Rainy Day on the Sterling Highway to Homer
AdventureMan gets it. If it is not pouring rain, it is a good day. Part of this day was a good day, but we also got a lot of rain.
The drive from Seward to Homer, AK, both on the Kenai Peninsula, is not a hard drive, only maybe 2.5 to 3 hours. Almost as soon as you join the Sterling Highway, you are on the Kenai river, and on the Kenai river, things are hopping. Specifically, salmon are hopping.
At a couple sites, there are a lot of people, and when you look down in the river, there are people in hip boots all lined up for hundreds of yards, casting lines. I rather like fishing, but oh, no! Not like that! I’m a salmon fisher who likes to be on a boat, casting my line over the side, and waiting for a fish to bite. Stand in cold, rushing water with mosquitoes biting? (Shudder!) The thought of some amateur’s hook taking out an eye or a piece of cheek? Horrors!
Along the route, we saw many many signs like this:
Firefighters from all over had flown in to fight the Funny River Fire. Alaska doesn’t usually have such a dry spring; a fire this strong and this early is improbable. The fire was also remote, and hard to fight. The fire-fighters are given hero status in this area.
Just before we get to Soldatna, AdventureMan spots a moose and her calf alongside the road. There are a lot of moose signs, and some of them tell how many moose have been hit by cars along this stretch of the road. Sadly, it is in the 200’s. Hitting a moose is like hitting a camel. It totals out a car and it is horrible for the moose.
About halfway to Homer, just outside Soldatna, we took a stretch break at Tom’s Horn and Antler, where we saw lots and lots of moose, deer and elk horns, and lot of stones, many from no-where around Alaska. We found some geode stones from the Atlas mountains in Morocco. At The Two Rusty Ravens, however, I found the one souvenir I bought, a very large copper salmon mold that just fits over the door between my kitchen and dining room. While it is not a Copper River Salmon, it IS a copper salmon, and it makes me smile. AdventureMan gave me a bad time; it is large, but it just fit in my suitcase. 🙂
We had stopped at the Safeway in Seward, where they have a nice Deli with sandwiches and cookies, and we had our lunch with us. You just never know where you will be and if a restaurant is still open, or not yet open for the season. Here is where we had our lunch stop – an oversight with a view of volcanos – when you can see more than 50 feet in front of you.
And here was a sign at the pull off. Most of the signs we saw in Alaska had shotgun holes in them, LOL.
The drive is an easy drive, whether you are coming from Anchorage or from Seward. It barely takes half a day. There are not a lot of passing areas, and there are a lot of big slow RVs, so just take a deep breath and enjoy the experience.
Salmon Bake Restaurant in Seward
“You’ll find the Salmon Bake restaurant just past the turn to Exit Glacier”, the guide said, and we laughed at the Exit Glacier Exit. The Salmon Bake restaurant was near our hotel, and handy after an all-day excursion out to the Seward fjiords.
When AdventureMan asked me what the best meal of the trip was, I had to think – there were several very good meals. But head and shoulders above the rest – and I apologize now that there are no photos – was this meal. Was it because we had spent the day in the great outdoors and were so hungry? Maybe a little. But when the waitress showed up with the big bowl of steaming clams loaded with garlic, I was ecstatic. So simple, so perfectly cooked, and so delicious! Accompany that wine and parsley broth with a boule of sourdough bread and I surrender. Those clams were the best dish I had the entire trip.
The salmon that followed was extraordinary. Mostly, I like salmon served grilled; I don’t like it baked in sauces and I sure don’t like it with cheese. This salmon had a mildly teriyaki glaze, a great grilled flavor and was cooked perfectly, still soft and moist on the inside. It was superb.
We split a blueberry cobbler because the food was so good, and it came out hot with a ball of vanilla ice cream on top – it was perfect.
The interior is all Alaskan rustic. If I had to criticize, I would say that it was annoying having my water served in a Mason jar; I’m not into country and I’ve never liked that jar thing. The food was so exceptional, however, that the criticism is petty and tiny compared to how good the food was.
The Salmon Bake restaurant fills up fast. As we left, there were several groups waiting. Get there early or have reservations; the Salmon Bake Restaurant is only open Mid-May through September.
The Windsong Lodge in Seward, Alaska
The Windsong Lodge home page shows happy happy people having lunch on a sunny outdoor terrace overlooking a sparkling river. I looked at a lot of different Seward Hotels, but oh, the thought of a balcony overlooking the river just drew me in.
This is what the description of the Lodge says:
Just outside the city of Seward, travel down the winding road to Exit Glacier and you’ll find your paradise away from home, Seward Windsong Lodge. The towering mountains, fragrant spruce trees and the rush of the Resurrection River awaken your senses on arrival.
