Sunday, January 13, 2013

IN THE LAND OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN - GOOD BYE SEWARD

Day 7 - We had another day to explore the Seward area before heading to our next destination - Homer. While in Homer, we wanted to take a bear safari in the Katmai National Park area. Bears had eluded us in other National Parks  that we had visited and so the prospect of seeing them up-close in their natural habitat sounded both thrilling and adventurous. We had heard rave reviews about the safari from a colleague of mine and decided to splurge for the experience that it would offer. I just hadn't made any bookings, to keep our plans flexible.

Post breakfast, I called up 'Emerald Air', the tour operator my colleague had recommended, to book our spots. They told me they were booked until the 14th of July! I hated myself for waiting till the last minute and hoped that we would find an alternative. A quick search on Tripadvisor, led us to 'Alaska Bear Adventures aka K Bay Air'. They were rated #1 on TripAdvisor and also had open spots for the next day. I promptly reserved our spots for the next day. SNAFU averted, phew!

We checked out of our B&B around 11 am. We planned on visiting the nearby 'Exit Glacier' before heading to Homer. There was still no sign of the sun; it was going to be another wet day. The drive was beautiful. After a brief stop at the visitor centre, we took a trail that took us to the edge of the glacier. The trail was flat and open in the beginning. We could see the receding glacier in the distance. The trail then veered in the other direction and took us through some woods. Streams gushed by and a variety of wild flowers could be seen. The trail gradually climbed. Towards the end of the hike, we were back in the open and could see the huge mass of ice as we approached its edge. It was an easy hike that offered beautiful views along the way. No surprise that we saw a lot of people, young and old, on the trail...

Almost near the edge of the glacier

Wild flowers along the hike

We then started our journey towards Homer. Road construction and multiple photo stops slowed us down. So we ordered take-out lunch from the Sunrise Inn in Copper Landing. At Anchor Point town, bout 20 miles before Homer, we pulled up at a vista point. The vista point offered a panoramic view of the Kenai mountain range, the Kachemak Bay and the Homer Spit jutting into the bay. It was a beautiful sight and I knew then and there that I was going to love Homer! Our B&B offered the same breathtaking view but from a different vantage point. When we checked-in, the house was quiet. Outside in the distance, a lone mountain bird, repeatedly sang its song. Oh! it was just wonderful....

View from the living room of our B&B in Homer


1 comment:

Lakshmi said...

Hi Happy New Year ..good to see you after ages..I am active largely on the travel blog and sometimes the personal blog..how have you been ? Reading your series on the Land of the Midnight sun