Chiswell islands -- lots of birds roost in this area, since they are well-protected from predators. Also, Steller sea lions haul out and have their pups in the grotto area.
Brandon gets a ride on the bridge of our tour boat with captain Brad.
Our second day in Seward was spent on a wildlife watching trip on a small tour boat. We went out into a set of fjords that are part of Kenai Fjords National Park. Every time I think Alaska can't get more spectacular, it does. We had a beautiful sunny day, and saw tons of wildlife. Even the captain remarked that it was a great day. We started off seeing otters (the last picture) as we left the harbor. Then a few Dall porpoises decided to come and play in the wake of the boat. They look a bit like Orcas and are very fast. We headed over to some cool rock formations, then went and watched a glacier calving. You'd think we would be tired of glaciers by now, but it's still exciting to see them up close and wait for that cracking sound as they break up into the ocean. We saw TONS of birds, including puffins, cormorants, murres and gulls. We also saw a lot of endangered steller sea lions. There was a grotto in which they would haul up and have their pups. We saw several humpback whales and even some minke whales, which was exciting. Overall it was a great trip. It lasted about 7 hours, and we got a nice salmon and prime rib lunch along the way. The crew was very friendly and helpful, and we had a park ranger narrating along the way. I would highly recommend Major Marine's tour if you ever make it to Seward.
The next day we spent almost the entire day at the Alaska Sea Life Center where we learned a lot more about the wildlife we had seen the day before. Next entry will be about our train trip from Seward to Anchorage.
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