Seward, Alaska - July 13th to 18th, 2022

Seward did not go according to plan. COVID had different plans for us. Despite the turn of events, we still found ways to enjoy some of what Seward had to offer.

Wednesday we drove from Homer over to Seward. We only made few stops along the way. The first stop was at the Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord Russian Orthodox Church. The church is similar to the Holy Assumption of the Virgin Mary Russian Orthodox Church, both remnants of the Russian occupation of Alaska. We noticed the crosses in the cemetery all had three cross beams, with the top two horizontal and the bottom one at a slant. We learned later that this is the Russian Orthodox cross. The top horizontal bar represents the inscription nail to the cross above Jesus. The second straight beam is where Jesus’s hands were nailed. The bottom crooked board is where his feet were nailed. It is crooked to symbolize that the penitent thief on Jesus’s right went to up to heaven while the impenitent thief on his left went down to hell.

Before we left the church grounds, we spotted a bald eagle nest in a nearby tree. A pair of adult eagles landed in the nest, but didn’t stay long. After they flew away, we could see the little baby in the nest. What a nice treat!

We tried to stop at the Tern Lake Picnic Area for lunch. However, Ann got confused which direction we were going on which highway. The picnic area is right where the Seward Highway meets the Sterling Highway. She thought the picnic area was after the Tern Lake Wildlife Viewing Area, but it was actually just before. We stopped at the viewing area and enjoyed the great views out over the lake. There were only a handful of different birds on the lake, but it was still beautiful. The viewing area does not have a restroom, which we like to have at our lunch stops.

When we couldn’t find the picnic area after the viewpoint, we had to quickly switch plans. We needed a restroom stop; we had not stopped in several hours. The next town was Moose Pass. There was a fudge shop there with a talking moose, Moose Drop-In Trading Post. So we stopped to use their bathroom. They only had a port-a-potty outside, but that will do. Feeling like we had to purchase something, we went inside and bought a couple pieces of fudge. The parking lot for the fudge shop was small, so we didn’t feel right eating our lunch there. We needed an alternative.

On Google Maps, we saw the Trail Lake Viewpoint and Parking just a mile back off the highway. That sounded good. The gravel drive to reach the viewpoint is not marked. It leads to a wide-open area with boon docking campsites, with wonderful views of the lake. There was no restroom, but we had already taken care of that. We ate lunch from our van while enjoying the views out over the lake. Perfect!

From there, we headed up to the Exit Glacier Visitor Center in Kenai Fjords National Park. Our plan was to hike the Harding Ice Field Trail the next day. We knew the hike was long and steep, pushing our limits, but we wanted to get a feel for what the trail was like. According to the ranger, it is just steep, with some large step-ups, but nothing very technical. Great! That’s what we wanted to hear.

Our campground for the next two nights was in the Seward KOA, at the start of the road up to Exit Glacier. This was to make it easy to get an early start on the trail.

After checking in, we rounded up our laundry. We were overdue for clean clothes. The campground only has three washers and three dryers, which doesn’t seem like quite enough for the size of the campground. A line formed for the machines, but we only had to wait about half an hour to start our loads. Of course, the dryers take longer than the washers, so the clothes sit in the washers while waiting for a dryer to open up.

Ann had a mild sore throat most of the day. By evening, she could tell that she was getting a mild fever. She decided to take an immune booster and go to bed early in hopes she would feel better in the morning. By the time Keith went to bed, he started getting a sore throat as well.

When the alarm went off at 7 am on Thursday, it was obvious to us that we were not fit enough to go on a strenuous hike in the cold rain, so we turned the alarm off and went back to sleep. When we did finally get up, both of us were not feeling that well. Just mainly mild sore throats and a mild grade fever every now and then. Keith had a little sinus drainage. Ann didn’t believe we had COVID, but the responsible thing to do was to test for it. Keith went first, using an at-home rapid test kit. The instructions say that even if the test line turns up faint, then it is a positive test. Even before the 15 minutes were up, the test line was solid and bold. Yup, we definitely had COVID. Ann didn’t bother testing herself since our similar symptoms started at about the same time. No sense wasting another test kit.

