As the picture above shows, Seward is on the eastern side of Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. We’re docked, right in town, at the head of Resurrection Bay - 35 miles in from the Gulf of Alaska. The Bay is actually a deep fjord, formed by millions of years of glacial activity. Because of this, very tall mountains rise majestically right adjacent to the bay’s waters. We found it to be a very scenic, appealing location, although cloudy skies and light rain (once again) prevailed most of the day. Unfortunately, our photos are, therefore, unavoidably gray again; but, that's what it looked like today.
Here’s what faced us on our balcony, when we opened the blinds this morning. The city itself is squeezed into only 7-blocks in width, in-between mountains on one side and Resurrection Bay on the other. Facing us was the 3,022-foot-tall Mount Marathon, where one of Alaska’s most famous and challenging foot races takes place in July each year. Despite the name, we understand that it’s actually a 3.1-mile run to the top (although it must be a steep climb).
Between us and town is the Small Boat Harbor, which is very busy in the summer season, by all accounts, but it was quiet today. In fact, the whole town was fairly quiet, as we’re here before the summer season begins.
We’re now at 60.1º north, and the temperature was 39º at 7:00 this morning. The warmest it got this afternoon was 41º. Nonetheless, we really enjoyed our day here. Seward has to be one of Alaska’s oldest and most scenic communities, but it is definitely a small town (population is 2,528 residents).
The city of Seward was named for President Lincoln’s Secretary of State, William Henry Seward, the man who engineered the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867. Even though Russian fur traders had been here earlier, the city was officially founded in 1903, when a steamboat, organized by the Alaska Central Railway Company, arrived and selected this as the site for the southern terminus of the proposed railroad linking the Gulf of Alaska to the interior of the state. This turned out to be a great plan, as the port of Seward remains ice-free all year.
The city still serves as the southern terminus of the Alaska Railroad, but it was also the southern terminus (Mile 0) of the historic, 1,200-mile Iditarod National Historic Trail. This famous trail began in the early 1900s to transport people and goods, via dogsled, from the port of Seward through the interior of Alaska to the gold rush communities of Hope, Sunrise, Iditarod, and eventually on to Nome. The modern Iditarod Sled Dog Race actually now begins in Anchorage, but it follows nearly the same trail to Nome.
In addition to the railroad and Iditarod National Historic Trail, Seward also has automobile and bus access via the Seward Highway from Seward to Anchorage. We understand this highway is classified as both a National Scenic Byway and an All-American Road.
The city of Seward was named for President Lincoln’s Secretary of State, William Henry Seward, the man who engineered the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867. Even though Russian fur traders had been here earlier, the city was officially founded in 1903, when a steamboat, organized by the Alaska Central Railway Company, arrived and selected this as the site for the southern terminus of the proposed railroad linking the Gulf of Alaska to the interior of the state. This turned out to be a great plan, as the port of Seward remains ice-free all year.
The city still serves as the southern terminus of the Alaska Railroad, but it was also the southern terminus (Mile 0) of the historic, 1,200-mile Iditarod National Historic Trail. This famous trail began in the early 1900s to transport people and goods, via dogsled, from the port of Seward through the interior of Alaska to the gold rush communities of Hope, Sunrise, Iditarod, and eventually on to Nome. The modern Iditarod Sled Dog Race actually now begins in Anchorage, but it follows nearly the same trail to Nome.
In addition to the railroad and Iditarod National Historic Trail, Seward also has automobile and bus access via the Seward Highway from Seward to Anchorage. We understand this highway is classified as both a National Scenic Byway and an All-American Road.
We didn’t sign up for a shore excursion today. Ginny had done a little research in advance, so we knew that everything is within walking distance of the dock in Seward. Our goal was to visit the Alaska SeaLife Center, a facility that combines a public aquarium with marine research, education, and wildlife response – the only one of its kind in Alaska.
A shuttle bus was available to take us from the passenger terminal all the way through town to the starting point (Mile 0) of the Historic Iditarod Sled Dog Trail. This scenic point is also the 1903 landing site of the town founders (railroad men and their families) in 1903. There’s a nice monument here, but also exciting was the Bald Eagle sitting on a light pole nearby.
We walked from this point to the nearby Alaska SeaLife Center, which is located right on Resurrection Bay.
Highlights in the SeaLife Center included natural settings (and underwater viewing tanks) for many sea birds including tufted puffins, gigantic Steller sea lions, and sea otters being fed. There are also interactive exhibits for kids, including touch tanks that were drawing a lot of attention.
Most interesting for us was a movie on an animal we’d never heard of - the Bowhead Whale - which lives entirely in Arctic and sub-Arctic waters, unlike other whales that migrate to low latitude waters to feed or reproduce. These whales are enormous; they weigh from 75 to 100 tons and can live for up to 200 years. The Bowhead whale’s head is massive (⅓ of its body length), and it can use its skull to break through Arctic ice to breathe. Bowhead whales are “filter feeders,” meaning they feed by swimming forward with their very large mouths wide open. The movie explained that their diet consists mostly of plankton and crustaceans.
Also of interest were their marine research activities and breeding areas. We spent about two hours at the SeaLife Center and enjoyed the visit a lot. They also have an excellent gift shop with high quality Alaska-produced items for sale.
We then set off on a walk in the downtown area on Fourth Avenue (small-town USA) which is a mix of tourist-oriented shops, a few small family-owned restaurants, fishing and hunting stores, and a few bars. We looked at some of the shops but didn’t buy anything, as we had loaded up on things at the SeaLife Center’s gift shop.
Also of interest were their marine research activities and breeding areas. We spent about two hours at the SeaLife Center and enjoyed the visit a lot. They also have an excellent gift shop with high quality Alaska-produced items for sale.
We then set off on a walk in the downtown area on Fourth Avenue (small-town USA) which is a mix of tourist-oriented shops, a few small family-owned restaurants, fishing and hunting stores, and a few bars. We looked at some of the shops but didn’t buy anything, as we had loaded up on things at the SeaLife Center’s gift shop.
By then the rain was getting harder, so we walked back to the shuttle bus stop and then headed back to the ship.
If it wasn’t raining, we would have looked in the Visitor Center for the nearby Kenai Fjords National Park. Our reading told us that the park is especially nice (and a major tourist attraction). From the shuttle bus we saw the signs for boat tours from Seward to the National Park, where “you can see abundant wildlife, spectacular fjords and tidewater glaciers.” We also read about hiking trails, wheeled dog-sled rides, and whale-watching trips. These all sound like great fun. Just the mere sight of all the pine trees would be exciting for people who have lived in Florida for the past 15 years looking at palm trees.
Seward was a great stop. We enjoyed visiting this small town and might think about coming back here again for a longer stay sometime in the future.
Jim & Ginny
If it wasn’t raining, we would have looked in the Visitor Center for the nearby Kenai Fjords National Park. Our reading told us that the park is especially nice (and a major tourist attraction). From the shuttle bus we saw the signs for boat tours from Seward to the National Park, where “you can see abundant wildlife, spectacular fjords and tidewater glaciers.” We also read about hiking trails, wheeled dog-sled rides, and whale-watching trips. These all sound like great fun. Just the mere sight of all the pine trees would be exciting for people who have lived in Florida for the past 15 years looking at palm trees.
Seward was a great stop. We enjoyed visiting this small town and might think about coming back here again for a longer stay sometime in the future.
Jim & Ginny
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