Monday, July 10, 1989
Lazy morning breakfast at Sweeney’s old Alaska restaurant- eggs, good fried potatoes and toast $3.50- too much food. Stopped by a field of wildflowers- butter and eggs, daisies, fireweed, Siberian aster, Lupine and grasses. Picked a bouquet and Bob dug white spruce for me and two for them. Back home watered plants, packed lunches and left about 2:15 for Seward. Our last trip up Turnagain Arm. One of the world’s most beautiful drives. Fireweed has come out since last week and goats beard and cow parsnips seeding.
3:30 p.m. Have rounded head of Turnagain Bay and heading up into mountains. Grand highway with passing zones on up side. White Spruce forests merge into emerald green mountain meadows which give way to rocks with snow and dotting crevasses.
3:35 p.m. 1000 ft in 5 minutes Turnagain Pass- sweep of mountain to right shades of green no trees.
3:45 p.m. Climbing again along East Fork Creek. didn’t notice these curves with Kathi driving!
3:48 p.m. Road to Hope- Seward 55. RVs on road with satellite dishes
4:00 p.m. End Avalanche area
4:01 p.m. Seward 46. 70 mph along Summit lake, cross Sparking Creeks, Fresno, Colorado, Quartz
4:09 p.m. Seward Road new road at delightful Tern Lake (Seward 37)
Mountains closer can see clefts in rock.
4:24 p.m. Kenai Lake 24 miles 80 mph around 2 cars. (Seward 20)
Surrounded by mountain- lakes snow covered and hanging glaciers
4:34 Alaska RR along road.
4:44 p.m. Seward Air Force Recreation base. Motel here $25 for four people. mobile homes. mileage 31863
5:15 p.m. Driving around Seward. stopped at Harbor Master’s office to trade Kenai Fjords voucher for tickets for tomorrow’s holiday boat trip.
Motel adequate. TV and tub shower. Ice cream cones- two Scoops three dips 98 cents! drive 9 miles up gravel road – u-shaped glacial Valley of Resurrection Creek to Exit Glacier.
7:39 p.m. Kathi and Bob took high road and Mary and I low road to face of glacier. Ice fell off. Terminal Moraine facing us. Braided river.
8:10 p.m. leaving. Road goes through Sitka Spruce forest. Huge trucks and tall glimpses of barren rock, sharp peaks and ribbons and snow cascading down sides.
8:31 p.m. La Baren in woods.
10:00 p.m. Lowell Point- houses, gulls, fisherman, earthquake damage
10:30 p.m. pair Cassini’s Anklls diving, swimming underwater and reappear
10:35 p.m. Back into Seward
11:00 p.m. Gas 6.8 gallons $9.26. $1.359 per gallon. Air Force Motel 11:03