An eight hour ride in a bus delivered us to Seward, a different ecosystem.   We are on the Kenaii peninsula.  Seward is a deep water port where there are numerous fishing boats both small privately owned and larger boats.  Fishing and tourism are the biggest part of the economy.

After sick call for 4 of our group, we went to the Sea Life center, a research and rescue center.  The lastest rescue, a two week old walrus, came to the center from Barrow is currently in the centers ICU.  Walruses are social animals that require compaionship.  A human sits with this walrus 24 hours a day to prevent death from depression.   There are also great displays of sea birds and smaller fish.

The afternoon hike was up to Exit Glacier.  The park was busy when we arrived, they were in the midst of a rescue of a hiker with a broken ankle.  They were also rerouting hike paths because a bear had killed a baby moose.  The bear was protecting its kill and the moose was protecting is remaining baby, both were dangerous to humans.  The retreat of the glacier is vividly laid out with markers along the path.  The glacier will probably succumb to climate change in the next 10 year.

The evening program was a presentation arguing that the cold waters of the North determine world climate while supporting life as diverse and prolific as the Amazon.