And as some ethereal beacon, a vibrant rainbow emerged on the snowcapped canvas, luring us deeper into the bay. We passed this welcoming arch and headed up into a myriad of nature's offerings. We would retrace the path of the sea, forest, and fauna, just as they followed the glaciers back into virgin mountains colorfully filling in valleys the ice had created.
A flock of penguin-like common murres wheeled about. Brightly-billed tufted puffins pumped their wings furiously off their burrows. Kittiwakes in a colony called their name. Restless Steller sea lions in a pile clambered and complained to each other. A half dozen humpback whales snorted moisture and boisterously chased their prey. This was only part of the activity at South Marble Island today.
Nanny and kid pairs of mountain goats maintained nursery slopes on the outcast lumpy mound of Gloomy Knob. High on meadowed slopes between snowfields we spied more distant cream-colored goats. A black bear loped through alpine vegetation. Bald eagles sat on their nest. Three different magnificent grizzly bears foraged on slope or shore within our sights. Beautifully painted harlequin ducks flocked and rafted. This was the area west from Tlingit Point to Tidal Inlet and beyond.
As we progressed farther up Glacier Bay's Tarr Inlet, more and more icebergs both dirty and clean appeared in the aquamarine water. We passed behind Russell Island where John Muir had met the ice a century ago. We continued deeper up the wide fjord to the glaciers.
Out just a half-mile from Margerie Glacier we stood transfixed by a blissful barrage of cascading ice falling off the powdery blue face. Thunderous ricocheting booms followed successive calving displays as icebergs were seen being born. This dynamic iceworks display was the climax of a day with a seeming rainbow of wildlife experiences and natural beauty.
