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[00:00] is [00:01] the most insane thing i've ever seen in [00:02] my entire life [00:05] [Applause] [00:09] [Music] [00:10] [Applause] [00:15] [Music] [00:17] [Applause] [00:24] [Music] [00:27] [Applause] [00:30] over the last week we've been exploring [00:31] the kenai peninsula here in alaska and [00:33] have been loving every second of it [00:35] we've done some amazing hikes visited [00:37] hope and homer and backpacked in [00:39] kachemak bay state park and over the [00:41] next few days we'll be exploring our [00:43] 47th national park kenai fjords national [00:46] park near seward alaska since dogs [00:49] aren't allowed on trails in the park and [00:50] we have a couple longer activities [00:52] planned we actually had to drive back up [00:53] to anchorage from homer that way we [00:55] could board kona for a few days because [00:57] i had more dog boarding options up there [00:59] definitely not ideal but that's just [01:00] kind of the reality of traveling with a [01:02] dog sometimes but we're on the road and [01:04] we're heading back down to the kenai [01:05] peninsula and have a little over a [01:07] two-hour drive to seward [01:11] [Music] [01:38] we have made it to the seward area but [01:39] before we head into the park we're gonna [01:41] grab some coffee from barrio coffee this [01:43] spot is located in miller's landing [01:45] which is just south of seward right on [01:47] the water and check out these insane [01:49] views [01:50] [Music] [02:11] so they have a variety of mexican [02:12] inspired drinks i got the filthy [02:14] horchata and then we also got the barrio [02:16] queen which has mexican chocolate [02:18] cinnamon and chili in it they're both [02:20] really good they both are nice and sweet [02:22] but the real star here is this view [02:26] this is [02:27] nuts we went to a place called fog [02:29] duckers and campbell river on vancouver [02:31] island and said it was the best coffee [02:32] shop view we'd ever had but i think this [02:34] takes the cake these mountains over here [02:36] are just [02:37] stunning [02:40] [Music] [03:00] [Music] [03:06] all right we are properly caffeinated [03:08] now it's on to the national park [03:11] [Music] [03:21] kenai fjords national park was [03:23] established in 1980 and it gets its name [03:25] after the mini fjords that have been [03:26] created by glaciers in the park it's a [03:29] totally free national park to visit and [03:31] it's home to the harding ice field the [03:32] largest ice field entirely in the united [03:35] states plus tons of marine wildlife [03:37] gorgeous mountains and dozens of [03:38] glaciers we're hoping to experience all [03:40] that over the next few days and first up [03:42] we are headed to the exit glacier area [03:45] of the park which is the only area of [03:46] the park that is accessible by road [03:49] [Music] [03:56] there are a couple trails in this area [03:58] and today we're hiking to exit glacier [04:00] along the 2.2 mile exit glacier overlook trail exit glacier is one of the glaciers that stems from the harding ice field which will be hiking in a couple days and it got its name from a 1968 expedition when the first group of mountaineers officially crossed the harding ice field and exited the ice at exit glacier [Music] [Music] along the trail and on the drive-in you'll see these signs with years on them which show you the year that the exit glacier terminated that point which really gives you a sense of how fast it is receding and to put it into an even crazier perspective in just one year from 2013 to 2014 it receded 187 feet [Music] [Music] we took a detour off the overlooked trail and came onto this out wash area that washes down from the exit glacier and as soon as we come around this corner we should have a great head-on view of the exit glacier but beyond that there is a glacier over there there's one over there everywhere two one look wow there's like a glacial cave oh that is so cool just layers in the whoa [Music] this is a pretty crazy view from right here and it's pretty wild to think about a hundred years ago i wouldn't have been able to sit right here none of this all this was covered and then the next time we come maybe we'll be sitting way up there looking at it [Music] [Music] that was an incredible short and easy hike we definitely recommend going to the out wash area if you can that was our favorite part one thing that's just so impressive about it here in alaska is how accessible glaciers are i cannot think of many other places in the world where you can just be driving down the road and see a glacier or do a short hike like this and see a glacier alaska is exceeding all of our wildest dreams [Music] tonight we're staying at a beautiful spot along the river off exit glacier road but just outside the boundary of kenai fjords national park over the years we've gotten many questions about how we find free campsites to stay at and we've recently posted two new blog posts one all about how we find free camping and other about how to plan a camping trip sharing all of our tips from almost three years on the road that we hope you find helpful and one of the tools we use to find campsites both free and paid is the dirt the dirt is the number one camping app which is helpful on its own but what we especially like is their pro service which has extra features that are even more helpful like offline maps so we can find campsites even without cell service discounts up to 40 at partner campgrounds booking fees waived for campgrounds booked directly on the dirt and quite possibly our favorite feature blm and national forest map overlays so we can see if an area is legal to camp in we have mentioned this a few times in previous videos but a big rule for national parks is that you're not allowed to sleep overnight in parking lots or outside of designated camping areas but what is so great about the dirt pro is that as you can see on the map there is national forest land right outside of the park which means you can legally camp around here and still be super close to the park if you'd like to try their pro service for free for one whole month you can use our code a plus k and we'll also put a link to it in the description below