Glacier National Park

From the pamphlet we were provided: "Comprised of 3.3 million acres of mountains, glaciers, forests, and waterways, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is a highlight of the Inside Passage and part of a 25-million-acre World Heritage Site - one of the world's largest protected natural areas - designated by UNESCO."

All I can say is wow! The park is enormous and the scenery beyond spectacular. We visited on May 12 and May 16 - the first day the sun was shining brightly and on the second day it was cloudy and overcast but I don't remember any rain. Each time we met up with the park rangers at Bartlett Cove near the opening of narrows leading into Glacier Bay. They arrived on a smaller boat and climbed a rope ladder to reach one of the lower decks. Throughout the day, the rangers were in various areas of the ship providing information to the passengers. This included announcements from the Bridge as we neared the two main glaciers, Margerie and Grand Pacific. 

Only two large ships are permitted in the bay each day. We were lead in by one of the Norwegian ships. We also saw a couple of smaller ships who were able to get even closer to the glaciers. They do have to keep a certain distance as the ice falling can cause large waves.

As we were sailing in, I spotted this small boat hauling an ice shack...or at least that is what I assume it would be. 

It doesn't appear to be large enough to be a house.

I believe this is Willoughby Island. The sight of the snow on the mountains beyond the island was just amazing in the sun.

The next photo was to the starboard side of the ship, and still in the shade. Those two white dots in the center are Dall sheep, named for William Dall, a paleontologist and geographer who was part of the Harriman expedition.

It took several hours to actually reach the glaciers, and I spent most of that time watching from one of the lower decks for 20 minutes or so, then running indoors to warm up before venturing out again. It wasn't terribly cold but it was chillier than it had been in the ports, especially as we got closer to the glaciers.

The glaciers are visible from a great distance but we knew we were getting closer when we started seeing ice in the water.

Little did I know that on that first visit that these small chunks of ice were nothing in comparison to what we would see later.

I believe this is the Reid glacier. 

I was fascinated by the ripples of rock, ice and snow on the top of the glacier.

The stars of the show were the Margerie and Grand Pacific Glaciers. Margerie in on the left, and the Grand Pacific on the right, distinguished by the dirty appearance, the result of silt carried by the glacier as it recedes. 

Two hundred and fifty years ago, the Grand Pacific glacier reached as far as Bartlett Cove. By 1879, when John Muir named the glacier, it had carved out a good portion of  Glacier Bay. In 1892, it was discovered the glacier had split into three separate glaciers. One of those, Reid Glacier is named for the man who made this discovery, Harry Fielding Reid.

  

We were able to stay at the glaciers for about an hour. The captain turned the ship half way through so that both sides of the ship could enjoy the view. This was for the people who watched from their balconies. I just moved from one side of the open deck to the other.

One of the two smaller ships we saw that day. The Admiralty Dream. It is available on various itineraries in the Alaskan waters, carries 54 passengers, and is able to visit areas not open to the larger cruise ships. The cost of the passage is a bit beyond my means, but it would be a wonderful way to see Alaska.

You might think I took this next photo on black and white, but I did not. It was an area called, if memory serves, Bear Beach, and this was truly the color of the rocks and sand. It was is in the shade and there were no bears. 

Back at the narrows, late in the afternoon we dropped the park rangers at their boat to return to the ranger station. I've no photos of them climbing down the rope ladder...I couldn't lean that far over the edge. 

Our second visit on May 16, was cloudy and cool. I was up on deck as the rangers made their way to the ship.

Again I spent a lot of time on deck 7, but wandered in an out more frequently as the temperature got quite chilly. I didn't bring a winter parka, but wore several layers, gloves and scarf. Most often it was my hands that got cold.

On our way through the bay, I took many photos of the sea lions on the rocks. I'd missed them the first time, as I'd be on the opposite side of the ship. I'll only share a couple few.

Again, as we closed in on the glaciers, there were several icebergs to be seen, including this one covered in sea birds. This was fairly large but not as large as we had seen.

Back at Margerie and Grand Pacific Glaciers, I didn't take many photos. I simply stood and watched and listened to the sounds around me. 

The cruise ship was clearly stirring up the fish below, as the birds swarmed to get a feed.

This fellow seemed to be as interested in me as I was in it. 

Throughout the day the tops of the mountains were mostly obscured by the clouds.

What was interesting was the colors within the glaciers. On the sunny day, you could certainly see some color but it seemed to be more a reflection of the blue sky, but on this grey day the colors within the glaciers were incredibly vivid. These photos are of Reid Glacier. 

Contrast this with the last photo I took as we sailed out of Glacier Bay. The landscape is harsh, but oh so beautiful.

So ends the visit to Glacier Bay National Park. It was two very interesting days, with the commentary from the rangers, and especially seeing the difference in the views based on the weather. Having said that, it wouldn't turn out to be my favorite series of glaciers.

Next up - College Fjord and Hubbard Glacier. 

Enjoying Juneau, Alaska

On our first visit to Juneau, we arrived to a cool and cloudy day, with occasional rain showers. Later that day, when I asked Captain Annie when the rainy season ended, she laughed and said, "it is 365 days a year." Little did she know that our second visit would come with the sun.  Our port days in Juneau were May 10 and 18.

