Seward, Alaska

As I said in my last post, Seward , Alaska is easily one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Not pretty like Paris, France is pretty--full of man made objects and art that make it pretty-- No, Seward is naturally and ruggedly beautiful. The rough ocean meets the big mountains meet the fluffy clouds. It is simply breathtaking. In Seward, you can visit the Kenai Fjords. A fjord (pronounced fyord) is an inlet of land with steep sides caused by glacial activity. To you and me that basically means pretty mountains with glaciers everywhere.

This wooden bear is cute, but look at the cruise ship and the mountains in the backgroud. So beautiful. The whole time we were there, the clouds lingered about half way up the mountains and the effect was majestic. We did not go to Alaska on a big cruise ship, but I have heard it is the best way to see everything.
Beautiful glacier melting into waterfalls in Resurrection Bay.
More waterfalls into the ocean..beautiful.

I think this one is Harding Glacier. Here is an example of the bright blue color the glaciers cast. It is because of the absorption of red and yellow light (just like in oceans) and something to do with hydrogen bonding. The effect is brilliant blue. On clear days the color is much more vivid. Sadly, it was overcast most of the time we were there.

The wildlife in the Seward area is AMAZING. This is a gorgeous Bald Eagle that was sitting atop a telephone pole and my husband was able to get a great picture with his zoom lens. It is so sad to think that the Bald Eagle was on an endangered species list at one time. They are still protected and with good reason-they are so beautiful and regal.

We took a day cruise out into the bay and all around the Aleutain Islands that surround Seward. The waters were VERY ROUGH and scary but the scenery was worth all the nausea and fear. There was a pod of Humpback Whales and they were being very active. They breeched and slapped their tails and fins for over 30 minutes. We have seen Humpbacks in Hawaii a few times, but they have never put on a show like they did in Alaska.

This is a Dahl's Porpoise which is a cousin to an Orca Whale. The coloring is the same as an Orca but the Dahl's porpoise is about 1/3 the size of the whale. We saw an Orca while we were there, but it was in the glacial water with tons of little icebergs and so we could not get a good photo. There are a lot of little otters and they almost flirt with the tourists. Half the time it seems like they are waving. They usually hang out in parties of two and they are very active and jovial. They lose most of their heat through their hands/paws so that is why they hold their little hands together--to maintain their body heat--awwwww.
This was an angry male sea lion protecting his harem. According to our boat guide, male sea lions stake claim to a rock in the ocean then they lure many females to live on said rock and he mates with those females for over a month. During this time he does not eat at all because he cannot leave his rock. If he leaves his rock, another male sea lion will overtake it-so he eats and eats and eats in the months preparing for mating season sometimes gaining over 500 lbs. Damn.

Learing about all the animals was just as good as seeing them.

All in all, my husband and I agree that this trip to Alaska was one of our best vacations yet. We look forward to going back and visiting Juneau, Ketchikan, and other parts of this beautiful state.

Have a beautiful day!

(all photos property of MonkeyPosh LLC and most are courtesy of Mr. MonkeyPosh's mad photography skills)