Rising at the crack of ten, I stumble out and get a look at the place I parked last night. Hey, this is pretty nice! There is this incredible waterfall coming down the mountain behind the campground, and the sound it makes is echoing off the canyon walls. Looks like I have the place pretty much to myself! This is a city-operated camping area up above the boat harbor, and it’s the only show in town. Boondocking of course, and I wouldn’t want to bring a 40 footer up here, but it’s just right for my little home.
And now, it’s time for Glaciers! Jim, Kim and I have booked a charter to cruise the Prince William sound and it sounds like quite a trip! All you can eat prime rib and salmon buffet onboard, and we’ll see like a couple of dozen glaciers. How can you pass that by?
I hike down from the campground into the town. Lots and lots of boats!
Even more boats, including a really big one. That’s the Coral Princess, and we saw her down in Skagway months ago… wow, has it really been that long?
The boat harbor is interesting… lots of commercial craft, gill netters and drift netters. The boats up here in Alaska sure are different than the boats I see down south. Lots of all metal construction, fully enclosed cabins, and lots of freeboard. Bet it gets rough out there at times.
Another small boat harbor, over by the cruise ship docks. Check out the reflections in the still water. Ooohh, artsy!
Time to board! There’s our boat. it’s a double decker Catamaran, probably seats a couple hundred or more, we are going out with fewer than that, so lots of room.
Somehow, we have rolled the cosmic dice and come up with another gorgeous day. Sunny, t-shirt warm, and smooth water. Dang, we’re good! The port of Whittier disappears in our wake.
OK, there are a lot of glaciers out in the sound, so I’m going to put most of them in a gallery for you. Then, we’ll talk about the special ones separately. The views are amazing, lots of waterfalls too.
One of the best parts of the trip is getting really close to glaciers that are calving into the bay. All that ice floating in the water has come off the face of the glacier.
When you get close, the glacier makes the most amazing sounds! Groans and cracks as the ice shifts, and when it calves, the ice hitting the water sounds like thunder. The glacier also creates it’s own wind! The cold air falls from the face of the glacier and blows outward. Check out this video of the glacier calving. Sorry about all the wind noise, but it is really blowing!
As a special treat, the crew goes out and scoops up some ice. Guess what they use it for!
How many people have the chance to drink a glacier margarita while sitting just off a glacier! That is sooo cool (in so many ways).
More pics from up close. The ice forms blue and green colors as the sun hits it.
Heading back, we stop at a hidden waterfall. the captain brings the boat right up against the cliffs for a photo op.
On the way back, a pair of humpbacks give us a little show!
Across the sound from Whittier, there is a waterfall that makes for a great bird rookery. The birds benefit from the nutrients stirred up by the waterfall, and nest in the cliffs around it. We go in for a closer look
There’s home port up ahead. The coast guard gives us a flyby as we head back in. What a great day to be on the water!
Hey! It looks like you are having such a fantastic time in Alaska! The pictures are beautiful! I just got back from a visit in Sargent. Aunt Cat and Uncle Rick forwarded me the link to your blog. Keep posting and I'll keep reading. Cheers!
ReplyDelete- nicole ; )
Hi Nicole! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the blog... I saw you had some good fishin in Sargent.. I look forward to being back there in the fall.