Road from Anchorage to Seward, Alaska

Arctic Terns at Potter's Marsh

Heidi at Turnagain Arm

The drive south from Anchorage to the seaside town of Seward takes you through 2 hours of some of the most scenic driving anywhere in the world. And that is only if you don't stop anywhere to explore more...which would be a shame. Heidi and I had already traveled by scenic train, safari bus, and motorcoach, now we had our own little rental car which can only be described as a micro (smaller than a compact), and were ready to tackle the road to Seward.

Strolling thru the wildflowers

Fresh Water out of the cliff

  Just outside of Anchorage the vast fjord called Turnagain Arm comes into view. It has been called that ever since Captain Cook's sailing master, William Bligh (of HMS Bounty fame), was sent in to see if this 45 mile stretch of water could be the elusive Northwest Passage that Cook was after. Instead it only led to another dead end to which Bligh in his disappointment referred to as the "Turnagain River" on his map.

   We on the other hand were not disappointed. We watched as the tide ripped around the near shore rocks. This area has the highest tidal range in the U.S., as high as 40ft. Sometimes a 6ft tidal bore can be seen rolling in, hailing the incoming tidal shift. The tide was low so bald eagles lined the streams that remained. We lost count after 40 eagles in the stretch of a mile of mud flats. Fields of purple lupine waved back and forth above the high tide line, and the Chugach National Forest covers the mountains and valleys rising up on the other side of the road.

Portage Glacier Reflection

Hidden Gem

  The towering snow capped peaks hid some amazing jewels along this path such as waterfalls, glaciers and mirror-like alpine lakes. We stopped to check out Portage Glacier which had the most beautiful lake in front of it. A boat filled with tourists was loading up to head out into the lake for a closer look as we drove by. We instead check out a side trail that turned into a bit of bushwhacking through thick alder but led to this view up a babbling creek to another glacier tucked away up in the mountains.

Lowel Point Rock Beach

  Trailheads for hikes popped up every couple of miles. Next time I come through here I think I'll tackle the Johnson Pass Trail. It is 23 miles long through the forest, valleys, and tundra and was originally used by the Iditarod dog sled teams on their way to Seward.

Heidi on the nudibranch prowl

Success! Sea Lemon Nudibranch

  Leaving this multi-day hike for next time meant that we could continue on to the end of road. The mile markers count down as you head South. Once you hit mile marker 0 you are at the end of Seward, a beautiful little town bordered by mountains and a fjord called Resurrection Bay. From here the road turns to gravel and goes a little further to Lowell Point. This is where we finally alighted and caught it almost perfectly at low tide. We had heard this was the place to tidepool which is always high on our list. The rocky shoreline was a popular place for beach goers on this sunny day. It was also popular for intertidal invertebrates. We found the usual suspects; barnacles, rockweed, lichen, hermit crabs, snails, and mussels. But the finds of the day were two sea lemon nudibranchs...Heidi's first Alaskan nudi!

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