We’re not really sure where we might have come in contact with COVID. It could have been on the flight over to Katmai National Park, or sitting in Captain Patties eating lunch, or from the friendly campsite neighbor in Homer who stepped into our van to chat a little while with us. We probably will never know.

We looked up what the current CDC recommendations were. They said five days of isolation followed by five days of mask wearing after the first day of symptoms. We had one more night at the Seward KOA, then four nights at the Marathon Campground in Seward. That meant our isolation was limited to our stay in Seward. Our initial concern was being able to take the ferry from Whittier to Valdez a couple of days after that, so we breathed a little easier once we realized we could still take the ferry. It would have been a mess trying to figure out how to get back onto our itinerary if we had to work around that.

Hiking the Harding Icefield Trail was now out of the question. We also cancelled our Major Marine Tours glacier wildlife cruise in Kenai Fjords National Park, along with cancelling our Tonsina Beach guided kayak tour with Miller’s Landing. Because of the short notice, we thought we would forfeit all our money we had paid for those tours, but, after sending them a picture of our test results, they both refunded most of it. Thank you!

The rest of the day was spent drinking immune boost supplements, eating soup, and taking naps. At least we had a great view from our van. Almost every site in the campground had a great view of a mountain. There is also a lonely tree with an eagle’s nest in it. We would see an eagle either fly into the nest or out of the nest every now and then. However, we really couldn’t see into the nest. Some fireweed was growing on the edge of the nest which blocked the view. We’re not sure if that was just a happy accident or the eagles were smart enough to plan that.

The sun came out later in the day so we were able to sit outside and soak in the rays, boosting our vitamin D levels. Don’t worry, we remained alert to make sure no one approached us or got too close. We went to bed early. Both of us had chills off and on during the day and into the night.

When Ann woke up Friday morning, she was drenched in sweat, but then she felt pretty good most of the day. In fact, there were times where she almost felt back to normal, then she would get a frog in her throat and have to cough once or twice to clear it out, so evidently she had sinus drainage. On the other hand, Keith continued to have chills off and on throughout the day along with sinus congestion and some coughing.

We needed to check out of the KOA by 11 am, but we were not allowed to check into the Marathon Campground in Seward until 1 pm, so we had a couple of hours to kill in between. We drove up the road to a turn out with a view of Exit Glacier and hung out there for a while. As we were eating our lunch, Baloo pulls into the parking lot with Gunnar and Tanja. They are a German couple we met back in Haines (Haines, Alaska - June 14th to 15th, 2022). They spotted us and came over. We opened the side door, but warned them to keep their distance. We had a nice little chat with them. Feeling sorry for us, they seemed eager to help us in some way. We were well supplied with food and medicine, so we couldn’t think of anything we needed. Before we left, Gunnar came back over and gave us a couple slices of cake that Tanja had made earlier. How thoughtful! Thank you!

Marathon Campground is run by the city of Seward. It is basically a gravel parking lot, but right on the edge of the bay. Our site was on the water side, so we had views out over the bay. However, it was raining all day Friday, so the clouds hid the views of the mountains from us that we knew were just on the other side of the bay. It was predicted to rain half an inch on Friday, half an inch on Saturday, and half an inch on Sunday. It might clear up on Monday, so we might have a better view then.

Raining most of the time that we were in isolation is a mixed bag. On the one hand, we don’t feel like we were missing out on much, because the hike, glacier wildlife cruise, and guided kayak paddle would not have been as much fun in the cold rain. On the other hand, having clearing skies would make for a better view out the windows of our van and allow us to sit outside part of the time. But it’s not like we had a choice anyway.

