Hey everyone,

My mom flew in for a visit and while she was here, we drove down to Seward to go fishing and explore Kenai Fjords National Park. The drive down was fairly uneventful, but we did have some nice light from the Denali State Park lookout and full rainbow on the side of the road.

Denali State Park Rainbow on Parks Highway

The first day exploring the park, we took a boat from Seward out to Aialik Glacier. As we made our way into the bay, there were lots of little islands dotting the coastlines that were full of vegetation.

As we got closer, we could see all kinds of birds resting on cliffs, including puffins! I've been wanting to see these birds in the wild for some time, and they didn't disappoint.

Horned Puffin Tufted Puffin Horned Puffin Taking Off

We also saw a sea otter, whales in the distance, and a pod of orcas. 

Sea otter Male Orca Male Orca (2) Fishing Pod of Orcas

As we made our way up the bay, the glacier came into view in the distance. It looked huge from a distance, but it was hard to comprehend the size of it until we got closer. We stopped about a quarter mile away from the terminus of the glacier, where we hung out for an hour watching gigantic sections calve off into the ocean. It was mesmerizing. 

Aialik Glacier

The entire foot of the glacier measured about a half mile across and a few hundred feet thick. I could have stayed there all day just taking photos of the ice. The sounds it made were also amazing.

Aialik Glacier Panorama Aialik Glacier details (2) Aialik Glacier details (3) Gull flying along Aialik Glacier Aialik Glacier, Enchance Aialik Glacier, Enhance, Enhance Aialik Glacier calving

Eventually we had to start heading back. On the way out we swung by some rocks that were full of Stellar sea lions. Also a new species for me. 

Aialik Glacier terminus Stellars Sea Lions (2) Stellars Sea Lions

It was an awesome day on the boat and I would love the opportunity to do more exploring along the coast.

Stellars Sea Lions (3)

The next day we headed inland to the park visitor center and to Exit Glacier. The glacier descends from the Harding Icefield and there is a small trail that takes you along the lateral moraine for better views. You can hike all the way to the icefield lookout, but we didn't have enough time to go the entire way up.

Exit Glacier terminus Exit Glacier

In addition to the amazing views of the glacier, we also saw some new species of wildflowers. 

Exit Glacier waterfall Fringe Cup
Columbine

It was too short of a trip, but now we know we need to come back and stay longer. It seems like a kayaking backcountry trip would be worthwhile. Add it to the list!