Whittier. Cruise the Ice Age

Our Whittier excursion was the highlight of our vacation. I will let the pictures tell the tale....

College Fjord

We sailed through Prince William Sound today....oh, my God!!! We stood in awe at the wonders of the earth. Glaciers abound. Not words can describe what we saw.
This will be my last entry since we are now packed and ready to start our excursion in Whittier tomorrow morning at 8:55am. Then off to Anchorage, and then back home. It will be a long trek but we are ready!!

Glacier Bay

Unfortunately there was no internet connection while we were in the Bay, so this entry is a day late!
Temp. 14-degrees
Very calm water because of the Bay
Overcast

Considering how much rain and fog this part of Alaska usually gets, we consider ourselves very lucky that we have had no rain.
250-years ago, Glacier Bay was all Glaciers and no Bay. A massive river of ice, roughly 100-miles long and thousands of feet deep. Now what remains are rivers of ice (that upclose look like deep, blue crevices almost like crumpled up paper!) that stretch over and between mountain ridges until they meet the green tidewater, calving building-sized icebergs with thunderous cracks into the sea. 'Calving' is the term used when the ice breaks off. We were witness to one of these, what a loud boom! Why the blue ice: when the light hits the highly compacted ice, long wavelength colors (reds) are absorbed, while sort wavelength colors (blues) reflect back through the ice to your eyes, thus giving the effect of brilliant blue ice!

The air is cool ice-age air. The water is very still. The Margerie Glacier in Tarr Inlet was breathtaking. I hope I got some good pictures which I will post this Sunday upon my return.

To our surprise (but Joan you knew because you have sailed many times before!), we were invited to the Captains Cocktail Party. Very fancy, lots of fun.

Today is our last full day at sea, we must pack our bags this evening (already over!!). We are currently on our way to College Fjord. Will post more later.

Skagway - the smallest town ever!

Skagway - Population: average 800, summer months: 2,000, Winter: 400
I forgot to mention that the water in Juneau & Skagway is very merky....like pouring milk into tea without stirring it...this is because of the silt from the Glaciers.

Jewell Gardens: was our morning tour today in Skagway. You'd think...a garden in Alaska!! Wow! During the solstice, there is daylight from 2am until 10pm - a total of 20-hours of daylight (not necessarily sunlight). Remember there is very little 'sun'. There is so much photosynthesis happening that the plants grow fast and some are huge, even though the season is short 102 days.
We saw some amazing flowers and had a fabulous tea party with homemade cakes and scones....yummy.
This afternoon, we rode the Great White Pass train. 2,865 feet. Gorgeous, but dangerous terrain; the Klondike Goldrush. Tens of thousands of men an 450 tons of explosives overcame harsh climate and challenging geography to create the railway built of gold.

We took this train; 1.5-hours up to the Great White Pass. Can't wait to post these pictures!.
The next few days is 'at sea', but should be the most spectacular: Glacier Bay and the Fjords.

Juneau the capital of Alaska

Population 30,000
Coldest: -20
Warmest: 80-degrees
Today: 11 and overcast

Apparently we have been VERY lucky. The weather for our entire vacation so far has been above and beyond the 'ordinary'. In Juneau there is 220 days of rain per year.

Mom was a little nervous about our "Mendenhall Glacier Rapids" excursion....but it really was a mini-rapid in a dingy. The Mendehall Glacier was AMAZING. The Glacier diminishes by 200 feet every year. We had a terrific guide and Mom is very glad that nobody fell out...the water was 30-degrees. And, Yes, there were pieces of ice floating around in the water. Like mini-iceburgs. Pretty amazing.

We are in Juneau until 9:00pm this evening, so we had time to walk around town. Lots of Eagles, Salmon, and tourists. The average home is $300,000 for 1,800 square feet, and can run over a million $$ for water front.

Why would anyone live in Alaska????? The beauty and fresh air maybe. Most of the tour guides are students doing summer employment.... hey Patrick... what do you think?

In the Theatre this evening, we listened to Libby Riddle and her experiences in Alaska. 'dog mushing'. She was the 1st female Iditarod Champion 1985. (Dog Musher). You would have loved it, Mike!! Those dogs are quite special. She spoke of a very special relationship with her dogs, usually mixed-breed.

Looking forward to 2-days at sea: Fjords and Glacier Bay. I'll keep you posted!

Ketchican - Population 13,000

We lucked-out! Ketchican has an average of 13-feet of rain per year.

We had full-sun, 80-degree weather today. We arrived at Orca Beach, took a high-speed dingy to Knudson Cove (rainforest) and walked approx. 1 mile into the most beautiful forests!! We saw loads of Bald Eagles, Sea Lions basking in the sun. Had a smoked salmon snack and returned to the ship 3-hours later. Great guides.

Did you know that Bald Eagles mate for life. If something happens to the mate, the 'widower' waits to find another 'widower'; they never take someone elses mate. When mating, the male & female will lock talons, fly up into the air, and only unlock their talons when they have finished their mating ritual. Facinating!!
I will try to upload all my pictures on the last day of sailing....

At Sea

We left Vancouver yesterday at 5:00pm and are now at sea on the Straight of Georgia. We are at sea all day today so Mom and I are enjoying the deck (wrapped in blankets), and we plan on going to a Martini Party early this afternoon ;))
Suzanne, remember to bring hat, gloves, hoody and windbreaker!! It is fresh and breezy today. Having a relaxing time so far, enjoying the food. This is my 'test' in the Internet Cafe. We will send more news soon, and hopefully a couple of pictures if I can figure out how to insert the camera chip in to this computer!