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Whales and glaciers in Alaska's Kenai Fjords National Park

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Alaska is farther north, extends farther west and is larger than any other U.S. state. Nearly half the state's 700,000 citizens live in the Southcentral city of Anchorage. The locals have a funny saying about the wildest state's most urban setting: "The best thing about Anchorage is how close it is to Alaska."

Locum tenens doctors in Alaska can drive for an hour in any direction to escape deep into the United States' most pristine wilderness. One of the iconic attractions on the Kenai Peninsula, south of Anchorage, is Seward and Kenai Fjords National Park.

I'm on a boat!

Hands down, the best way to see the fjords is on a day cruise of Resurrection Bay. Kenai Fjords Tours, a popular tour company owned by one of Alaska's native corporations, offers a variety of cruising options.

Half-day tours stay inside the bay where you can expect to see otters, seals, bears and more birds than we can list. Longer cruises extend outside the bay where walls of ice smash down from the glacial valleys of the Harding Icefield.

Regardless of how you choose to see the fjords, be sure to keep an eye out for whales.

The whales of Alaska

AlaskaTrekker.com maintains a nice summary of the eight whale species that frequent Alaska waters. Of particular interest to Kenai Fjords visitors are the humpback whale and the orca – or killer – whale. Others include:

  • Beluga whale
  • Gray whale
  • Bowhead whale
  • Blue whale
  • Right whale
  • Minke whale

Orca whales are known for their characteristic black and white coloring as well as their towering, shark-like dorsal fins. They are one of the few whale species that spend their entire lives in arctic waters, and pods are frequently found in the bays and coves of the Kenai Fjords.

Humpback whales, on the other hand, migrate annually between Hawaii where they birth their young and the nourishing waters of Alaska to feed. Being on the water when one of these enormous whales breeches is a moving experience. When your locum tenens adventures take you to Alaska, make sure you fit in a day trip to Seward and the Kenai Fjords National Park.