Humorist Mark Twain said, "you can talk about the weather but there is nothing you can do about it." So we talk about the rain that we have encountered for days and we complain about it, but in the end, it is still raining. When you mention the rain to Seward residents, they laugh and tell you that you are in a rain forest and that is what you should expect. The point of all this is that it rained again and we have to live with it.

This morning we went to Exit Glacier, part of the Kenai Fjords National Park. Exit Glacier is one of the few Glaciers whose face you can walk to. The glacier is one of many that come from the Harding Icefield, located to the west of Seward. Exit Glacier, like many others in the world is receding. As you drive up the road to the glacier you can see evidence of where it has been. The trail from the parking lot has signs indicating where the face of the glacier was in the past. When you stand at these signs and look at the present location of the glacier, you have to wonder about global warming. Glaciers have been going through cycles of surging forward and receding. The pace at which some of these glaciers are receding is fairly fast and you have to wonder if human activity is influencing the pace.

In the afternoon we went on a wildlife viewing cruise on Resurrection Bay. Seward is located at the head of Resurrection Bay which stretches south of the city for about 17 miles. The bay is, by definition, a fjord, a valley carved by a glacier that was filled in by salt water as the glacier receded. The slope of the mountains on either side of the bay continues below the surface of the water. This allowed the cruise boat to get within 10 feet of the rock walls without fear of hitting the bottom. The average depth of the bay is 600 feet (200 meters) and it is 1000 feet deep in spots.

Exit Glacier
Exit Glacier viewed from 2 miles (3.2 Km)
Exit Glacier viewed from 50 meters
Exit Glacier, visible 1/4 mile behind us.
The sign indicating its position in 1951.
Susie at the base of Exit Glacier... note the sign

Another Mural in Downtown Seward

Resurrection Bay Views
80 foot MV Fjordland
Sunny Cove in the rain.
A beautiful spot that does not live up to its name.
Downtown Seward
Bald Eagle
Humpback Whale... at least the hump and dorsal fin
Mountain Goats
Puffin
Sea Otters at play
Stellar Sea Lion
Common Murre, the deepest diving bird in Alaska waters. Because the look like penguins, the are known as Alaska's Penguin. There are no penguins north of the Galapagos.