SEWARD
Seward is 127 miles south from Anchorage. It is the origin of the flag of Alaska.
It was designed by Benny Benson who was the winner of the flag design contest in 1926.
The blue field is for the sky of Alaska, the North Star for Alaska being the most
northerly state and the Big Dipper for the Great Bear, symbolizing strength.
Seward is a place for many activities including fishing, kayaking, hiking and sailing.
It is surrounded by mountains containing many beautiful glaciers. You can
drive to the Exit Glacier, only about 10 miles from town. Downtown is a fun place to
stroll about and the Alaska Sealife Center is a must see.
FORTH OF JULY!!!
Besides all the regular Forth of July celebrations such as fire works and parties,
Seward has a rather unique race. The race starts on the main street of downtown
and proceeds up 3,022 foot high Marathon Mountain and then back to the downtown
location. It is hard to believe but the record is a little over 43 minutes. Last
year it was won by a time of a little over 45 minutes.
MUSHING ON A GLACIER
The neatest thing that we have done so far this summer is to take a helicopter up
to a glacier and take a dog sled ride. The folks at the
Godwin Glacier Dog Sled Tours did
a great job. The helicopter ride up to the glacier was really good but was
nothing compared to the ride back, as you can see from the pictures.
The dog sled ride was way too short. We could have done it all day - it was so
much fun. The dog team was hooked up to two sleds. The front one was where the
musher controlled to dogs. The rear one was for us. One of us would ride the rails
and try to control the sled while the other rode as the passenger. The only thing
you had to do, besides staying on the rails, was to use the brake to keep from running into
the sled in front when you went down a hill. Of course, to use the brakes you have
to step on a bar located between the rails, and that can interfere with you staying
on. Not one of us fell off and the trip was a great success.
The weather was beautiful and the trip is a MUST DO for anyone that hasn't done
dog sledding before. You might note we were a little overdressed! However we are
from Arizona and our blood is a little thin. The people at this camp spend six days
here and then one off back in town. The air temperature on this day was about 55
degrees but beautifully sunny. The mushers were all in short sleeves and the dogs
were digging down into the snow to get cooled off. They do like it much better about 30
degrees but we were content.
Helicopter ride to the Godwin Glacier
Left: Sled dog central on the Godwin Glacier
Right: Our dog team and sled ready to go
Left: Maureen, our "Musher", getting the dogs ready
Right: Mushing on the glacier
Left: A stop to take pictures
Right: Ted riding the rails
Anne on the rails for the trip back to camp
Left: Maureen gives high sign to Anne
Right: Showing off some future sled dogs
THE TRIP BACK
We took the long route back to the airport, flying down valley and skimming the
tops of glaciers. We would then go up and over a high pass looking for mountain
goat and bears. A wonderful way to end our adventure.
A close up look at the surface of a large glacier
Crevasse fields on the top of the glacier
Left: Salt water causes the "glacier flour" to settle out
Right: Approaching Seward and the airport