Seward, Alaska

Seward was our second stop on our epic Wild Alaska trip. The scenery was just gorgeous along the Alaska Highway 1 (AK-1) through most of Chugach State Park. Seward is a small port city along the Kenai Fjords Peninsula that encompasses the vast Kenai Fjords National Park and glaciers in the Harding Ice field accessible by hiking.

The first thing we did when we arrived was go on a boat tour that leaves daily in Seward; ours left at 1pm. The boat tour was 5 hours long and they supplied binoculars because most of the wildlife are in the water. Thankfully our captain was very helpful on how to spot them. We saw grey whales, orca (which was rare during spring), harbor seals, otters, and even Mountain Goats in the cliffs.

Kenai Fjords National Park

The water and the surroundings were STUNNING. I have never seen so much beauty in one place. You have these series of Fjords that are made up the sea green waters surrounded by snow capped mountains, steep cliffs, and these protruding rock formations. We learned on the cruise that in 1964 Alaska endured a severe earthquake, the largest ever recorded in U.S. history with a 9.2 on the richter scale and the second in the world after Chile's 9.5. The 1964 Southern Alaska earthquake, according to the National Park Service dropped a range of 3 to 8 ft. Along with the rising sea levels from the melting glaciers these rock formations and the coastlines of the park are being hidden.

Our next adventure the day after was driving a short drive from Airbnb in the woods which was definitely better than camping but it was still in the woods in this makeshift hotel room. We hiked through the Harding Ice field trail very early morning. It was a blessing in disguise that we were still not adjusted to Alaska's timezone which was 6 hours earlier than EST, so we were waking up at 4:30 am no problem. We were one of the few people already hiking this trail that brought you to beautiful sweeping views of the Harding Icefield. We could not make it all the way to to the top due to the sheer amount of thick snow that was already up to our knee caps but we passed the meadow which is where we got the views of the glacier below. By the time we turned around we basically slid down most of the way since the snow started to turn into a slushy trail that was hard to navigate. So pro tip get there early when the snow is still cool from the few night hours and not melting from the strong Alaskan sun. It was one and will remain a memorable hike and moment being that close to a glacier.

After we went to the small downtown to eat some dinner which we honestly did not like and reading into the google reviews others experienced a bad experience at the Seward Brewing Company unfortunately ; their beers were very flat and the food was bland and overpriced. To not judge a book by its cover the next day we actually had some great food at Thorn's Showcase Lounge advertising a bucket of Halibut which was very delicious.

One non hiking thing we did was go to the Sea Life Center which also functioned as a rehabilitation center for many of the animals. It was chockfull of interesting information and had many areas to learn and even see that exact bird, mammal, fish, mollusk, etc. One of the most memorable parts of that seal life center was seeing a Stellar Sea Lion. It was enormous and weighed several tons.

Stellar Sea Lion

Some interesting things I noticed eating around and exploring the downtown of Seward were the people and the area. I have to be completely honest that I envisioned a cute, quaint, even wealthy fishing town but the 1964 earthquake devastated Seward's economy and it seems it is still recovering. It also appeared that drug abuse and drinking was an issue there with most of the people who occupied their town. When we would order drinks the waitress of a restaurant we ate communicated that she had to check their license not only to make sure we were of drinking age but to make sure we did not have J on an Alaskan license which is Alaskan law to prohibit alcohol purchase. According to Providence's Seward and Medical Center Survey, from the around 700 surveyed about 1/3 partook in a binge drinking in the last 30 days.

The city almost felt gloomy surrounded by so much beautiful nature it was ironic but when you consider that year round Alaska it is mostly dark except for the summers and the median household income is less than $70,000 and with an poverty rate of almost 10% it is not a surprise this town has a bit of a drinking problem.

In a nutshell, Seward is a peculiar place but has a lot to offer especially in terms of the nature. People are friendly but a bit odd. There is even a saying on the Silver Gulch Brewery glass we bought, "Where the people are unusual, but the beer is unusually good".

The next stop on our trip was Fairbanks and Denali National Park!