Seakayaking in Seward

(Continued update about my trip to Seward over 3 weeks ago...that is, I'm still getting caught up on sharing stories and pics).
So I'm managing to overcome my frugalness, well somewhat. I paid the $70 to go seakayaking for 4 hours. Of course, I tried to make up for it by sleeping in my car for 3 nights. Silly, Liz.
Here are the sights from the trip and then the next day at Exit Glacier just outside of Seward. May I just say that Seward is much more my kind of town than Homer. Mountains over fishing any day for me. Below is the view from our launching point. Yep, it was cloudy and threatening rain, plus it was 45 degrees. I had to suck it up and pile on the layers, but I convinced myself I should go for it.

Below: Our fearless and knowledgable guide.

Below: Me and my 3 co-adventurers who mistook me for a guide as I walked up to the office. How wrong they were! Check out the "pogies" that tried to keep my hands warm.

Below: The waterfall that we paddled 3 miles to. I paddled in the stern and use a rudder for the first time. I think I found another activity that I would really enjoy getting into if the opportunity presented itself. There are great places to camp all along the coast, of course, the tide here can make things interesting.

Below: The view back towards Seward from where we got out to view the waterfalls and eat a some snacks.

Below: One of the greatest surpises and adventures of this trip was crossing this rutted-out, single lane bridge going to and from the beach. We probably should have had helmets on to protect us as we bounced all over the place!

The following am after overnighting in the Supersube I went and hiked around Exit Glacier. I slept great! 10+ hours I think! I finally realized that if I taped up newspaper (I used the Fairbanks visitor guide) into the windows I could block out some of the perpetual sunlight.

Below: The underbelly of the glacier.

Below: The view away from the glacier.

Hope you enjoyed looking at the pics. The next pics will of my summer in Fairbanks and trip to Denali a few weeks ago.

Love,
Me

Backpacking Alone, kind of...

On my way to Seward from Homer, I planned to hike. Then I thought "why not backpack?!" I saved the $10 I would have to pay for camping for a rainy day (foreshadowing for the following days events). Plus I had purchased bear spray at REI in Anchorage and it needed a purpose. "Sigh." A moment of silence for my employee discount. May you rest in peace.

So I signed into the trail head book and headed out the 7 miles to Trout Lake on the popular Resurrection Pass Trail. (Don't worry, I had an emergeny contact and it's not my first time, you know).

Above: Juneau Falls on Resurrection Pass Trail.

Below: A mountain.

Below: Things I don't like to see when backpacking...A flooded trail surrounding by boggy, boggy tundra.

Below: Things I like seeing when backpacking...A sign saying my intended campsite is a stone's throw away.

Above: Trout Lake

Do you ever forget things? I do. Just ask anyone who has lived with me, gone to school with me, or ever embarked on an outing with me. So the cordage in my tents poles was stretched. I had intented to get that fixed while I was in Anchorage. I didn't. Down in Homer I found a point in one of the cords that look like it was going to snap at any second. SO...I set it aside in order for me to find that weak point easily later. Do you see where this is going?

Yep. I forgot the pole. Ain't no thing though, because it wasn't just any tent. It was the "Taj." I could hardly tell that a pole was missing in fact. No rain made it's way in and I didn't have to breathe tent wall all night, fortunate for me. In fact, I felt rested enough to make a 4 mile addition to my hike to experience Juneau Lake. What better thing to do at 5 am?

I ended up not seeing any wildlife on the hike, unless humans are considered wild. I must concede that I had help setting up the tent. I stayed at the campsite with 2 others who were through-hiking the trail. Plus I discovered a family of 4 that had mountain bike up and were staying at the cabin on the lake. I, however, did see evidence of the dreaded bear.

Bear scat, I believe. Please correct me if you know otherwise.

Bear tracks. No, not the ice cream. Mmmm....ice cream.
Off the trail and showered, I made a new friend. Alaskans are so friendly!

On the drive to Seward...

Check out the next post for the Seward adventure...I put the $10 to much better use than paying for a primitive campsite.

