The Seward Highway Cache Tour
The Seward Highway is a vital transportation corridor between Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula. It is also a stunningly beautiful and very popular highway that has been recognized as an All-American Road and a National Scenic Byway by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), as an Alaska State Scenic Byway by the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (ADOT&PF), and as a National Forest Byway by the U.S. Forest Service.
Milepost 0 in Seward is the start of the Seward Highway, with the end at mile 127 in Anchorage at Gambell & 10th Avenue. The first 36 miles of the highway is designated Highway 9, then it changes to Highway 1, at the junction of the Sterling Highway.
We are placing a series of caches that will explore the highways scenic and natural wonders. Binoculars and a camera are a must. We hope you enjoy this cache tour of the Seward Highway. Also, bring your own writing implement.
Nature's Jewel
Northbound Access
The cache is accessed from a large gravel pulloff which has great views of the mountains and East Fork Sixmile Creek. Visible from the highway is an enormous gray boulder with a thick white rock covering one side, perched against a rocky cliff backdrop.
This gigantic rock aroused our curiosity and not knowing much about the rock in the area, we took a small chunk to Nature's Jewels, a lapidary store in Anchorage with lots of rocks and a knowledgeable staff. The very gracious and friendly owners, Bobbie and Joe were kind enough to identify it.
The gray part of the boulder is graywacke with the white rock on the edge, quartz. On the large quartz surface of the boulder were striations visible in the rock called slickensides. This type of surface is the result of friction, pressure or cleavage, such as glacier movement or earthquakes. Closer examination of the rock also reveals white strips of rock in the graywacke. These are quartz enclusions as frature fill - the quartz became encased in the rock.
Many Thank-You's to them both for providing us with this information. Their store at 5861 Arctic Blvd in Anchorage offers a beautiful collection of rocks and minerals, including unique Alaskan stones.
Congratulations to Cavyguy for FTF Honors!, and he even found it with the wrong coordinates!
