05/21/07 12:06 pm by TreksterA FREE Cruise!

During April's drawing, my card was pulled from the jar at Kaladi's coffee shop in Wasilla and I won a free Kenai Fjords Tours cruise.  My wife and I have lived in Alaska for 26 years and have never really done any "tourists" trips before.  After having a great afternoon, I can highly recommend  this 5 hour excursion. 
We drove down from Wasilla in the morning and checked in at 11am for the cruise.  The weather was severe clear, visibility unlimited, light winds and no bugs.  The trees still had the fresh green color of new leaves as winters last remaining snow piles were rapidly becoming spring puddles.  The temperature was in the low 60's, Seward was still void of the summer tourists.  This was the perfect setting for an awesome experience!
We boarded the M/V Chenega at noon and headed out of Resurrection Bay at a comfortable 16kts.  Check out the sites by clicking on the points of the map above.


Posted In : Kenai Fjords - Comments 3

05/21/07 11:32 am by TreksterFox Island

The cruise included a salmon lunch at Fox Island lodge.  I was surprised at the excellent service from the staff, something rare these days, and was pleased with the quality of the lunch.   We chose to eat on the back deck, basking in the sun and enjoying the view of the mountain behind the lodge.  After enjoying one to many desserts, we headed down to the beachand found a log to sit on and enjoy the view of Resurrection Bay.  A single blast of the boats whistle, indicated it was time to make our way back on board to continue to cruise.


Posted In : Kenai Fjords - Comments 3

05/21/07 11:32 am by TreksterKiller Whales

A resident pod of Orcas (Killer whales) usually hangs out in Resurrection Bay.  Chances were good that we would find them and we did.   Once we got out past the lee of the outer islands, we started to feel the undulations of ocean swell from a recent storm.  Tide rips could be seen on the surface of the water and that is where we first sighted the Orcas.  There was one large male with a very large dorsal fin and numerous females and calves.  The Captain shut off the engine and we drifted for 20 minutes while the Orcas moved about us, apparently feeding in the tide rip.  A female and her calf surfaced 50 meters behind the stern swimming towards us and passed by a few feet off the port side.


Posted In : Kenai Fjords - Comments 3