we'll also link to the two blog posts we mentioned to hopefully help you plan your camping trips easier [Music] [Music] this spot is so epic probably the best free camping spot we've had here in alaska we have mountains all around us we have this river right here there's water falls off in the distance and it's just huge out here even though we're here on a saturday it's really not that busy and even if it was there's tons of space to spread out but i see some menacing clouds all around us and i think i felt a raindrop so we're gonna head in for the rest of the night but tomorrow we're gonna explore more of the park but this time by water so [Music] one of the best ways to explore kenai fjords national park is to get out on the water and today we're going on a tour with major marine they have a few different tour options in the park ranging from four hours to eight and a half hours and we're going to be on their seven and a half hour tour which cost two hundred dollars per person where we will visit two active tidewater glaciers and hopefully have lots of opportunities to see tons of wildlife [Music] so when we checked in they said that the gulf of alaska is experiencing higher than average swells today so it's going to be really rocky today we're saying that everyone should probably take some motion sickness pills because if everyone gets sick on the boat they're going to turn the boat around that would be so horrible if we they couldn't do the whole cruise so we're going to if i can figure out how to open one of these we're gonna chew up one of these so we're not the reason the whole boat has to turn around because i would feel really really bad no sickness for me that's why i take a dramamine man you should work for their marketing department [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] this is one of the things i've been most excited about here in alaska and i think i'm most excited for the wildlife on this cruise and i'm crossing my fingers and we see some whales [Music] [Music] there's [Music] we're not even an hour in and we saw a whale [Music] so [Music] we're about to enter the gulf of alaska this is the part they warned us about that's gonna get really rocky should be fun it's already been a little a little rocky [Music] there are moments that the boat kind of feels like it's on its side we are moving so much i don't know if it's capturing it very well but we are oh [Music] we survived the crazy seas and now it's time for lunch lunch because of a sandwich chips and a granola bar glaciers are formed by snow that gets compressed into ice over time and we're visiting two tidewater glaciers which is a glacier that meets the ocean and first up is the whole gate glacier [Music] [Music] this is incredible glacier right there glacier over there oh my gosh [Music] [Music] we can see it calving every now and then when that's when big pieces kind of break off is the wildest thing it sounds like thunder and then it's just a big splash on the water wow [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh my gosh [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] that is the most insane thing i've ever seen in my entire life i cannot believe i got that on camera captain said that's the most active he's seen that glacier calving in like three weeks we're now heading to the ayala glacier this one the whole gate is a half mile wide the ayalak is a mile wide [Music] no words can describe how gorgeous it is out here the beautiful water all these insane mountains and then these glaciers this is hands down one of the most beautiful places we've ever been i have to keep like rubbing my eyes to make sure i'm not dreaming like this is just so stunning [Music] sometimes when we visit these glaciers we are asked what's behind them how long they are it's kind of hard to conceptualize how these flow out from the heart of ice field but we are at an angle right now where you can kind of look at iowa glacier and realize that it is a river of ice coming down that valley it's about three miles long a hearty ice field itself is 700 square miles of ice back behind these mountains but iowa glacier itself is about three miles long [Music] this is honestly one of the best days of my entire life there are hundreds of fields [Music] [Music] [Music] we watched as the seals floated around on icebergs staring at us with their super cute faces and they quickly became one of my new favorite animals [Music] [Music] after visiting ayala glacier we started to make our way back towards seward but the fun wasn't quite over yet we still had plenty of wildlife glaciers and gorgeous views to keep us entertained along the way [Music] [Music] yes [Music] for our final major stop on the cruise we headed to spire cove one of the most photographed spots in the park and has super impressive rock spires that jut out of the water and they give you brownies does it get any better i don't think so thank you michael brown [Music] so the boat tour is over and we actually got off the boat to go grab some cash to tip the crew make sure you tip the crew they work really really hard on the boat and they invited us to come back on the boat so they can take it to its slip for the night so we're kind of getting a little behind the scenes major marine access [Music] yeah so you can see that that boat has fenders on the side so we don't scratch it and then we just put down our fenders it looks like a tight spot though compared to how big this boat is it's pretty tight i feel like i'm back on pivot with jen and elliot docking getting the full experience this is awesome [Music] [Applause] [Music] we cannot express enough how amazing that tour was so many people told us before we came out here that we got to do one of these tours and we're going to be those people too you got to do one starting with the captain and crew they were just fun and informative to the incredible insane scenery it was just so much fun there were so many moments where i could not believe that this was real life like we're standing here looking at a glacier cab with like 100 seals around us mountains another glacier off in the distance like it was just it was just so unreal but it has been a very very long day and we're getting hungry so it's time to feast [Music] well we had planned