Alaska: Day 3 - Seward to Whittier, and then to Palmer!

We had scheduled another scenic boat tour with a company in Whittier named Major Marine Tours. Whittier, smaller than some would consider a town, was a sea-outlet that the military constructed back during one of the World Wars. Since it was well-known for it's tours, and conveniently situated on our drive back to Anchorage, we worked it into our itinerary.

We left Seward early the next day, which gave us the opportunity to catch a glimpse of some mountain morning magic. The sky was clear blue, and the sun light highlighted the peaks, casting shadows we hadn't a chance to see on previously rainy or overcast days. Eventually, we approached the entrance to Whittier - a 3+ mile one-lane tunnel through a mountain. The tunnel operates on a schedule that allows vehicles and the train to enter or leave Whittier once every hour, so arriving on time (or early) is of the essence. Given that we had left extra early, we had 2 hours to spare
before our scheduled boat tour, so we headed for a marked trail we found on a city map bearing the name Horsetail Falls. Being hard to find and nestled up on a hill next to some abandoned/junked school buses, I was a bit skeptical, but we parked outside the gate and set out. The trail was marked by connected wooden planks, wet with morning dew and a mere 8 inches wide most of the time. The path winded up and up again, climbing up the side of a mountain and through lush vegetation. Once we reached the top, we were greeted with amazing views of snowcapped mountains, bright, welcoming meadows thick with blueberry, salmonberry and cranberry bushes, and a bustling creek. We also ran into a local who was romping around up top picking berries with his trusty black lab companion. He educated me on the different berries that grew in the area, showing me what was edible, and what to avoid, so I spent the most of the hike downhill picking every berry - ripe or otherwise - I could find. Unfortantely, the berries were not as sweet as I'd hoped, but it was still fun! Pushing through the dewy brush had soaked our clothing, so after we finished the hike we made a quick change and rushed to the harbor to board the boat.

The boat was was a 2.5 decker - an inner main dining deck, an upper viewing deck and a bar down below. Shortly after the boat disembarked, we had lunch - Prime Rib, Alaskan Salmon, and fresh sourdough bread and the trimmings (sourdough bread is a big deal there apparently, but it was scrumptious with butter). The 5.5 hour tour took us out of port and down the arm, showcasing stunning views of snowy mountains, rocky cliffs, waterfalls and 13 different glaciers. We even encountered a couple of "rafts" of otters (raft denoting "a large gathering) floating along and chilling in the cool water. There was a park ranger on board, who gave a very educational narrative throughout the trip and whom also volunteered to shoot pictures of all of the passengers (with their personal cameras) at a beautiful waterfall we encountered. The highlight of the trip was definitely the time we spent parked a few meters from two large glaciers that were situated on the water. This gave passengers an opportunity to watch the glaciers "calving" - the process of large masses of ice breaking off into the ocean. We were lucky and got to witness the second glacier during some
major calving activity, which created some decent waves and sent everyone rocking. The sound of ice sharding off of one of those huge giants is thunderous and was a pretty epic event for us, and definitely put us in awe of nature's power.

After the tour was over, we hoped back in the car and drove for a few hours north, past Anchorage and into the city of Palmer. It was after 10pm once we reached our cute little cabin, so we were tuckered and eagerly hit the hay.