Here There and Everywhere

Alaska 2026: Denali to Seward, Not That Bad

Our day was off to an inauspicious start; AdventureMan slept poorly last night, and thus, so did I. I also had some concern because I had been without internet and had received no information about how to get into our Seward VRBO. And I wondered if having scheduled a 6 hour driving day was such a wise idea, maybe I stop half way? Once that chain of anxiety gets started, it’s hard to bring it back down.

I was up early and noticed it was a truly glorious day, even better than the day before, not a cloud in the sky. Was it possible we would see Mt. Denali in all its glory before leaving the area? And then AdventureMan woke up and was optimistic about being able to drive all the way, with a stop for lunch in Anchorage. Life started looking a lot better.

Within minutes on the road we were exhilarated. Every mountain was showing off peaks against a deep blue sky. The air was fresh, but not cold. There were few cars on the road. We got to the viewpoint for the north face of Mt. Denali and – there it was! We entered a nearly empty parking lot, but by the time we left, it was like a big party, more and more cars arriving and everyone is excited – the mountain is out! We get to see Mt. Denali!

A Swedish woman saw us doing selfies with Denali and offered to take a photo, then said, “No, that is not good with the fence behind you,” and moved us to another place.

The end of winter in any state our country with snow and ice means the inevitable road work. In Alaska, whole roads can wash out from the winter snow melts.

The second viewpoint was even more crowded – everyone celebrating this great surprising day, after weeks of rain and an extended winter, people were feeling optimistic again. You could even see Mt. Denali from Anchorage.

It was a long day. We stopped along the way at a Veterans Memorial Park to read about Alaskan veterans who had fallen in various conflicts. We stopped for gas. We stopped and took photos, anything to stretch our legs, get in a few steps and break the drive.

We had thought we would have lunch in Anchorage, but as we turned south onto Alaska 1 South, it was all industrial, with a scattering of fast-food places we didn’t want. Then we hit Turnagain Sound, and our hunger disappeared in our wonder at the snow-clad mountains, the long flat inlet and the hope of spotting whales – the scenery was spectacular. 

Life is funny. We had thought this would be a hard day, a six-hour drive. We had dreaded it. To our amazement, we are loving this day, full of sunlight on snowy white mountains, a gasp as we make a turn and see another breathtaking sight.

We finally went into Girdwood, a really fun hippy-era town with a lot of highly individualistic inhabitants. AdventureMan spotted a restaurant with a great name, Base Camp, and we decided to check it out. 

This is not my photo. I cribbed it from Google. It captures the amasingness of this place.

We hadn’t expected much. It was 2:00 pm and we were starving and just about any place would do. As it turned out, this place was a great find. It was like a big diner, with a wonderful menu, including a halibut main course that came with half a plateful of stir-fried vegetables. I also had a blueberry ale, and it tasted like blueberries! You can see it in the top photo, below.

We were so happy when our plates arrived – full of vegetables. And not soggy, tasteless vegetables, but vegetables that taste so good that you are happy to be eating them! The halibut tasted fresh, and was cooked exactly right.

Everything was delicious, and just what we needed to revive our spirits for the remaining hour and a half of our trip. And we received a text with our instructions for our B&B!

We drove into Seward, carefully following the instructions to our B&B, turned into a house facing a waterfront park, just steps from the historic part of downtown Seward. We held our breath as we entered – and discovered it was all that we hoped for – and more. We looked directly out on a small waterfront park, and beyond that – Seward Bay and and the sunlit snowy mountains beyond. It was stunningly beautiful. The unit was clean and had a full kitchen, heat and hot water, storage, AND fresh orange juice, a basket of blueberry scones, and another basket of fruit awaiting us. 

We also learned there was a shared space above us, with a huge, fully supplied kitchen, a living room from which we could watch for whales in the bay, coffee makers and even an entire drawer full of tea bags. After this long drive, we felt we had arrived into our own personal paradise.

We napped. We needed it. 

Then we walked up to the main street, passing an old train station, now a restaurant and cafe, and found a wonderful restaurant where we had two of the most delicious salads, ever. Mine was a blueberry quinoa salad, with crispy quinoa, lots of pecans, and lots of blueberries on a mixed salad/spinach base, with a balsamic vinaigrette. Light, textured and delicious – my favorite kind of dinner.

The waiter was from Puerto Rico, working in Seward for the six months of the tourist season, and having a great time. We were so impressed with all the servers we met, from all different countries and states, each excited to be working in Alaska, full of adventerous spirit. 

We explored downtown Seward; it reminds me of Juneau, where I grew up, and Edmonds, WA, where I have also lived. Our B&B is just like a corner in Edmonds, right on the waterfront, where traffic is negligible by nightfall. 

We were so glad to settle in and get to bed, and we slept ten hours!

June 27, 2026 - Posted by intlxpatr | Adventure, Alaska, Beauty, Food, Photos, Restaurant, Road Trips, Travel | Alaska, Denali, Girdwood, Mt. Denali, Turnagain Arm