I don't recall when we arrived, but I am certain that my first stop was the Wakeview Bar area. Here I could get the fresh air and stay dry under the overhang while watching for wildlife.

I got lucky and caught this shot of an eagle as it flew past the ship and flew up to the top of the mountain beside us. As I turned to look for it, I was amazed by the view on the mountainside. This photo was taken later, when I was on the dock waiting for the bus for the whale watching tour. It almost looks like a diorama, but I can assure you it is real. 

The whale watching tour bus left the dock about noon and the naturalist on board kept us entertained with stories about Juneau, Hawaii, and whale watching. Donna normally lives and works in Hawaii but had followed the whales north to Juneau for this season. 

Juneau, for those like me who aren't aware, is the capital city of Alaska. It is one of two United States capital cities that cannot be reached directly by automobile (Honolulu is the other). All goods are brought in by air or sea. The humpback whales travel from the warmer waters of Hawaii and Mexico in April to the cooler feeding grounds of Alaska. Our whale watching tour that day was considered scientific and we would make a stop to check for invasive species of crabs, collecting data for NOAC (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).

First though, our bus drove us to the dock where we would meet Captain Annie and board the boat.  I had a chance to chat with her on the return and she's been on the boats since 2017 and a captain since 2019. At best, I'd say she's in late 20's, early 30's. On our way out to where the whales might be (we weren't the only ones searching) she kept in contact by radio with the others who were out that day. 

Our first stop was at the crab pots. How they find these pots with their orange bobbers in the midst of all that water is beyond me, but she found it quite easily with Donna's help. We were on the look out for a Europe green crab, which has made it's way into Alaskan waters. It feeds on native sea animals and competes with native crabs for food. We didn't find any, these are just a regular crab (name I've forgotten) and not the highly sought after Dungeness crabs. One of the other passengers, helped pull them from the crab pot, and then they were released back into the water.

You can see how low the clouds were that day, and we did run into a few rain showers as we travelled through various areas searching for the less than cooperative whales.

Next up, was a visit to a marker where the sea lions like to rest. The one on the left reminds me of my cat Saku's sleeping positions. :)

We didn't stay there long, just time enough for a couple of photos and then a radio call came in. A humpback had been spotted closer to the area we had originally started the search. Captain Annie throttled up the boat and off we went to find the whale.

It's not the best photo, and I didn't catch the fluke but it is a humpback whale above the water. We didn't get to see it breach again but did see it's spout a number of times. The company will not stay longer than 30 minutes in the area of the whale due to the stress it can cause the animal.

The spout looks much different from the small boat!

We'd been out for a couple of hours at this point, and it was time to head back to the dock. I'm so grateful we were able to see the one whale. If I ever have the chance to do another whale watching tour I'll be there.

No notes to remind me, but I'm pretty sure I was on the aft of the ship for the rest of the afternoon. Late in the day, I caught the sun trying to break through the clouds.

On our second visit to Juneau, May 18, the sun truly shone.

I had no excursion planned for the day, so walked into the city's downtown for a little shopping. In particular I was looking for a yarn shop. I had been attending the almost daily Knitters and Knatters group on the ship and was inspired to make a purchase.  First though, I found a local cafe with free WIFI where I sat and enjoyed a tea and took care of e-mails and some necessary banking. Utility companies don't seem to care that I'm on holidays!

Downtown Juneau was a short walk from the ship.  On the left the building with the lovely mural is a government building and contains the local library. I visited there when my search for a yarn shop on foot came up empty. I had a lovely chat with the librarian, who had actually lived in Manitoba many years ago and had driven through Regina. She pointed me to in the right direction to Changing Tides, a fabric store that carries Alaskan yarn and other craft items. I purchased a skein of yarn for a cowl and a floral cross stitch pattern to add to my to-do pile. 

The red and white building to the right of the government building is Tracy's King Crab Shack. This place was busy every time I walked by. I heard later that a pound of King Crab was $99 USD! I'm sure it was very good but well beyond my budget. The other building I'd point out in the photo is the building just above the red brick building - this is the starting point of the Goldbelt Tram Alaska.

The tram rises 1800 feet up the mountain to the Mountain House, from "sea level to see level". I did think about purchasing a ticket to ride but decided against it. I'd gotten my share of heights the day prior in Skagway, so left this option for another time. Apparently I should have gone, as others mentioned the number of eagles they saw at the top. 

Guess where I went when I returned to the ship later in the afternoon? If you said Wakeview, you'd be right.  I recall I met a young couple from San Diego that afternoon, on their second cruise.  They had the beverage package (alcohol) and were making good use of it. He was a financial guy working on his Master's, while she was a chemical engineer. Both incredibly bright and fun to chat with. As we visited, our eyes were drawn to the sight of snow tumbling down the mountain side. I imagine this will be a waterfall as the snow begins to melt at the top of the mountain.

I had two wonderful days in Juneau.  The whale watching tour was both interesting and educational. I'm thrilled to have seen the whale (reasonably) up close and the rare sunny day in Juneau gave me the chance to do a good walk about. 

Our next port is Skagway.