A Visit to Lowell Point from Seward - August 18, 2013

Hello,
Before we start August 18th, we'd like to share the end of the day on August 17th.  This was the later afternoon view from our accommodations in Seward.

As you can see, it is a left over, mountain glacier we look at from our front window.  Wow, right?

So the morning of August 18, started rainless, but it was coming.  Before it rained, we wanted to take a trip to Lowell Point.  Lowell Point is the very last human place at the point of the east side of the Kenai Peninsula.   I say human because there is still much more nature, but no buildings or roads.  There is a hiking trail and some rustic national park cabins you can get to by boat or plane, but in essence, Lowell Point is the end.  It is only a couple of miles from Seward, south.  It is a really narrow dirt road and, quite obviously, has suffered from many avalanches or Resurrection Bay destruction.  There are so many repair jobs, it is full of pot holes, huge boulders lay almost in the middle of the road by signs that say "Watch for Falling Rocks" - not boulders.

Narrow and steep, the Lowell Pt. Rd., is often cut off from Seward in the winter and spring due to avalanches.

There were waterfalls that poured down from the mountain that once nicely went under the road, but repairs were being made where it pummeled the road to erase where it once was.  The road had to sidestep the waterfalls and it appears the repairs are ongoing.  Sheer ledge overhung the road.

However, the bay was lovely on the other side of the road.  You almost felt as though you were on the water.  And if you were not careful, you could be.

At the end of Lowell Pt. are a few rustic cabins, buildings and some casual camping sights.  Most of these are packed together to get as many people as possible in that small land space.  For example, there was one row of campers next to the bay that you just back your camper up as far as you can and then another one beside that, and another one beside that, etc.  The views were spectacular of the mountain ranges across the bay.  At one time, we had tried to get a place to rent down here on Lowell Pt. for the week and we are glad that didn't pan out.

  This would be the view from your campers if you were camping on the point.










There was an outfitter company there where you could rent sea kayaks.  Here the outfitter appeared to be taking a very large group of people out for a bay paddle.








What really made this little trip so special was the eagle.  Since we have been in Alaska, we have seen many eagles.  But this guy let us get quite close and take some cool photos.

Finally, he got sick of the photo shoot and flew away.

Later, we walked along Waterfront Park here at Seward.  Waterfront Park has a nice walk path, and it also accommodates a huge number of campers on the bay.  This is a city-run park and campers pay the city for camping.  Some of the camping sites have no services while others have water and power.  You pay accordingly.  It is a great way to get close to the bay and fish.  As you can imagine, with the cost of everything being so high in Alaska, fishing is a great way to supplement your food supply.  Even our eagle friend knows that!  Fishing is huge here in Seward.  Ira read a want add for fish processing laborers in Seward for $100 - $150 per day - just show up!  My, we were so tempted. 

Once the rains started, we figured it was time to do laundry!  Thank goodness for rainy periods, right.  So we found this really cool laundromat.  Sip and Spin is a quirky little place which not only houses the cleanest laundromat I have ever seen (and perhaps the most expensive at $3.50 for wash and $3.50 for dry) but it had a delightful eatery, cafe, too.  The menu was limited, but had a wonderful selection - to our liking.  We sipped on specialty coffee and tea while we read a book and did our laundry.  Because of the town being such a tourist haven, lots of tourists were doing laundry but the environment was friendly and casual.  Cute little find.  I actually think it is brilliant to combine these two businesses!  It worked.

The afternoon is a quiet one due to the rain (whew - I need a down day!), but tonight we have decided to go to Rays at the Waterfront for dinner.  I found this place when doing our original research of Seward and wanted to have a table overlooking the bay.  Now, tonight it won't be as lovely overlooking the bay as it could be, but it will be fine!  We look forward to it.

One more day in Seward and we head for Talkeetna on Tuesday!  Another adventure.  Wahoo!