to go to this texas barbecue spot called firebrand barbecue and they are closed they're supposed to be open but they're closed for some reason so now we shall figure out a plan b [Music] dinner's ready the saddest plate of dinner well the two other places that looked good to us in town are closed today because today is sunday so we just decided to make these papoosas that we bought at costco the other day super easy you throw them on a pan they're just bean and cheese inside you just heat them up real quick and then we have this creamy chipotle sauce we got at target so it's a very um sad looking dinner but it's very very good and we save money so it's a win well today didn't end as delicious as we had planned i was pretty excited for that barbecue a little bummed out but that's okay it was still a super epic day and thankfully we have one more day here in the park and we're gonna hike to the harding ice field should be pretty harding for our final adventure here at kenai fjords national park we're hiking the harding icefield trail which is about nine miles round trip it gains about 3 600 feet of elevation so it's definitely quite a bit harder than the exit glacier hike we did the other day [Music] [Music] [Music] we have made it past the first major landmark on the trail an area called marmot meadows it's the spot where you get your first glimpse of the exit glacier in a tiny peak we think of the ice field way up at the top on this trail it has definitely been steep and it is the air is very damp and humid and we are we have a layer of dampness all over us [Music] [Music] we have made it to the next landmark on this trail the top of the cliffs oh there's another mormon over there wow check that out so much ice that is crazy what's really neat about this hike is although it's very hard you kind of go through a variety of different terrains so we started in the forest and now it's more of that tundra terrain you have mountains all around and you get a much higher view of the exit glacier and then the beginning of the ice field so there's just a lot of different things to look at so it keeps it interesting while you're huffing and buffing this is really cool just looking straight down on it you can see so much of the blue so much of the little crevasses in the uh in the ice there [Music] [Music] what is happening i can't tell if they're fighting or if they're kissing i saw some national geographic types marmot action [Music] [Applause] [Music] we're doing this hike in late july and as you can see there are a few different like snow patches that you have to cross but they haven't been too bad at all we've been able to do them just fine without our micro spikes on also you've probably been able to notice the weather's been a bit iffy today the weather forecast for today was 100 rain all day so we had very little hope that this hike was going to have any scenery but it's actually it actually hasn't been too bad so far the fog comes in and out we had heard that this area tends to not be as rainy as seward so if the weather forecast and seward is really rainy it may not be as bad here and so far that's proven to be true we can still see tons it is so gorgeous out here now we're kind of in this terrain that looks like a volcano or another planet or something it's so like just rocky and gray [Music] there's a neat little hut up here it's an emergency shelter in case you get really inclement weather out here you could come in here and hang out there's absolutely nothing in here but a couple snow shovels but this would be great yeah don't you forget that's right michael scott and dwight are here as well so we have good company that's right [Music] oh my gosh this weather took quite the turn it was so windy i'm hiding behind a hill right now it's so windy there's mist flying everywhere we're completely soaked my makeup was just running down my face that's like black everywhere i'm like crying because it's just i'm getting pelted in the eyes with whoo with rain while we have this wind break behind this hill here i'll tell you a little bit about the harding ice field it is the largest ice field that is entirely contained in the u.s covers 700 square miles and gets up to 4 000 feet deep and it is the source of 38 glaciers here in the park including exit glacier which we just walked by and then the two we saw from the boat yesterday [Music] this might be the craziest thing in nature i've ever seen this is unbelievable it is just ice and white as far as the eye can see this is unlike anything we've ever seen before [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] we had planned to eat lunch when we got to the end of the hike but it's just way too windy and way too misty so we're gonna try to make it back to that little hut and eat lunch there out of the elements this hut is so clutch it's nice and dry in here it's pretty warm in here it was a perfect spot to have lunch there were other groups in here too so we're all just kind of hanging out having fun but i think it's time to go brave the elements and book it back down [Music] if only it was that easy to hike down the hike ended up taking us just under seven hours and according to our all trails we tracked a little bit closer to 10 miles and even with that crazy weather at the end which honestly made it more memorable and more exciting this hike was so incredible this whole park and the whole seward area has just blown us away it is so beautiful out here and we really wish that we could spend more time in this area but with the logistics of having to board kona to come out here we had to make it a quick visit this time but we will be back someday because as everyone has told us you don't just come to alaska once we have to head back up to anchorage tomorrow morning to pick up our sweet girl kona we've missed her so much but we do have one more spot we want to visit that's just a few miles north of the kenai peninsula before we head more north and more east here in alaska we weren't filming the hike down but apparently a bear just crossed the trail with a lot of people though we're making noise we should be good howdy howdy bear hello bear we didn't see the bear uneventful but cool that there was one yeah there's that texas boy around his riding his horses [Music] you