Sauerdough Lodging Blog | Sauerdough Lodging

The Ice That Started a Fire

Hiking in the Kenai Fjords National Park. Photo by Jackie Hogan.

I remember the first time I heard the word Kenai. I was sixteen years old and was standing alone in the kitchen of my childhood home early in the morning when I heard scratching at the garage door. Cautiously, I pulled the door open and was engulfed in a sea of sloppy kisses from a Rottweiler puppy so precious it nearly hurt. From behind me, I heard my brother say “Kenai, don’t jump”.

My family has a history with Alaska that spans generations, but that’s how I learned about the Kenai Fjords National Park. My brother’s desire to visit the 49^th state was unparalleled, and Kenai was the most perfect name for his four-legged companion. Little did I know that seven years later I would find myself living in Alaska by random chance. And little did I know that I would fall deeply in love with the place.

Seward is the gateway to the Kenai Fjords National Park, which was established in 1980 by President Jimmy Carter (before 1980 it was a National Monument) and covers 669,984 acres on the Southeast side of the Kenai Peninsula. The park is roughly 51% ice and contains the Harding Icefield, which was first formed about 23,000 years ago and is one of the largest icefields in the United States (side note: Harding Icefield is stunning and spectacularly breathtaking and worth the hike).

Harding Icefield. Photo by Jackie Hogan.

I’m a history nerd, so what interested me was the fact that in 1993 the park service conducted a survey and documented native village sites dating as far back as 1200 AD (I can’t even comprehend how long ago that was! Can you?). They also documented an earthquake in 1170 AD that lowered the shoreline by six feet (history is so rad).

The highest point in the Kenai Fjords National Park is an unnamed peak in the Kenai Mountains that stands at 6,450 feet. The lowest point in the park is, of course, the deep fjords that give the land its fame. The sea floor at its deepest points of the fjords can be up to 1,000 miles below the surface. I once kayaked in a fjord in Southeast Alaska that was 1,000 feet deep. Much like gazing up into space, floating on top of deep water has a way of putting your insignificance into prospective.

This slice of stunning and pristine land, one of only three Alaska National Parks that can be reached via road, has been luring people here for as long as there has been people in Alaska. Once it became a park, the first improvements were to access Exit Glacier, which rests just outside the Seward city limits. The wildness of the Harding Icefield, the fjords that were carved out of land by powerful ice, and the convenience of having Seward as your muster point are all experiences that no visitor to Alaska should miss.

Book your stay at Sauerdough Lodging, in downtown Seward, and see for yourself “the ice that started a fire” (John Muir).

Blog by Liberty Elias Miller. Visit her website here: https://www.libertyeliasmiller.com/

Seward from Mount Marathon. Photo by Jackie Hogan.

The North Pole

Santa Claus House in North Pole, Alaska

There’s a magical place in this world. It’s called the North Pole. I’m sure you’ve heard of it. But I’m not talking of the spot in the Arctic Ocean where the earth’s axis of rotation meets the surface, though did you know that the sea depth at the North Pole is a shocking 13,980 feet?! Yikes.

I’m talking of Santa’s North Pole. And while we all know that the North Pole isn’t really real…it actually is kind of real.

There exists in Alaska a snow-dusted (more like snow-dumped) town called North Pole, which lies near the city of Fairbanks. Here, in this town of roughly 2,117 people, everything is all about Christmas. All year long.

The most popular attraction is, of course, the Santa Claus House, an old trading post turned, well…turned into Santa’s house. Each year the North Pole post office receives hundreds of thousands of letters to Santa from boys and girls around the world, and a community program exists to respond to those letters. Thousands more send their annual Christmas cards to the North Pole where they are stamped with the towns postmark before being forwarded to their recipients.

Picture the scene: Santa’s house nestled into the snowy terrain of the Alaska wilderness, elves carrying red and white sparkly wrapped packages, reindeer (like actual Alaskan reindeer) puffing out white plumes of hot breath, the big man himself belly-laughing on his throne, and the northern lights licking the sky above you.

