Glacier Bay National Park
Just after noon in Glacier Bay National Park, on the rocky shore of Russell Island, a mama brown bear came scampering out with her three cubs, in plain sight for the budding Junior Rangers and their families currently on board the MV Sea Bird. She led her kids north along the coast, climbing over small boulders, digging under rocks and frolicking in the grassy outcrops. As the family of four overturned rocks in search of lunch, we saw the prominent hump on the mother’s back, the distinctive mark of the brown bear whose powerful digging muscles create this protrusion.
Our fortunate experience with the bears made up just a small slice of our day here in this flooded valley of glacially carved peaks. The morning fog lifted to reveal dramatic scenery and an area teeming with wildlife. A female moose gave early risers a rare treat, as it browsed on the land’s nutritious groceries. Sea lions basked on South Marble Island while puffins, pigeon guillemots, black-legged kittiwakes and marbled murrelets buzzed about. Later, at Gloomy Knob, we spotted mountain goats close to the water’s surface, though more puffins, some coming close enough to the ship for us to get good looks at their bright orange beaks and silly swoosh of yellow feathers, distracted us from the attractions on shore.
We made our way as far north as we could today to the massive wall of ice known as Margerie Glacier. Evidence of recent calving filled the water at the north face of the glacier, displaying the constant transition of this Little Ice Age relic from just a couple hundred years ago. Our visit to Margerie, once a tributary to the Grand Pacific Glacier, reminded us of the powerful geological forces that molded and shaped what is now Glacier Bay National Park.
Just after noon in Glacier Bay National Park, on the rocky shore of Russell Island, a mama brown bear came scampering out with her three cubs, in plain sight for the budding Junior Rangers and their families currently on board the MV Sea Bird. She led her kids north along the coast, climbing over small boulders, digging under rocks and frolicking in the grassy outcrops. As the family of four overturned rocks in search of lunch, we saw the prominent hump on the mother’s back, the distinctive mark of the brown bear whose powerful digging muscles create this protrusion.
Our fortunate experience with the bears made up just a small slice of our day here in this flooded valley of glacially carved peaks. The morning fog lifted to reveal dramatic scenery and an area teeming with wildlife. A female moose gave early risers a rare treat, as it browsed on the land’s nutritious groceries. Sea lions basked on South Marble Island while puffins, pigeon guillemots, black-legged kittiwakes and marbled murrelets buzzed about. Later, at Gloomy Knob, we spotted mountain goats close to the water’s surface, though more puffins, some coming close enough to the ship for us to get good looks at their bright orange beaks and silly swoosh of yellow feathers, distracted us from the attractions on shore.
We made our way as far north as we could today to the massive wall of ice known as Margerie Glacier. Evidence of recent calving filled the water at the north face of the glacier, displaying the constant transition of this Little Ice Age relic from just a couple hundred years ago. Our visit to Margerie, once a tributary to the Grand Pacific Glacier, reminded us of the powerful geological forces that molded and shaped what is now Glacier Bay National Park.
