Kenai Fjords National Park

Our plans changed today because of spectacular weather.  Rather than visit things that were at least partly indoors we decided to go directly to Seward from Girdwood first thing in the morning.  Of course we found another moose, although this one was in an open meadow and not on the road.

Once there we booked a 5 hour boat tour of Kenai Fjords National Park.  Unless you are an experienced hiker with at least a week on your hands the only way to see the park is by boat.

Blue skies.  Abundant sunshine and mild (for Alaska) temperatures made for a great tour of the Fjords.

There is uniquely beautiful scenery in this park.  Snow capped and glacier rimmed mountains surround the aqua colored water.  It is a habitat for thousands of different animals, including (but not limited to) Puffins:

Humpback Whales:

The photo above combines whales and some Puffins in the same image.  Other birds pose for post cards:

Sea lions sun themselves on rocks:

And glaciers continue to march to the sea.  There are fewer glaciers doing the marching and they've all been on a climate induced diet so they are not nearly as large as a decade ago.

We needed a make-good.  Last time we toured this park it poured rain and the seas were terribly rough.   Just the ripples in the water that you see which made for a pleasant afternoon.

Tomorrow we head back to Anchorage.  The following day we are off to Katmai National Park to watch bears eat salmon.  After the last two night's dinners I know why they enjoy it although they eat theirs like sushi.