belugas

The Ship Creek small boat launch was around a 20 minute drive from the airport. To get there I had to drive into the shipyard, make a U-turn at the guard house. Eventually I came across what looked like a small park on the water with a few trees and an art installation. It had two benches at the end.

I sat there and took in the views and fresh air for about 30 minutes. There were no people in sight, but I felt safe. There were no belugas in sight either so I got back in the car and started my journey towards Seward, which is about a 2-3 hour drive south of Anchorage. I was in no rush to get anywhere and despite all the travel, I was wide awake. Probably because Alaska is 6 hours behind New York.

To get to Seward you must drive along the Turnagain Arm, which is said to be one of the most beautiful scenic drives in the US. The arm is one of two branches of the Cook Inlet and it has rather extreme tidal ranges so depending on the time of day you see it, the look of it will completely change. During low tide it looks like a big field of wet clay with water in the distance.

A half hour into my drive I pulled of the road into a lookout called Beluga Point just south of Anchorage. It’s a rocky area that juts out into the waters of the Turnagain Arm where many vehicles pull over for a hopeful sighting of these white wonders. It also looked like a good spot to sit in the car and actually figure out my plan for the day. Attempt number two and once again, no belugas! Where were they?! Anyways, the silver lining came shortly after I got there. An Alaska Railroad train came barreling through, which for me was so perfectly kismet as my father loved everything about railroads and spent many days of his life photographing trains all over the US. It made me smile. Who needs belugas when you get a sign from Dad?! This trip was for him so it was a memorable way to kick things off. For the record I didn’t see any belugas the entire trip, but many other travelers I spoke with there did!

Glacier Tours + Downpours

While at Beluga Point, I made a game time decision to head to Whittier, which is about 58 miles southeast of Anchorage. There was rain in the forecast but the sky was still clear so I rolled the dice. Whittier is where most boat tours of Prince William Sound take off from. Prince William Sound is home to one of the world’s largest concentrations of tidewater glaciers. There are 17 tidewater glaciers and 150 glaciers there in total. Nerd Note: Tidewater glaciers are formed on land and terminate in bodies of water. 

I had initially wanted to go kayaking in Price William Sound, but several companies had just closed for the season and the one that was still operating advised against going out that day because the weather was less than ideal for my skill level. As I got closer to Whittier I saw why. The temperatures dropped, the winds picked up, and it began to downpour.

There was only one tour going out of Whittier that day and it was on a big boat with lots of other people. That is the opposite of how I like to roll when I travel, but I sucked it up and bought a ticket. It was for a 6 hour excursion called the 26 Glaciers Cruise. The company that runs it is quite reputable, it’s just my own personal hell to be stuck on a boat with a bunch of stereotypical tourists for hours. Since the weather was nasty, it was a relief to have somewhere warm to sit. There was assigned/ticketed seating and luckily the 3 people I was seated closest to were lovely. We really got to know each other over those 6 hours.

Throughout the tour, they offer free coffee and tea. A small lunch is served that includes a bowl of seafood chowder, some coleslaw and fruit snacks. Towards the end they give everyone a warm cookie, but I was underwhelmed and still hungry. 6 hours is a long time so if you do this, just something to keep in mind.

In those 6 hours, we saw LOTS of glaciers. I was honestly tired of seeing them by the end. My attention span is no longer made for 6 hours of anything, but it was worth the trip to see the Harvard and Blackstone Glaciers. Holy sh-t. They were ENORMOUS. Like knock-you-on-your-ass enormous. Pictures don’t do them any justice. Harvard Glacier is 2 miles wide! You can hover over the photos below to see where they were taken.

THE Whittier Tunnel

If you’re a transportation nerd like me, you may enjoy driving to and from Whittier. There is only one way to access it, which is through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel (aka the Whittier Tunnel). The tunnel is used for both cars and the Alaska railroad. It’s the longest vehicle-railroad shared tunnel in North America and it’s historically significant in that it created vehicle access to an area of Alaska that for 57 years was only accessible by train. You can read more about it here.

The R/T toll will cost you around $13 and you’ll need to check the schedule since there is a lot of switching between trains, cars and direction throughout the day. Once you get the green light, literally, you drive your car in the single lane (over the train tracks) through what feels like a very long, dark cave. It takes about 6 minutes to get from one end to the other (2.6 miles), but honestly it feels longer. The tunnel is dark and if you’re claustrophobic or a nervous driver you probably won’t enjoy the ride. I didn’t mind it though. Here is some video of the drive:

By the time I got out of the tunnel and back on the road it was around 7:30pm and I had to drive straight to my hotel in Seward which was about 90 minutes away. I had been on the move since before 6am so I was getting tired, but at least it had stopped raining. I also wanted to get there before it got dark. Since there is lots of wildlife in Alaska, I didn’t want to run into anything on the road.

Seward Bound

Spruce Lodge

I arrived around 9:00pm at Spruce Lodge where I would be hanging my hat for the next two nights. Being that the trip came together very last minute, a lot of places were booked. Spruce Lodge was in a good location if you have access to a car. It’s just a few miles up the road from the main part of Seward and literally on the road to Exit Glacier if you are planning to visit. I also didn’t want to spend a lot since I knew I would only be sleeping in the room being that my days were jam packed.

There is no check in desk. Access to you room is given to you via a code that you receive in a text message. I don’t know how I felt about never seeing or speaking to anyone from the lodge. It goes a bit against my safety practices as a female solo traveler, but I did feel very safe there the whole time. The room was clean and comfortable with a queen size bed, a kitchenette, small dining table, couch and a nice bathroom. They have some nice bigger cabins on property that look amazing for families or groups, but a single room in the main lodge was perfect for me and my agenda.

I hopped in the shower and pretty sure I fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow. The next day I had an early start to get to my boat tour in Kenai Fjords National Park. For one of my favorite excursions of the trip, see my “Alaska Day 2: Spetacular Seward” post.