Kenai Fjords
July 2019 | Park 13
Part + Park 3 (of 4) on our epic adventure to Alaska.
We parted way with our friends in Anchorage, grateful for the fun memories and connections that the first half of the trip had held. After an evening in Palmer to visit my aunt and cousin, we drove south toward the City of Seward, which acts as a gateway of sorts to Kenai Fjords National Park.
Kenai Fjords was one of the places where my jaw was constantly dropping. It’s a true mountains-meet-sea ecotone: Dramatic coastlines carved by ancient glacial ice slope down toward the deep, abundant waters of Resurrection Bay. Everything was green and blue. Sea otters were like songbirds. We found puffins and sea lions and seals and porpoises and bald eagles.
We spent half of our first day hiking around the Exit Glacier area and considered camping there for the night, even getting so far as to pitch our tent… but after about twenty minutes of being eaten alive by massive mosquitos, we gave up and found camping closer to Seward that was less buggy. We grabbed coffees at Resurrect Art Coffee House almost every day and ate gelato and screamed our lungs out watching a Women’s World Cup soccer match in a local sports bar alongside a lively crowd of other deeply invested spectators. We observed one of the most peculiar Fourth of July traditions I’ve ever been witness to: The Mount Marathon Race, often called “the most grueling 5K on the planet.”
On our last full day, we spent the morning sea kayaking in the bay followed by an evening boat tour of the fjords. This particular boat tour is the reason why this park will perhaps always be one of my favorites, as it led to one of the peak moments of my life: Coming upon a pod of orcas. The moment the captain came on the boat speaker and said, “Well folks, I just saw a dorsal fin… we’re very lucky tonight,” I immediately started crying happy tears as I ran to the edge of the exterior deck and didn’t really stop after that. The boat puttered to a complete stop and silence fell over us all, broken only by the sound of the orcas breathing each time they broke the surface of the water, the wind, and our own quiet, awestruck commentary. We spent twenty magical minutes with this pod of seven or eight individuals (including an adolescent!) swimming around and even beneath the boat. They were curious, elegant, fierce, noble, playful, and mystical. I have no question in my mind as to why they have so often been considered sacred creatures. Just being in their presence caused every part of my inner child to beam.
We packed up our campsite the next morning to head back to Anchorage, return the rental car, and fly to Juneau for the final leg of our journey. We left Kenai Fjords with full hearts.
Pictured below:
Sea otters were plentiful near our campground outside of Seward.
Kayaking on Resurrection Bay.
Evening excursion to spot sea life — we were graced with a pod of orcas and I will never be the same.
Elephant Rock.