Sounds pretty surreal and magical, right? Only in Alaska can these things exist. Alaska – a state where every spec of soil and air and water is infused with real-life magic.

Speaking of the northern lights…just south of Anchorage, on your way to Seward, is the town of Girdwood, a once-quaint village that is still a quaint village but now has a movie-set feel to it. Nestled at the base of Mount Alyeska in Girdwood is the Alyeska Resort, a monstrous hotel that at the same time looks out of place, yet oddly and perfectly in place.

The northern lights over Alyeska Resort in Girdwood

When the northern lights do their winter dance in the skies over Girdwood, Alyeska Resort offers their guests a wake-up call, because you will never remember those few lost minutes of sleep once you lay your eyes upon the lights in the sky and feel their power in your soul.

Basically, the moral of this story is that Alaska is probably one of the best places to spend a guaranteed white Christmas. It’s sure to create the most beautiful and lasting memories.

To send your letters to Santa, address them to:

Santa Claus

1 Santa Claus Lane

North Pole 99705

To experience the magic of winter in Alaska, book your stay at the Sauerdough Lodge in Seward.

Blog by Liberty Elias Miller. Visit her website here: https://www.libertyeliasmiller.com/

The Seward boat harbor in winter

Top Four Winter Activities in Seward

If you’re from the “outside”, a term Alaskan’s use for any place outside Alaska (get it…?), then you might have the idea, like the rest of the world, that Alaska completely shuts down every winter; that everything comes to a screeching halt with the fall of the first snowflake (no, that’s Seattle).

However, that idea couldn’t be farther from the truth. While the world thinks Alaska is hibernating with the grizzlies, we’re actually running with the dogs and swimming with the whales. All the while wearing our Xtratuf boots, lovingly referred to as the “Alaska sneaker” (I’m wearing mine as I type this).

With a nearly overwhelming plethora of winter activities to choose from in our gorgeous snow-enshrouded state, I’ve put together a list of the top four activities that will offer any Seward visitor a broad range of excitement and lasting magical memories.

#1: The Old Fashioned Christmas Festival

This twinkly gathering of lights happens in downtown Seward, mere steps from the Sauerdough Lodging, and is complete with a holiday tree lighting, art vendors, and lots of holiday cheer. Be sure to stop into the SeaLife Center while you’re strolling around downtown.

When: December 4-7 each year

Where: Downtown Seward, Fourth Ave

Website: http://www.seward.com/

#2: The Luminary Ski

Held every New Year’s Eve, the Luminary Ski is a family-friendly event complete with hot cocoa, cider, and a campfire. Luminaries are placed along the ski trails at mile 12 of the Seward Highway so you can walk or cross-country ski your way through a snowy forest aglow with candles. Yeah, that sounds pretty romantic, doesn’t it?

When: New Year’s Eve

Where: Mile 12, Seward Highway

Website: http://www.seward.com/

#3: The Polar Bear Jump

So you want to know something wild about the polar bear jump? We all know that this type of event happens all around the world, but did you know that the Seward Polar Bear Jump has had National and International television coverage and has been broadcast live on the radio in California, Texas, Hawaii, and Sydney, Australia?

So what gives? Why is the plunge in Seward so famous? No one knows. But it’s probably because it’s a bunch of isolated Alaskan’s jumping into the frigid winter waters of Resurrection Bay in January. Probably wearing Xtratufs.

But don’t worry – you don’t have to jump. Anyone is welcome to enjoy the festivities from shore. This event serves as a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society so at least all that hypothermia is happening for a good cause.

When: Third Friday of every January

Where: Seward harbor

Website: http://www.seward.com/

#4: Pet the pups at Turning Heads Kennel

Open year-round, Turning Heads Kennel offers, you’ve guessed it, dog sled tours (tip: call it mushing if you want to sound like a local). There’s several winter tours to choose from, including multi-day excursions. At the end of your trip, after being covered in sloppy dog kisses, you can sign up to adopt a retired sled dog (as in pay for its care, not as in put it in your luggage and take it home with you).

