Alaska Day 6; Glacier Bay

September 11 - Day 6
Oct. 12th, 2008 at 10:00 AM
Glacier Bay

Woke up very early for our scenic cruising day in Glacier Bay National Park. Park rangers joined our boat first thing, and we headed into the looming fjord.



The temperatures dropped noticeably as our boat entered the narrow channel surrounded by steep slopes. We dressed accordingly. As you can tell by my ensemble, warmth trumps dignity.






(salt water ends, fresh glacier water begins)



There's just no describing the immense presence of a mass of ice thousands of years old and hundreds of feet high. The jagged bluish spikes of ice don't look THAT big...


...until you see a speck perched on the tip of one and realize it's a bald eagle (and they grow 'em big here). This bergy bit was about the size of a small car.


These glaciers are MASSIVE. We were lucky enough to see some spectacular calving. I'll never forget the sound of it - first the crackling snaps and thundery rumbling, followed by bits of snow trickling from the face. Then the dramatic detachment or lazy slide of ancient compacted ice. The falling mass hits the water, creating a very distinctive boom that can be heard after a slight sound delay. All told, we spent a few hours watching Reid, Lamplugh, Johns Hopkins and Margerie glaciers




We also saw a seal swimming alongside our boat and looking up at the boat like "Um, hey guys? You're kind of interrupting my lunch."



We went back to our room for the ride out of the park. Justin sat out on the balcony (again, SO worth it) to watch our departure. I casually asked if him if he'd seen any animals along the shoreline, to which he responded, "No, I haven--- HOLY CRAP! GIVE ME THE CAMERA!"




We did some more whale watching that afternoon and saw a few pods - one pod of 3 whales was having what looked like a lovely time waving their flukes and smacking the water. We snacked throughout the afternoon, and that, combined with the boat's increased turbulence, meant we weren't hungry for dinner.

I don't have a lot of words for today because the pictures say it all. The boat observed a moment of silence at noon to remember 9/11, which added the gravity of the day and this whole trip. I feel incredibly lucky to be here. We've experienced so many different things - radically different plantlife, animals, weather, culture and landforms. I look forward to every single day, and I can't think of anywhere else in the world I'd rather be.