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Photo of the Week: “Driven Into the Ground”

Posted by on August 8, 2012

This is one of my favorite pictures from my first great adventure to Alaska in the summer of 2011. My girlfriend and I decided to end the trip with a weekend in Seward, AK where we visited Exit Glacier, dined on Alaskan Salmon and King Crab, and took part in an amazing paddling trip with a guide from Miller’s Landing! Our paddling trip turned out to be a gem not only for it’s natural beauty but for an incredible history lesson as well:

Seward, AK sits at the northern end of Ressurection Bay on the Kenai Peninsula and has long been heralded as a gateway to the Alaskan Interior. Strategically, the port carries great value. For starters, it’s home to the southern terminus of the Alaska Railroad and deep enough to accommodate large ships. Also, it’s one of the few Kenai ports that remains free from ice in the winter months  During WW2, military strategists realized the importance of Seward and made it’s fortification against Japanese invasion a high priority. They positioned dozens of artillery batteries on high vantage points along the shear cliffs of the fjords ready to counter an invasion. As history would have it, the Japanese never made it past the Aleutian Islands and Seward was spared.

Our trip took us to the shore of Thumb Cove where we landed our kayaks and went for a stroll along the wild and rocky beach. I noticed something out of place amongst the trees and further investigation yielded this relic of the war; the weathered remains of a US Army tow-truck. As rusted as it was, the truck seemed nearly complete with engine (including spark plugs), transmission, and even rubber tires. Maybe the truck had broken down or maybe it was simply abandoned? It was a wonder how it got there or why it was needed so far from any roads? One thing is for sure: it wouldn’t be there for ever. Nature has a way of cleaning up and as the memory of yesteryear fades away so too will the rust of this old truck!

Notes: The photo was taken with my Olympus Stylus 790SW point and shoot. The camera used an aperture of f/4.0, a shutter speed of 1/160s,  and ISO 80.

-Kayak Dave

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