Post - The Hopeful Life

Seward had been a place of interest to visit for all of us from the get-go. From Tok, it was about a nine-hour drive to Seward. However, the highway was the worst one that we had encountered so far on this trip. We hadn’t had too much trouble with frost heaves until the road from Tok to Sutton. We decided to stop for a couple nights at the Sheep Mountain Lodge because it was not only an incredibly picturesque spot, but because it was also a much slower drive than we expected. The views of the surrounding mountains were amazing! It was a quick drive to view the nearby Matanuska Glacier during the day, but most of our time was spent enjoying all of the amenities that were offered at the Lodge, including free firewood and a hot tub with a view. The cabins were really cute too. Technically, the lodge was not set up to open until May 12th, but the hosts were very accommodating and they were putting in a lot of work on the restaurant and common areas. It will be even more charming than it already is in the coming weeks. We definitely would not mind staying there again.

After two days of living our best life, we decided to continue on toward Seward as our last stop before Talkeetna. The highway down to Seward was even worse than the last segment to Sutton. We hit some good bumps here and there. There were plenty of construction zones to improve the road for the summer traffic, but they have a lot of work cut out for them. I tried to go off-roading with the fifth-wheel in one of the zones by mistake. I put some fear in the eyes of the excavator operator for sure. In my defense, I was the lead vehicle and why would you skimp on the cones, people?! We arrived in Seward by late afternoon and got a spot right next to the water at Resurrection Bay. It was so beautiful waking up next to the ocean and snow-capped mountains. We happily stayed four nights.

I could get used to waking up to this every morning :)

The first day, Wes spotted a bald eagle in a tree next to our trailer. It was the first of many that we saw in Seward, but it was definitely the closest we had come to one so far. Everywhere you turned there was an eagle. It was so cool. Same with the otters. Popping up all over the place! After the eagle’s photo shoot, we wandered around town a bit and ended up at the Seward Alehouse for a few beers. The bartender, Jane, was a very sweet girl who gave us a short list of things to do while in town. We planned to return later that night to see a local band, Blackwater Railroad, kick off their Tuesday night summer ritual. We met some friendly people and the band was awesome.

We may have stayed out a little too late and had one too many beers because we could definitely feel it when we went out with Major Marine Tours the next day. Apparently, we will never learn. Our vessel was the Orca Song and there was plenty of room since it was still so early in the season. The chances of seeing orcas were slim, but we have had pretty good luck with the wildlife so far, so we were hopeful. We saw an otter devouring a crab on the way out, which was pretty sweet. The captain was able to get fairly close since the otter was a bit preoccupied with his lunch. There were plenty of eagles and shorebirds flying around the bay and we saw a bunch of Steller sea lion getting their tan on in the sun. We found whales! Humpbacks and a couple of fin whales, which we had never seen before, but sadly no orcas. There were great views all around Resurrection Bay and it was so nice to be out on the water again.

We headed to Seward Brewing Company a couple times while in town, which conveniently opened on the first of May. Their beer and food were excellent. They had the BEST homemade salt & vinegar chips ever! Their dessert was crazy good too. Mr. Sweet Tooth, Wes, ordered the vanilla ice cream cookie sandwich with a salted caramel drizzle and a potato chip crust. We are going to start running regularly in Talkeetna.

In addition to the awesome house brews, they had guest taps as well. I enjoyed the Raspberry Wheat from Broken Tooth Brewing.

Pinbone IPA and salt & vinegar chips…yum.

Our last day in Seward, we went for a short hike at Lowell Point, where Jane had suggested. It was a really pretty walk through the woods and opened up onto a black sand beach. Didn’t spend too much time on the beach because there was a school field trip, which meant children running wild all over the place. Eagles everywhere again. Kelly drank that so cold and so fresh Alaskan water straight from the source. She’s still alive. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon and we went to happy hour afterwards at Chinooks Waterfront Restaurant. We tried our fifth and final poutine appetizer along our journey. None of them have been as good as the first at McMenamins Edgefield. The search continues. We really need to start running.

We loved Seward and cannot wait to go back and try again for some orcas, but it was time to leave. Finally, on May 3rd, we started the last leg up to Talkeetna. When we reached the construction zones this time, there was an appointed “lead car” to follow. Coincidence? Maybe I scared them more than I thought. I called Vern, owner of the Swiss Alaska Inn and our new landlord for the summer, when we were close to Talkeetna as he instructed. We followed him into town and he got us all set up with our new spot for the summer. He just added four brand new camper spots with full hookups across from the Inn and we are lucky enough to have one. It’s a five-minute walk into town from our place. Couldn’t be any closer. Vern offered to drive us through town since we hadn’t seen it yet. After the seven-minute exclusive tour, we figured out the best way to set up our summer home. I am sure there will be some ongoing improvements made throughout the season. The mosquito warnings about Alaska were no joke. And according to a few locals that we have met so far, they will get smaller and faster in a few weeks.

Look at those blues! Some lake along the Seward Highway on the way up to Talkeetna.

After a couple months of incredible wandering, it is time to get back to work. Wes and I start at the Denali Brewpub on Monday, which seems like a fun place. Later in the week, Kelly starts at Talkeetna River Guides and I start at Denali Zipline Tours. We are all very excited and it should be an adventurous summer for us happy campers!