Alaskan M(oo)sings: Day Trip to Kenai Fjords National Park

BB and I realized two things Friday:

It was Labor Day weekend and we didn't have any plans
Most things we want to do seem to be open or available for 'the season'. The season seems to be Memorial Day to Labor Day. Thinking we have a year to do all we want to do is a false assumption.

So we planned a daytrip.

We decided to take a daytrip to Kenai Fjords National Park. BB found that the Park offers Ranger Led walks during the summer season, which ended yesterday, September 5. We decided to get up early Monday and arrive at the Park in time to take the 10:00am Ranger Led walk to the Exit Glacier Overlook.

We were up and out early. Kenai Fjords NP is located 2.5 hours south of Anchorage near Seward. Driving down the Seward Highway alongside Turnagain Arm at sunrise provided us one amazing view after another. The sunrise generated color that reflected off the clouds and mountain tops. Once we turned inland the road followed valleys and was fog covered. We wondered what views and sights were hidden behind the fog.

We arrived at Exit Glacier in plenty of time for the Ranger Walk. We couldn't have had a better morning for it, blue skies, a nice temperature and no humidity (I don't think Alaska knows what humidity is). Ranger Araya led the walk. She told us how glaciers are formed and how scientist determine how big it was in the past. She also told us how the native people in the area lived off the land and were influenced by the climate.

Visiting Kenai Fjords was definitely worth getting up at 5:30am!

We brought a picnic lunch with us, peanut butter and pickle sandwiches. It is a great combination. These sandwiches were on untoasted multi-grain bread. Take this sandwich up a level by grilling it (grill as you would a grilled cheese - the pickle goes on after you grill it). We enjoyed these sandwiches at a pull off with a scenic view of Exit Glacier. We noticed another family having a picnic lunch at the pull off. They also had peanut butter sandwiches, but with banana instead of pickle.

More spectacular views on the drive home as we saw all the views that were obscured by the morning fog. Also got a look at a small community named Moose Pass. We didn't stop; however, we will on a trip to Seward we plan to make in a few weeks. The Alaska Mile Post book says the Moose Drop-In Trading Post in Moose Pass is home of Morris, the Talking Moose. I definitely have to meet Morris!

The Seward Highway on the drive back to Anchorage was one long line of traffic. Traffic moved at posted speed or slightly below and everyone behaved.

On the drive to Kenai