THURSDAY, JULY 11

THURSDAY, JULY 11:          

      What a fabulous trip we had today!  Cruised the 65 miles up into the inlets and fjords carved by all the glaciers in this area. Had gorgeous sunny weather for most of the trip, interjected with occasional low-hung mists, which made it even more ethereally beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We probably weren’t out more than 45 minutes or so when we came upon a little island which was covered with Stellar sea lions, as well as lots of species of birds, cohabitating peacefully.

 

 

 

 

We got close enough to puffins this time (as opposed to our Sitka nature cruise) to be able to identify them by their distinct bright orange bills. 

 

 

 

The biggest wildlife thrill was spotting some brown bears (what we call Grizzly Bears in the Lower 48). Saw them at 3 different spots along the beach.  Our first bear sightings on this trip! 

 

 

One nonchalantly turned over a big boulder in his way, where he apparently thought he smelled some grubs or something similar underneath.   

 

 

 

 

We also spotted a black bear, a mountain goat and a few sea otters.

 

 

The boat captain was terrific about slowing down and even stopping whenever there was a wildlife sighting, lingering several minutes, allowing everyone to get a view and lots of pictures. 

     But the big stars of today’s show were the glaciers themselves and the dramatic landscapes they’d chiseled out among the volcanic mountain peaks.  Just staggering beauty. 

 

 

 

We were at the largest glaciers, Margerie and Grand Pacific, where they come together, for at least a half hour, maybe more.  You just lose track of time, are totally in the present magical moments.  Lost in the wonder of what God hath wrought.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

We wondered if we’d witness any calving.  We did hear “white thunder,” as the Tlingits called it, several times.  Actually, at times, a rifle shot describes the sound more accurately.  At any rate, whenever we’d hear the sound, we scanned quickly to see where it was coming from.   All of the calvings we saw were just relatively small ones, near the bottom of the ice.  But even then, you could see the splashing and foaming as the ice crashed into the sea. 

 

 

And, just as we were turning around to leave, we heard a tremendous shot, and caught a glimpse of the largest piece by far calve off.  Lots of “Oooooh’s” and “Ohhhhhhh’s” from the few of us who were still out on the deck.

     This was definitely another highlight of our trip so far.  Even under less than ideal circumstances, this trip would have been superb, but we had so many extra bonuses:  a nearly perfect day, weather wise.  A low-attendance day – the boat was only ¼ filled, if that, so you had all kinds of room to sit wherever you wanted, move about, and not be crowded out on deck (we’d heard that tomorrow’s trip was booked solid!).  Outstanding narrative from the Park Service  ranger on board.  Lots of wildlife viewing. Fun to see a party of camping kayakers being picked up,

 

 

 and another single guy, extremely nice & friendly, on board being dropped off (he was planning to stay out for 10 days!).  And, oh yes, delicious smoked salmon chowder served, along with a hearty sandwich and even late afternoon cookies to help ease us into the trip back home

 

One last parting spectacle:  an iceberg festooned with gravel and dirt-laced ribbon!

 

     After dinner, walked Pappy down to the dock and back.  Very, very low tide.  The tides can vary up to 25 feet here.  A handful of cars passed each way – everyone waves.