X O
I'm X O, a tech guy and photographer living in Seward, Alaska.
- 11 posts
That's Lowell Creek Canyon, right behind downtown Seward. I set the camera down on the rocks, hit record, and let it run for ten minutes. No edits, no filters.
It's right there behind town, but once you're back in it, it feels a lot farther away. Steep green mountains on both sides, the creek winding through a huge bed of gravel, and a patch of snow still sitting in one of the gullies at the far end, even in the middle of summer.
The creek doesn't go through town anymore
Lowell Creek used to flood downtown Seward pretty often. Water, rocks and debris would come right down through the streets. So in 1939, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built a 2,068-foot tunnel through the mountain to send the creek out to Resurrection Bay instead. It was the first flood control project finished in the territory of Alaska.
All that gravel in the video is a good hint at why it was such a problem. The creek carries a lot of rock down out of these mountains.
Where it comes out
If you've driven out Lowell Point Road, you've already seen the other end. The tunnel comes out at the waterfall right next to the road, and the creek runs from there into the bay. I filmed that waterfall too, in my summer day video.
Fair warning if you go: it's all loose rock, and it's not a place to be in heavy rain. There's a reason they built the tunnel.
Mostly, it's just a nice spot to sit for a while.
Lowell Creek Canyon in Seward, Alaska
A short video I took at Lowell Creek Canyon here in Seward.
Just a calm, sunny summer day around Seward. It's raw footage. The only thing I added was music, because the wind was loud enough to drown out everything else.
Here's what's in it:
Resurrection Bay and the Alaska SeaLife Center (0:00). It starts out on the water looking back at the SeaLife Center, with the mountains behind it. It's an aquarium, but it also does marine research and wildlife rescue, and it's open all year. Then it turns down the beach toward the mouth of the bay.
Lowell Creek waterfall (1:00). This is the waterfall on Lowell Point Road. It's Lowell Creek coming out of a tunnel that was built through the mountain in 1939 to stop the creek from flooding downtown. I wrote a bit more about that in my Lowell Creek Canyon post.
Downtown (1:30). A quiet street, a couple of people walking, and one of the murals on the side of a building. There are a lot of these around town. Seward calls itself the Mural Capital of Alaska.
Shoreline and bay views (2:00). Rocks, a tree getting pushed around by the wind, a boat going by, and the mountains across the bay.
Waterfront Park (3:00). It ends at Waterfront Park, with the mountain behind town. In summer this whole area fills up with campers and RVs. It looks a lot different in winter.
Clear skies, no rush. That's a good summer day in Seward.
A Peaceful Summer Day in Seward, Alaska
A video of a peaceful summer day here in Seward.
I ordered a membership pass over at recreation.gov and was nearly denied a physical card due to my name. Although they were willing to refund me, I did not like that outcome.
I sent a response to the email below, letting them know my name is not incorrect, not an initial.
Another agent responded to my email. They eventually asked for a photo of identification, which I provided my passport card. About an hour later, I received the email below.
Glad the outcome was positive, I'll be getting my card and shall be exploring a park in a couple of weeks. 😊
I was nearly denied a park pass because of my name
I ordered a membership pass on recreation.gov and was nearly denied a physical card because my name is X O.
Have an open mind and consider what other people are going through. Many people don't care about issues until those issues affect them directly.
It's nice to:
Have an open mind and consider what other people are going through. Many people don't care about issues until those issues affect them directly.
I live in Seward, and winter evenings here are some of my favorite times of the year. These are a few older photos from one of those nights. I went out while the sky was still a soft blue, and by the time I made it home, downtown had gone all quiet and golden under the streetlights.
It's a small town, so the whole walk is one easy loop: down to the water, back up toward the mountain behind the houses, then through the middle of town.
Blue hour over Resurrection Bay
We're tucked in at the top of Resurrection Bay, and the mountains across the water keep some of their snow pretty much all year. Around the winter solstice we get about five hours and twenty-five minutes of daylight. People hear that and wince. Thing is, blue hour starts early and lingers forever, and the bay goes this deep quiet blue I've somehow still not gotten used to.
The peaks hold on to a little pink and white after the water has already gone dark. In a couple of these you can spot a small cluster of lights on the far shore, right at the edge of the water. They look so tiny under the mountains, and for whatever reason that's what I keep coming back to.
Our beach is rocks, crusty old snow, a few tufts of dry grass. Cold out, no wind to speak of. Mostly you just hear the water shuffling the stones around.
Looking south toward the mouth of the bay, there was one thin line of orange left behind the bare trees. I stood there until it faded.
The mountain behind town
Turn around from the water and there's the mountain, sitting right over the houses like it's keeping an eye on everyone. In summer the waterfront campground fills up with RVs and visitors. In winter it's ours again: empty benches, patches of snow, and warm windows glowing here and there.
That little weathervane is a steam train, which feels right for Seward, since the Alaska Railroad ends here. Just down the street, somebody had outlined their whole house in pink lights. Little things like that make the dark months feel a lot friendlier.
Holiday lights downtown
Closer to downtown, the park gets its light sculptures every winter, and a few of the trees get wrapped from the roots up. This one goes blue, then warm white, all the way up the trunk:
Fourth Avenue after dark
By the time I got to Fourth Avenue it was fully dark. There were cars parked along the street and the neon was on, but almost nobody was out walking. Everyone was inside somewhere warm, which honestly sounded pretty good to me too. In July this street is busy all day. Come winter it kind of exhales, and that's the version of it I like best.
Coming to Seward in winter?
If you do, here's what I'd tell a friend:
- Getting here. From Anchorage it's ~125 miles on the Seward Highway, so two and a half hours give or take. Peek at road conditions first; the passes have moods.
- What's open. A lot of the summer tour boats and restaurants close for the season, but the Alaska SeaLife Center stays open year-round, and it's a lovely way to spend a slow afternoon.
- The light. Short days are kind of a gift for photos. You get a long, soft sunset and a long blue hour, and you're still home in time for dinner.
- Staying warm. Layers, and boots that grip, because the rocks by the water get icy. Tuck a spare camera battery inside your coat too, since the cold eats them.
- Northern lights. The mountains block a lot of the northern sky, so Seward isn't the easiest spot for aurora. On a strong night, though, it can happen, so keep an eye north up the bay.
Winter here is dark, sure, but it's a cozy kind of dark. Lights come on early, people stay in, and town feels like ours for a few months. That's the Seward I wanted to share.
Seward, Alaska during a winter night
A few of my old photos of the beautiful Seward, Alaska during a cold winter night.