On the way to Seward we made a stop at Tern Lake which was supposed to be a good spot to see birds. We did see lots of arctic terns who summer here and winter in the Southern Hemisphere

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This is the view from our motorhome at the Seward Waterfront Park. We felt very lucky to get a site right on the beach overlooking Resurrection Bay. Before the 1964 earthquake (9.3 on the Richter Scale), this was a huge commercial area with the Alaska Railroad running its length.

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We had not been in our campsite for more than 20 minutes when this eagle flew in front of our coach and perched on the piling and began eating his dinner...

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...and this cute little sea otter floated by diving deep for a yummy morsel and then coming up and consuming it.

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Exit Glacier, a valley glacier, is the only part of the Kenai National Park that is accessible by car. We hiked out to the glacier (and yes it was uphill and a bit of a hike!) and were rewarded with an up close and personal view of this 3-mile long glacier that flows from the north end of the Harding Icefield, the largest icefield in the United States.

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Cirques are small round glaciers nestled in bowls of rock, clinging to the mountainsides. This one is directly across Resurrection Bay from our campsite.

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We boarded the Glacier Express and went for a 6-hour cruise out Resurrection Bay and through the national park. It was a cloudy, cold day but well worth going.

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As we were boarded the boat this eagle landed on the mast of the ship next to us.

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As we left the dock and headed down Resurrection Bay we passed by our campsite. As you can see we have a primo view.

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Throughout our journey we were treated to magnificent spires...

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...and arches.

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This cute little guy was swimming around and doing acrobatics for us. We were amazed that he tolerated our presence and gave us the opportunity to view him up so close.

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As we entered Aialik Bay, we saw Holgate Glacier (a tidewater glacier), then Pederson Glacier (a valley glacier) and finally...

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...Aialik Glacier, a tidewater glacier. This glacier has a face of 300-400 feet

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A tidewater glacier terminates at sea level and calves directly into the ocean. Our boat sat in front of this glacier for about 30 minutes while we watched the glacier and listened to it moan, groan and shout. If you look at the boulder in this photo and compare it with the next photo...

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...you will notice the part of the glacier that calved off before our eyes. It is an incredible experience to be this close to a glacier and be able to hear and see this kind of action.

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Of course after a glacier calves, there are icebergs floating everywhere.

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This upclose shot of Aialik shows the blue color that is a result of compressed snow. Compressed snow absorbs all colors except blue, which is reflected.

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We got to see several humpback whales. Barb caught this shot of his tail as he was diving.

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The captain pointed out this eagle nest which has been active for some 20 years. We were lucky enough to see the eaglet sitting on the edge of the nest waiting for mom and dad to return.

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We passed many groups of sea lions lying on the rocks. We were surprised to learn that sea lions are nocturnal though that explains why whenever, wherever we see them they are sleeping.

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Our boat headed toward this place where the water was a different color. The captain explained we were going to go through a Moon Jellyfish smack (a group of jellies are called a smack). They were kind of opaque and interesting to watch.

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We saw horned puffins, which are an Alaskan specialty...

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...and tufted puffins.

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Just outside of town is the Bear Creek Weir where we were able to see the returning salmon swimming upstream and jumping out of the water to clear the weir. If you look closely you'll be able to see them. As they get closer to their spawning ground, they begin to turn a red color. It is amazing to me that they can actually return to the exact river where they began.

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We spotted this family of trumpeter swans on our way back to camp. There was mom, dad and five little chicks.

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