We spent 4 nights at the Stoney Creek RV Park in Seward, a beautiful area at the tip of the Kenai Fjords National Park. The main feature of this national park is the 700-square mile Harding Icefield. Nearly 40 glaciers flow from this icefield.

Shortly after parking the motorhome we ventured into town. We took a tour of the local aquarium. I thought it was a little over-priced considering they do not have a lot of exhibits. However, the exhibits they do have are very well done.

We enjoyed dinner at The Cookery with Dom and Kathleen, a couple from the Fantasy tour group. It was fabulous! The Halibut was cooked to perfection and was beautifully presented. Highly recommend this restaurant!

It rained all day the next day so we hunkered down and got some stuff done around the RV. The following day we went on an all-day glacier boat tour with Major Marine. We loved it! The crew was great, as was the scenery and wildlife. The captain made sure we had adequate time to view the wildlife once somebody spotted something. We spent nearly an hour stopped at the Northwestern Glacier in the Kenai Fjords National Park. We enjoyed watching and hearing the glacier calving and breaking off into the water.

The wildlife was plentiful along our way. We spotted lots of Otter.

A lot of Orca whales.

And Sea lions that looked like they had had a very hard day. LOL.

And a beautiful eagle.

And a Fin whale, which is rare to see. This type of whale can be as large as 68 ft long and over 100,000 lbs. This particular one was huge!

We saw lots of puffins on the boat tour and in Seward. I love puffins!

We came across a busy sea bird ‘condo’ where babies were being watched over closely by their parents.

Spotted this little guy too.

Charlie enjoyed chatting with the captain and having a front row seat.

On another day we decided to join a small group and hike the Exit Glacier. The Exit Glacier is the only part of the huge Kenai Fjords National Park that is accessible by vehicle. As you approach the glacier you see posts noting where the glacier once terminated at a particular year. It is amazing to see how much it has receded over time.

It was a strenuous hike and a long day, but I’m glad we did it. We hiked 7 miles with nearly a 2,000 mile elevation gain. Much of the elevation and distance was on the ice field where we had to wear crampons. The ice feels like shards of glass melded together. It is very abrasive to the touch. Our guides made sure we were cautious and did not get too close to the crevices. It was pretty cool looking down some of them though.

We had perfect weather for the hike. At the base we were in t-shirts. On the glacier we had sweaters and jackets on. The scenery was spectacular from the glacier.

These pictures, each with a number of hikers in them, might give you a little perspective of the size of the glacier. Click on the first picture to enlarge. In the center of it you’ll see half a dozen people.

The hike to the glacier offered up some beautiful scenery as well, especially with the purple fireweed.

We really enjoyed Seward and hope to return one day.