Homer Time

Well, I went to the Kenai Peninsula two weeks ago, if you recall, but I only shared about day 1. Here's some pics and tidbits from days 2, and part of 3 (the rest of day 3 and day 4 will come shortly in a subsequent edition). A common theme of my time in the Kenai was cloudy, cool (if not cold), windy, and sometimes, wet. But the rain and clouds didn't ruin my parade.

The first town I came to after my overnight in Mr. Supersube was a old Russian town called, Ninichik.

My guide book led me to a wonderful and amazingly inexpensive cafe on the water (which seems to be paradoxical in the expensive expanse of AK). I had some locally caught clam chowder. I understand the chowder is especially hard to catch. I liked it so much that I also visited on my return trip through.

I also visited the Russian Orthodox church in town. On the last little stretch to Homer, which is the Western tip of the Kenai, I had some fun and explored. The town right before Homer is Anchor Pt. Not too spectacular, except...

In Anchor Pt, I also saw the, amazing-to- me, way that the charter boats here get in and out of the water. The following sequence documents that very process.

I arrived in Homer, which is known for its Halibut fishing. So, of course, I ate some Halibut. Yum yum, fresh fish from the ocean. Sorry, no photos of any fish. I don't fish, yet anyway.

Also in Homer I stopped by one of the birding "hot spots."

The were bald eagles flying about. I didn't have enough zoom on my camera to get a good shot, so I got creative. Binoculars + camera = this shot below.

A nice, older gentlemen beckoned me over to look into his large monocular lens mounted on a tripod. I obliged and was able to see the 2 little, grey youngsters in the nest. That was another first and quite cool to see. Below is another ealge shot, just taken the old fashioned way, that is, without the binoculars.

That night I decided to pitch the old tent. My chosen location was "The Spit," which is a stretch of gravel extends a few miles into the bay, along which people camp, fish, eat at restaurtants, go kayaking, take a charter boat, or stay at the hotel at the end. I focused on the camping aspect and made my first and only campfire of the trip up and enjoyed the view.

Being on the beach brought some real treats, like fearing that the gusting winds were going to launch my tent my tent off the beach and into the nearby water. My kind neighbors next door to me, drew my attention to this guy and a wee little crab.

Above, the view from my tent. For those with the time and money, you can take a charter boat or a kayak across the bay and hike around or kayak along the coast. I didn't have either. And I was hoping for better weather elsewhere. So with Halibut in my stomach, some nature viewing, and having spent my first ever night on the beach, I concluded my Homer time and headed back North and East to the other side.

Feeling Good

Some of you have heard, but not all know that today was a "feel good" day. What does that mean, you ask? I guess some might call it a confidence boost. I prefer to say 'feel good.' Quite simply I felt good at the end of the day. I didn't leave my 10 hour shift with things on my mind about the day. I felt remotely competent. I had 5 patient visits that I took the lead, I contributed some of my knowledge base to my clinical instructor (and it was even helpful!), I did better and better at documenting. It really might come down to making it through the day without feeling like I was going to cry, not a single patient yelled at me, and I didn't encounter a single demented person! That's how today was. Plus, I got to talk to 3 good friends...just keeping the good feeling going!

Tomorrow is the last work day for the week, which is my 2nd week at the hospital, and then I have my first 3-day weekend that I'll spend entirely in the Fairbanks area (last weekend I sped the 2 hours down to Denali NP, but more about that when I can upload pics). Tomorrow is also my last day at the wonderful, log home, with the wonderful people and labs I've been staying with. Tomorrow I branch out into the realm of petsitting, where I willl be taking on the 'zoo' for 2 weeks. 3 dogs, 4 cats, some fish, and a bird all under one roof! The owner, herself, called it such. Let the adventure begin and I'm hoping the good times keep rolling. If nothing else, I trust I'll have good story material! If I'm not ready for dogs after this summer, I never will be.

Sending my love to all with the promise to try to get some pictures up this "weekend." Oh! sorry it's late, but Happy Summer Solstice! It was Wednesday. 22+ hours of sunlight here.