Friday night was a rough night for us. The good news is that Keith stopped having chills. The bad news is that Ann started feeling worse and didn’t get much sleep. As soon as she laid down in bed, her sore throat came back with a vengeance and her sinuses became congested. We both had the sweats that night and went through a lot of facial tissue trying to clear our heads.

Saturday morning we finished off our box of tissues, then started using our roll of toilet paper that we had with us in our Red Tail Lodge. It was obvious that we needed to make a resupply run. Luckily we were in a town with a Safeway that had DriveUp & Go curbside service. So we hopped online and placed an order for tissues and a couple of other items. Our order was ready is less than an hour. We packed up the van (which only takes five minutes) and drove the couple of miles over to the store. This was the first time we had used a curbside service. It worked great. Our only complaint was that they had to make a couple of substitutions and they don’t give you a chance to accept or decline those substitutions. However, the substitutions were acceptable, so we shouldn’t really complain.

Having a rough night of sleep, Ann felt pretty groggy in the morning. But as the day progressed, she felt pretty good, with not many symptoms. Keith still had a few spells of a mild fever along with congestion and headaches.

The rest of the day felt pretty much like the previous day. We watched the boats come and go from the harbor, fishing boats, tour boats, charter boats, and others. There was a cruise ship docked the day before, but it left Friday evening. Another cruise ship is not due to arrive until Monday.

There were always sea gulls flying out over the bay, sometimes landing in the water, sometimes swarming a boat that was passing by, sometimes densely packed in one spot out on the bay. The dense pack always seemed to be in the same spot. Perhaps the boat traffic churns up the water and creates an area with a high concentration of fish.

We even spotted a sea otter. They are so cute. However, it was a good distance from us, so we didn’t get as good of a view of him as we would have liked. Sea otters seem so playful, as they roll around and float on their backs, with their paws up in the air.

We continued consuming the recommended limit of immune booster per day along with soup, tea, and daily vitamins. Our main goal was to get back to good health as quickly as possible. Keith had a slightly suppressed appetite. He could eat, but not his normal serving sizes. Ann had no trouble eating like normal. Then again, she rarely has trouble eating.

We turned in early for the night again. And just like the previous night, as soon as we laid down, our sinuses would fill up, as gravity was no longer helping to keep them drained. So we struggled for a while to get our heads clear enough so we could fall asleep.

We woke up Sunday morning feeling better. We could breath better, had more energy, and slowed down on our facial tissue consumption. It was still raining, but it let up some around noon.

Since our van had been sitting for a few days in the rain, our solar panels could not keep up with our energy consumption. Since all of our cooking was inside, it was all electric, between the microwave, the Instant Pot and the electric tea kettle. Plus we were using our iPad and laptop a lot more, with hard drives attached, which seems to suck the energy even faster. So we opted to go for a drive to charge our batteries (our vehicle alternator is one of the ways our house batteries charge) and give ourselves a change in scenery.

We drove out to Lowell Point. Keith was not happy that Ann picked this drive. It was the worst road we’ve been on so far. It was just a continuous stream of unavoidable pot holes for two miles straight. There was a landslide on May 7th that closed Lowell Point Road for a month, so we should just be thankful that the road is open at all. There are signs posted to limit your speed to 10 mph, but, trust us, that is not an issue. We were going less than 10 mph most of the time because the road conditions were that bad. They also were not allowing pedestrians or bicycles on the road. We wouldn’t want to ride a bike on that road. Keeping pedestrian traffic off as well is probably to allow the drivers to concentrate on the road, trying to avoid the worst potholes, instead of trying to avoid pedestrians.

However, we were glad we went, well, at least Ann was glad. Keith is still deciding whether the drive was worth it. We parked in the lower lot of the Lowell Point State Recreation Site. The rain looked like it was starting to let up, so we ate lunch in the van to give it a chance to stop raining. It didn’t completely stop, but it was a much lighter rain. From the lower lot, there was a 400 foot trail to the beach and another trail that led 500 feet up to the upper parking lot. There were other trails as well, but we were not in any condition to go on a hike, we just wanted to get some fresh air.

