I think I was looking forward to this the most… the iconic boat ride out into the ocean to see the Alaskan fjords, mountains, wildlife & glaciers. I was so happy that the fog had lifted and we had pretty clear views of the scenic vistas. We went out into the ocean with our boat’s Captain also being the naturalist telling us all about the local landscape… and wildlife, but that will be another post! Now THIS is the Alaska we’ve all pictured in our heads… GORGEOUS!!!

You don’t see this kinda stuff in Chicago!!!

We woke up on Wednesday and the fog had started to lift. We returned to the port of Seward… and it was pretty cool to see the town, the port, the boats, the mountains… all the things we couldn’t see at all the day before due to the intense fog. We started our day at the Alaska SeaLife Center. A very nice “aquarium” that houses local Alaskan sea life. It was nice to see some of the “residents” up close… all the while hoping that we would see more of the same later that day on our ocean boat tour.

Usually my panoramic photos are reserved for amazing sunrise skyshows. But not this time… no sky, no show! But it was the mysterious calmness of the Seward waterfront that caught my attention this time. Bigger drama… bigger photos!

By the time we drove into Seward, it was completely fogged in. But not in a creepy way like Whittier… I thought it was beautifully calm & serene. You knew there were mountains out there somewhere, but you could hardly see them. You could hear the boat horns… but saw no boats out in the water. Walking along the water’s edge was amazing with the fog around the antiquated pier pilings, a boat launch & random jellyfish amongst the rocks. We were planning on a boat tour leaving from Seward… thankfully the plan was for the next day. So we were hoping that the fog would clear out before our ocean boat tour.

As we were leaving Whittier, we stopped off to see the Portage Glacier. So cool to see it so closely… to see the crazy blue color of the glacial ice. To see the river of melting run-off water. To see a piece of broken off glacier now floating around like as an iceberg. To see that the glaciers are still intact… smaller, but still there for now. A beautiful sight to see for this land-locked Chicago kid.

After visiting Peter Brondz Pottery, we took a quick side-trip to Whittier, Alaska. A small little port town that is only accessible by boat… or, driving a car or taking a train through a 2-1/2 mile tunnel through the mountains!!! It’s a little crazy… the tunnel is just wide enough for the train to get through. Nothing more. And it’s one way at a time… so you line up like waiting for a ferry until it is your turn to drive through. And it’s old & creepy… like something straight out of the Dharma Initiative (if you get the reference)!!!

On the other side, we were basically fogged in with a bit of misty dampness. Not a lot to see in Whittier…good fudge though. Just some old port buildings, a large abandoned Military barracks building, and the one & only residential building where EVERYONE who lives in Whittier lives in that ONE building!!! A tall apartment building painted like it’s from Miami Vice! The whole town has a bit of a creepy vibe to it… we didn’t stay long

The best part was the beautiful waterfall on the backside of the town. It was a nice hike into the woods to find the waterfall. Lots of great scenery, cool local plants, slippery rocks & one beautiful waterfall as the payoff!!!

A big & moody panoramic image from our drive from Wasilla to Seward, Alaska.

On the Tuesday after the pottery workshop, our adventure continued… driving from Wasilla to Seward. Beautiful scenic vistas along the way. Lots of great nature to enjoy. We had a couple great stops along the way for some hiking into the woods. It was great to get out of the car to enjoy the woods full of textures & colors… even if the weather was a but chilled, damp & drizzly. Moody skies & dramatic moments along the way. So typically Alaska… or at least more like I had expected.

After leaving Denali, we continued to drive down to Wasilla. It was hard to leave the beauty of the National Park… but we had miles to cover and the clouds were rolling in. Still stunning as we drove along the water’s edge. The mountains grew taller, the skies clouded over & it began to look more like the Alaska I expected to see. Yet as we pulled into Wasilla, we were treated to a quick sunrise to cap off our day!

So one of my “bucket list” items for my trip to Alaska was to find some moose in the wild. All of the locals talk about them walking around EVERYWHERE!!! Like across their backyards, walking past their studio windows, in the ponds & creeks, everywhere… kinda like we have squirrels. And although we tried to find moose on several prior excursions, I hadn’t seen one until we got into Denali. When suddenly we came up in this sweet twosome… a mama moose & her calf.

Now I know that the photos kinda look like a staged diorama at some Nature Museum… but trust me, they were just walking down the road as we drove up. The calf was hiding & peeking out. Mama gave us the stank-eye a couple times. And then they walked off into the underbrush.

Don’t believe me?… scroll to the last photo where you can see part of the front hood of our car!!!