I could hardly wait to see those towering mountains and fragrant spruce trees from my balcony.
There was nothing wrong with our room. It was spacious, and had furniture made from logs, all rustic and sparkling clean. There was a microwave, a refrigerator, a hair dryer, all the amenities.
This was the view from my balcony.
I did love the cut outs in the balcony railing.
The Lodge offers a coffee bar and pastries, but when we were checking out we saw huge lines waiting for coffee and pastries, and although they had about ten computers, there were lines waiting to use their computers, too. Most of these people were off the cruise ships. We thanked God to have a car, and to know where we could get good coffee and breakfast goodies. We don’t mind paying. We don’t much like standing in a long line for breakfast.
Nice lodge, every seat taken.
Seward, Alaska and Alaska Saltwater Tours
We made it to Seward, a cute little town that almost disappears when the tourist season ends. As you will see, there is a cruise ship here, and most of the cruise ship tourists book with either Major Marine or Kenai Fjords. If you like boats with a lot of people, you will enjoy either of those. If you prefer smaller boats, with fewer people, there is Alaska Saltwater Tours.
“Are you going halibut fishing?” the girl at the Windsong Lodge Desk asked when we said we were going with Alaska Saltwater Tours, little frowny lines forming between her eyebrows. No, no, we replied, wildlife and whale watching, in a small group. I guess the hotel books tours, but mostly for the bigger tour boats. We made our reservations months ago, we were so sure we wanted this boat, the Alaska Saltwater Tour.
Cruise ships berth in Seward:
We had a totally forgettable dinner, the worst clam chowder I have ever eaten, so no photos. The next day, we met up at The Bakery, from where we headed to our boat.
I don’t usually have pastry, but I could not resist that cinnamon roll. It was so huge, I could only eat a little, but they wrapped it in foil and AdventureMan and I were able to nibble on it mid-afternoon, as we watched more and more whale.
Our boat, the Stellar Sunrise, carried 15 people. AdvenuteMan and I believe it is one of the best day cruises we have ever taken. We never dreamed we would see so much wildlife in one day.
Alaska, how I love you. Alaska has a mandatory life vest program for all children. Not only are life vests mandatory, they are also provided FREE. When I think of true love, it is manifestations like this I think of, protecting children, making it impossible for anyone to have an excuse to have a child on board not in a life jacket.
Scenery leaving Seward:
Little otter saying goodbye – later, we saw a RAFT of otter, two by two, about 18 of them floating in a group. They are so CUTE.
Barely out of port, he find humpback whales, puffing and diving:
Its a very low minus tide, and our Captain Tanya finds a grouping of purple and red sea stars – doesn’t it look like modern art?
Mountain goat:
A family of mountain sheep, Dad, Mom and three little kids:
Orca whale!
Penguin like birds, not penguins, but I can’t remember their name:
Throughout the day we had porpoise playfully racing alongside the boat:
Puffins are so hard to photograph, and so adorable!
A slug of sea lions, LOL – don’t they look a little like slugs?
The big bull sea lion roars and chases off a challenger. You would be amazed how loud he can roar:
Another eerily beautiful glacier, with it’s roaring and cracking, deep, loud sounds like the earth groaning. We had a lunch break at the glacier:
Although it is out of sequence, I saved this for the last. Do you know how many times I have tried to get a shot of a whale’s tail? Timing has to be perfect, even if you shoot in bursts. I will admit it, this time I just got lucky, and this might be the best I ever get:
So, all in all, a “whale of a day!”
The Turnagain Arm Pit BBQ on the Road to Seward
We’d forgotten to think about lunch. We had eaten all our Japanese crackers, the kind you can’t eat on the plane or the smell will make all the other passengers sick, and we still have a couple hours drive ahead of us to Seward where we are going out again to see glaciers and wildlife.
And then, we go past the Turnagain Arm Pit BBQ. We pull up at Turnagain House, a finer restaurant, but it is not open and we drive about half a mile back to the BBQ. As we open our car doors, we are so glad to be there. It smells like home, it smells like Pensacola, BBQ.
Turnagain Arm is the area we are driving through, so Turnagain Arm Pit BBQ is a clever play on words. This is what it looks like from the road:
This is what it looks like when you walk in:
This is the Turnagain Arm Pit BBQ Menu – it’s a little pricey, but hey, it’s Alaska, and you don’t fine real pit BBQ everywhere. Everything is imported . . . and there are not a lot of restaurants along the highway to Seward. . .
AdventureMan ordered his favorite, pulled pork. It was delicious, but a little fatty. The sauce was great:
I ordered the mixed plate, I ordered it because of the chicken, which I saved to eat later and then, oh aaarrgh, I forgot it. . .
The scenery along this highway is fantastic. I didn’t take a lot of photos because we really wanted to get to Seward:
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