morning and a start to a long adventurous day.
A native-carved totem pole.
Boarding the train to Seward.
Leila and Ian in the open space in between the cars getting blown by the wind.
Doug taking a photo looking back at me at the exact same moment. We're up above the "snack car" in a little balcony type overlook with seats and tables. It was neat up there.
Me, Ian and Leila hanging out in the snack car. Leila was eating a SIX DOLLAR cinnamon roll and no it was not worth the money.
Walking down the dock to board the boat in Seward.
A sea otter chilling out in the water. We had left the dock just moments earlier when this little guy showed up.
I thought this was a cool shot of Mary, Doug & Bill. One of the last known pictures of Doug wearing his sunglasses as they were soon to be knocked off his face by the wind and plunging to the bottom of the ocean.
Mary, Leila, Maya and Ian getting wind-blown on the bow of the ship. It got pretty cold standing up there with the cool ocean air smacking you in the face. I wish I had worn some type of windbreaker and a warm cap.
Me and Leila.
Maya, Madeline and Leila.
Me and Leila. The scenery around this trip was unbelievable. It was staight out the movies but better as this was the real thing.
Pod of orcas at 3 o'clock! Awesome!
Far off orca.
The gang hanging out inside the boat warming up with hot coffee and snacks.
Vanna White Jr. points out Holgate glacier coming up in the distance.
Jacob, one of the many cool tour guides on the ship catches a Leila before he goes net scooping for floating glacier ice.
Leila looking out while passing a glacier on the way to Holgate glacier.
Holgate glacier with some people on the front of the boat for perspective. We're still a couple hundred yards away. This glacier was HUGE.
Holgate glacier unobstructed.
Leila holding some ice from the glacier. Jacob scooped it up from the water using the net that he had caught Leila in earlier.
Me and Leila.
Holgate glacier in the background.
Madeline and Leila playing with the bowl of collected ice.
Leila runs out of energy and refuels.
Diesel engines throwing out big wakes...
Our boat just passed through this little channel between the two islands.
This whole area was thick with birds flying around and floating a diving in the water. Pictures don't do it justice as it was incredible.
Beautiful scenery...
Murres lined up in a row just hanging out...
Grotto rock with sea lions hanging out on the front porch. This is the same rock in the photo below but from the side.
The guide called this "the grotto" because of the little secluded pool tucked away back in the rocks. He said "Wouldn't you want to hang out here if you were a sea lion?" I would say hell yes.
A cool rock island jutting out in the middle of the water. James Cameron wishes he could CG something this awesome.
Pops with some beautiful background scenery. The boat had stopped to look at some whales that were in the distance.
The name of our cruise company. They were awesome. I recommend them to everyone. www.kenaifjords.com