Sunday, August 24, 2008

Seward

Off the bike for a few days and afoot in Seward...Perhaps "a-sea" might be a better way to describe my activities here.


Seward's harbor.

Town of Seward - dramatic backdrop.
Puffins are freakin' everywhere! They were breeding in Cape Hateras when I was there a couple of months ago, causing beach closures. Here, they just hang out eating fish and bobbing around in the Kenai Sound.
Two males harbor seals fighting for territory.
One of the great predators of the oceans. It was a good thing that there were several pods in the area for us - very hard to time any photos with the swells of the sea and the breaching of these whales. hehe... ahh, the life of riley:-)
There were several pods of these Orcas headed out to sea. Apparently Red Lobster was having a special.
This little guy was a ham. He would twist and turn just so I could get him in the best light...I think I nailed it.
Black legged Kittiwakes nesting on the sides of cliffs
A double crested cormorant looking for some grub. 
Just chilling out...
We are still 2 miles from this glacier and 1 mile inland (past the line) of where the glacier was in 1975. That is a lot of ice melted in a short span.
Snow and ice is so dynamic. It can capture the imagination and evoke memories and emotion.
Ice in motion. As the glacier flows off an ice sheet it picks up debris from the valley walls on either side, silt or rocks are plucked up as the glacier flows downhill causing the moraine you see in the photo below.
The below shows a lateral moraine, where the debris is piled up on the sides and a medial moraine, which is the line of debris running down the center.   
Standing still
Have I mentioned that I like Seward - A LOT? 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I can only imagine why you like Steward (A LOT!). The photos are breathtaking, the landscape so ... so ... untouched, your journalling so accurate. Keep your camera handy and we'll be checking regularly for updates.

jr