When: Year-round

Where: Herman Leirer Road (also referred to as Exit Glacier Road)

Website: https://turningheadskennel.com/

Of course, there is always the option of staying in with the people you love and laughing and talking while you sip hot cocoa with a fuzzy blanket wrapped around your shoulders. Beautiful memories are made in so many different ways. Cherish them all.

Happy Holidays from all of us at Sauerdough Lodge and the Sea Bean Cafe.

Blog by Liberty Elias Miller. Visit her website here: https://www.libertyeliasmiller.com/

Mount Marathon Race

View of Seward from atop Mount Marathon. Photo by Jackie Hogan

Can you imagine running down a 3,000 foot mountain in 12 minutes? Yeah, neither can we. But believe it or not, it’s actually a thing in Seward, Alaska. Like, a big thing. To call it a running event is hardly even accurate – it’s not so much running as it is sliding down sharp, loose shale and losing chunks of precious skin.

It’s called the Mount Marathon Race, and it’s been happening every year in Seward since before 1915 and is believed to be the second oldest race in American history (historians aren’t exactly sure when the start year was but believe it was as far back as 1908, though the first organized race was in 1915). Legend has it that it started out as a bet at the bar. The guy (again, no one is really sure who that guy was) ran up Mount Marathon and back down again in an hour and twenty minutes. Word spread, and soon every deckhand on every arriving ship wanted to have a go at beating the time.

These days, the race begins in downtown Seward, on the corner of Fourth and Adams, nearly right outside the doors of the Sauerdough Lodge and Sea Bean Café, and ends one block south at Fourth and Washington, after running up and down the mountain, of course. The total race distance is 3.1 miles and top racers can reach the summit in 30-40 minutes, with their downtime clocking in at an unbelievable 10-15 minutes (the 2017 winner did it in about 12 minutes). A common sight at the finish line is bloodied and muddied runners. Outside Magazine recently proclaimed that the Mount Marathon Race is the “toughest 5K in the world”. And we believe them, so we’ll stick to watching from the finish line.

The vertical gain of the course is 2,675 feet and the elevation gain is 3,022 feet. Entrants are limited to 350 men and 350 women. The first time women were allowed to race was in 1985.

Veterans of the race are an automatic shoo-in, though it’s a bit more difficult for hungry newcomers. The first step is entering the lottery, held each April. If that doesn’t work out, they can purchase raffle tickets for $10 each. Their last option is the auction – 10 men’s and 10 women’s spots are bid on. The 2017 highest bid was a staggering $3,500, with proceeds going to the Seward Chamber of Commerce to cover the cost of organizing the race.

Mount Marathon Race has no fixed course. It simply requires that runners begin at the starting line, circle around a big boulder 3,000 feet up the mountain, and end at the finish line. Other than that, it’s a free-for-all with varying routes filled with varying levels of danger. Most runners take a tumble more than once, slicing open their bodies on the loose shale. Bear attacks are also a threat, along with falling boulders, cliffs, and the potential of becoming lost on the mountain. Basically, Mount Marathon Race is a gnarly, brutal, yet iconic part of Alaskan history that holds much glory, and people want to be a part of it. All estimated 30,000 people who visit Seward over Fourth of July.

So, I suppose the moral of this story is if you want to visit Seward during Mount Marathon and see the spectacle with your own eyes, you should really book your accommodation now. It gets crazy around here in early July.

Also, the Seward Chamber of Commerce is now accepting submissions for the 2018 Mount Marathon Race logo. Visit their website here for more details: http://www.seward.com/

Blog by Liberty Elias Miller. Visit her website here: https://www.libertyeliasmiller.com/

“The Cliffs” Photo: Stock

A runner falls off The Cliffs. Photo: Stock

Mount Marathon runners and the stunning view of Seward below. Photo: Stock