We strolled down to the large, long, rocky beach. There were not many people there. When we first arrived at the beach, we saw a sea otter swim by. Then we spotted a seal or sea lion popping his head up out of the water every now and then.

A couple of small guided paddle groups were preparing to launch their kayaks. It was a different tour company than what we had cancelled, but we’re sure it was a pretty similar tour. They all looked like beginners and they hugged the shoreline as they paddled away.

A few people were fishing from shore and a few more people showed up to walk the beach. An unusual pointy outcropping provided some interest along the beach.

After filling our lungs with fresh air, we hopped back into the van to drive the horrible road again to get back to Seward. Our batteries were only about 35% charged, so after driving up and down the streets of Seward, we drove up to Exit Glacier and back. We didn’t get out at the visitors center, because there were too many people around, but it made for a nice drive.

Then it was back to our familiar view of our camp site. However, the skies cleared some in the evening and the sun even popped out briefly, giving us some views of the surrounding mountains. There they are! We knew they existed!

Monday was a brighter day, both literally and figuratively. The rain stopped and the sun came out, although it was still pretty cloudy. It seemed like we had turned the corner with COVID. We both felt pretty good, with just some lingering symptoms.

After lunch, we took a walk around town. Our campground is a part of several campgrounds, all in a row, along the shoreline of town, part of Waterfront Park. A paved walking path runs right alongside the campgrounds, about one mile in length. We followed the path from our campground to the end of the path at the Iditarod Historic Trail Statue Mile 0, right next to the Alaska SeaLife Center. Then we walked up Fourth Avenue to check out all the murals. We were careful not to get too close to anyone. Having a camera in hand gave a nice excuse to step off the curb to take a picture to avoid passing someone too closely. Ann would like to say she was just faking taking a picture, but that was rarely the case. She can always find something interesting to take a picture of.

From there we returned to the Waterfront walking path. Our total walk was about two miles long. That was enough for us that day. We didn’t want to push it.

The sun gave us the nice views of the surrounding mountains that we had been missing for days. One of those mountains was Mount Marathon. There is an annual race to the summit and back. You can see the trail that leads up the exposed, dark, loose rock surface of the mountain. The Runners Trail to the summit is 1.5 miles long (each way), with over 3000 feet elevation gain. The shale rock surface looks like it would not give you good footing. There is also a Hiking Trail that is slightly longer as it takes a less direct route up. Even if we weren’t sick, we probably would not have tried hiking it. It’s not the elevation gain that scares us away. We’re just not big fans of loose footing on a trail.

The brighter day also meant that our solar panels charged our batteries enough that we didn’t need to go for a drive to charge them. Our last night in the Marathon Campground ended the same way as our first night in the campground, by watching a cruise ship pull away from the dock and spin around, in place, to head out in the right direction.

Tuesday we drove from Seward to Whittier. More rain was in the forecast, but it was not raining in the morning. Our isolation days were over and now we were just required to wear masks for five days. Since it wasn’t raining yet, we stopped at Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park and walked the one mile wheelchair accessible trail to a viewpoint of the glacier (Exit Glacier View Loop). There are other trails that get you closer to the glacier, but one flat mile was enough for us. We wanted to make sure we fully recovered from COVID. It wasn’t much of a hike, but we counted it as hike number 28 of our 52 Hike Challenge - National Park Series.

Our stay in Seward was not what we had envisioned, but we cannot complain. We can think of worse places to spend five days of isolation. We didn’t get to hike to the Harding Ice Field, or go on the glacier wildlife cruise, or kayak. But we viewed the Exit Glacier from a distance, watched the boats going in and out of the harbor, observed a variety of wildlife, and strolled through town to see the murals. If this is the only week that doesn’t go right during our six months on the road, then we would call that a success.

Check out our related video: Seward, Alaska

(Ann)