Birthday Trip. Saturday, Part 2

After lunch, we continued down Seward Highway. Taking in the beautiful scenery of the Turnagain Arm and Chugach National Forest.

Didn't seem like you drove over a few miles before you could see another crystal clear lake nestled in the mountains. Some of the lakes were still completely covered with ice while those more open to the sunlight were rippling with waves. We stopped in Moose Pass for sodas and candy bars. This was one of only a few stores along the highway until you come to the larger city of Seward. In fact, this was the first store we had seen since we left Girdwood about 60 miles ago. You are basically driving along with wilderness on both sides of the highway. It is truly a remarkable journey.

About 3 miles before Seward, we left the main highway and turned onto the 9 mile Exit Glacier Road. This area is part of the Kenai Fjords National Park. There are more than 669,000 acres in this park. Home to many snow-covered mountains, the park contains many long fjords with steep sides. Fjords are basically water-filled valleys created by glaciers.

As we drove in, we both realized this is the Alaska we came to see. We watched clear water of Resurrection River wind its way along the rocks in the valley. At any minute, you expected to see a grizzly standing along the shore. The mountains were stunning in all directions. If you look closely in some of the pictures, you can see the bitter wind whip the snow off the sides and tops of the mountains. Occasionally, a snow-capped mountain would meet the greens of spruce and hemlock of a neighboring mountain.

We had hoped to hike to Exit Glacier, but after traveling the road for 5 miles, the road was closed due to the heavy snow. We parked at a trail head where Chugach National Forest meets Kenai Fjords National Park. We decided to get out and walk along the road toward the glacier. After discovering that it was over two miles to the glacier trail, we opted to wait until tomorrow morning and return to hike up to the glacier.