La Conte Glacier & Petersburg, Alaska
Very few days in Southeastern Alaska are sunny days. The others are lovely gray days, incredible for photographing glaciers and ice. Today was a marvelous sunny day in Frederick Sound, en route to the La Conte Glacier. Of course, we cannot see the glacier in itself, due to the tremendous amount of ice clogging the channel. Some of these pieces are real icebergs, up to 30 or more feet in height, and blue! Bluer than the blue sky! The ones we drove around in our Zodiacs after breakfast were grounded due to the low tide, and were quite approachable, of course, within a safe distance. Caves, tunnels, carvings, and rocks were quite a spectacle.
After we all had our fill of seeing these marvelous pieces of ice, we set sail for Petersburg in the vicinity. The old fishermen depended on all this ice for packing the so abundant fish of the surrounding area.
At Petersburg, some of us took short flights over the La Conte Glacier, some of us walked into the small town, and some more of us took different length hikes into the nearby Petersburg Creek Bog. This bog has a long boardwalk to protect it. The trees that bare to be seen there are quite different from any we can see in all Southeastern Alaska: Alaska yellow cedar, mountain hemlock, common juniper and shore or lodge pole pines.
Late afternoon saw us leaving this lovely town, en route to another adventure! And yes, we found it: orcas! At least a dozen beautiful animals, including three males, with their enormous, tall dorsal fins, like huge knives, cutting the cold evening air. We watched them till we were all satisfied, and then continued on our way north.
Very few days in Southeastern Alaska are sunny days. The others are lovely gray days, incredible for photographing glaciers and ice. Today was a marvelous sunny day in Frederick Sound, en route to the La Conte Glacier. Of course, we cannot see the glacier in itself, due to the tremendous amount of ice clogging the channel. Some of these pieces are real icebergs, up to 30 or more feet in height, and blue! Bluer than the blue sky! The ones we drove around in our Zodiacs after breakfast were grounded due to the low tide, and were quite approachable, of course, within a safe distance. Caves, tunnels, carvings, and rocks were quite a spectacle.
After we all had our fill of seeing these marvelous pieces of ice, we set sail for Petersburg in the vicinity. The old fishermen depended on all this ice for packing the so abundant fish of the surrounding area.
At Petersburg, some of us took short flights over the La Conte Glacier, some of us walked into the small town, and some more of us took different length hikes into the nearby Petersburg Creek Bog. This bog has a long boardwalk to protect it. The trees that bare to be seen there are quite different from any we can see in all Southeastern Alaska: Alaska yellow cedar, mountain hemlock, common juniper and shore or lodge pole pines.
Late afternoon saw us leaving this lovely town, en route to another adventure! And yes, we found it: orcas! At least a dozen beautiful animals, including three males, with their enormous, tall dorsal fins, like huge knives, cutting the cold evening air. We watched them till we were all satisfied, and then continued on our way north.
