Seward Alaska

My main reason for going to Seward was the Kenai Fjords Tour.  I got this really great camping spot next to the Sea Life Center, close to town, with a spectacular view of the sound.  And since the Fourth of July was just a few days away, I decided to stay a while.  

Actually, the big motivation for staying was that on the 4th, the town puts on it's annual Mt Marathon Race.  This little town of about 3000 grows to over 30,000 on race day.  Like many other things, it started as a tavern bet that has just continued on.  It is the second oldest continuous foot race in the United States with the Boston Marathon being the oldest.

The race is up to the top of this 3500 foot mountain, (remember Seward is at sea level) and back down.  It's 1 1/2 miles up and the same distance back down.  If you click on the picture you should be able to make out the runners right around the tree line.

There's a men's, women's, and juniors races.  Racers coming off the mount are muddy with many also bloody.  Last year there were several injuries from falls that send people to the hospital, which, fortunately, is right next to the trail head.

For me, this was an OMG moment!  You could see this guy in binoculars coming down the top section and he was flying.  He ended up setting a new record time of 41 some minutes, beating the old record set in 1983!!!  And, the guy who took second, also beat the old record.  

One day, since it was raining, I spend the better part of the afternoon in the Sea Life Center.  One of the exhibits is arctic aquatic birds.  

They made for some interesting picture taking, even though they weren't in the wild.

I ended up staying in Seward a little over a week.  Partly because of the activities on the 4th, but also I managed to catch the cold of flu and didn't have much energy.  Besides, like I mentioned, my camping spot had a spectacular view.  What better place to lay around.  After a few days the weather started to get to me.  I felt I needed to get out of the cold (52 degrees) damp, (raining much of the time)  and windy weather.