Seward: Last day on the Kenai Peninsula

Marne, the Guest Blogger is back! We arrived in Seward Thursday afternoon, Aug. 22 in the rain. It slowed while Mike got the RV set up and we went into town and walked the wet streets. Seward is the "Mural Capital of Alaska," and we discovered big murals around every corner. (Is every city "The Capital" of something?) Nicely done murals, too, by the Mural Society. Here are two:

 

 

 

The above building is the public library. Mike pointed out how the façade changes colors as we walked past the building...sort of like iridescent fish scales or bird feathers:

 

 

An orphan from Seward, Benny Benson, was in 7th grade in 1927 when his design was chosen for the Alaskan flag. On his design submission, Benny had written the explanation: “The blue field is for the Alaska sky and the forget-me-not, an Alaska flower. The North Star is for the future of the state of Alaska, the most northerly in the Union. The dipper is for the Great Bear — symbolizing strength.” Way to go, Benny! Wonder who designed the Minnesota state flag?

 

 

 

Mike liked the whales atop this shop awning:

Mike liked the whales atop this shop, above. And I like the pod of whales swimming high in the air in the Alaska SeaLife Center, below. See them swimming down above the stairs?

 

 

 

 Who could patronize a Starbucks when this cute cup offers coffee?

 

 

We've noticed these signs everywhere on coastal Alaska. When a tsunami is imminent, Alaskans will be at the ready!

 

Friday morning we awoke to silence. No rain on the RV roof! We got up and hiked to Exit Glacier, (thanks for the idea, Randy). We were blinded by the sun and wore way too many layers, but had a great time. This is what we pictured doing when we considered visiting Alaska! 

 

We asked a fellow hiker to take this photo...proof we were both actually in Alaska at the same time.

We continued the climb about an hour past this "Edge of the Glacier" viewing spot, (about 900 feet total?) but didn't even get 1/4 of the way to the top. If we had started earlier, we could've made the 8-hour, round-trip hike to the top and back. Right. We both said, "Oh, darn."

 

 

There were signs on the road to Exit Glacier indicating where the glacier had extended to in the past century.

 

 

Seward was the starting point, Mile 0, of the original Iditarod route which was a supply line of goods to central and northern Alaska. It now known as a long-distance sled dog race from Anchorage to Nome.

 

 

 

I snapped a few of these waterfront pics while Mike unsuccessfully tried some geocaching. We watched all sorts of fishing boats returning to port. Tomorrow, a day cruise---hopefully we'll see wildlife, sea life, glaciers in the SUN.