We spent our morning in “Glacial Heaven.” This observation was vocalized as we bobbed in a Zodiac watching Windex® blue slabs of Dawes Glacier shatter and cannonball into icy water. We rode the waves and cheered on this spectacular disintegration known as “calving.” If this was truly a production of bovines, we could have filled the farmyard today. We exited the fjord escorted by a small pod of killer whales rhythmically surfacing as they swam alongside the Sea Bird.
Our week has been filled with experiences that defy superlatives. Some of our guests have taken their inspiration to pen and paper, and now we share them with you.
The Inside Passage
The puffins and brown bears and whales,
Rich Tlinglit traditions and tales,
Alaskan tradition runs deep,
Glaciation can’t sleep
In the twilight the Sea Bird prevails.
Author: The Mouckleys; Jeff, Susan, Ben and Bess
Prophetic Delight
A lone Puffin cries
The vast expanses await
Completely untouched.
Author: Ben Mouckley
Tale of a Whale
Her first breath inhaled
Salt water sprays to the Gods.
A new life begins.
Author: Bess Mouckley
There was a big happy family from Toronto
Who were having more fun than they ought to
When the Dawes glacier calved
Their lives were almost halved
That lucky happy family from Toronto (and Tampa too.)
Author: Eunice Mouckley
Waters Glisten
As whales play
As waves roll
And trees sway
The sun beckons
While clouds disperse
And mountains point
To the stars
Author: Becca Pruett
The day is done,
So the Sun
Who gives us our light,
Our warmth,
Our life
And its meaning
Is tired,
And so are we
Those who profit, those who gain
From Her will rest
The good cannot stay forever,
What is done is done.
Even she must rest
In a soft bed
With a soft pillow
So that more good can be done,
And as she rests on her watery bed,
The home of many creatures,
Many plants, many wonders
Saying good-bye to the world,
She slips behind the water, she stays,
And when she is done
She rises
And gives us more life.
Author: Natcher Pruett (Age 10)
Friday, June 16th was a spectacular day onboard the Sea Bird in the wilderness of Alaska. For an hour and a half Jake, David, Simon, Will, naturalist David Stephens and I sped about in the 50 horse motor boat. With half an hour left in our allotted time slot, a humpback whale fluked just a hundred yards off the bow of the Zodiac. We then proceeded two miles down the fjord and spotted four whales all breaching continuously. It was amazing to see those whales breaching and spy-hopping from less than two hundred feet away!
Less than 24 hours later, we arrived next to Dawes glacier for a once in a lifetime show. We witnessed the most spectacular caving of a 300 foot serac that was the cause of the tsunami-like wave. It was an awesome demonstration of the power of nature that I was fortunate enough to have seen.
Author: Reeve Waud Jr. (Age 14)
Our week has been filled with experiences that defy superlatives. Some of our guests have taken their inspiration to pen and paper, and now we share them with you.
The Inside Passage
The puffins and brown bears and whales,
Rich Tlinglit traditions and tales,
Alaskan tradition runs deep,
Glaciation can’t sleep
In the twilight the Sea Bird prevails.
Author: The Mouckleys; Jeff, Susan, Ben and Bess
Prophetic Delight
A lone Puffin cries
The vast expanses await
Completely untouched.
Author: Ben Mouckley
Tale of a Whale
Her first breath inhaled
Salt water sprays to the Gods.
A new life begins.
Author: Bess Mouckley
There was a big happy family from Toronto
Who were having more fun than they ought to
When the Dawes glacier calved
Their lives were almost halved
That lucky happy family from Toronto (and Tampa too.)
Author: Eunice Mouckley
Waters Glisten
As whales play
As waves roll
And trees sway
The sun beckons
While clouds disperse
And mountains point
To the stars
Author: Becca Pruett
The day is done,
So the Sun
Who gives us our light,
Our warmth,
Our life
And its meaning
Is tired,
And so are we
Those who profit, those who gain
From Her will rest
The good cannot stay forever,
What is done is done.
Even she must rest
In a soft bed
With a soft pillow
So that more good can be done,
And as she rests on her watery bed,
The home of many creatures,
Many plants, many wonders
Saying good-bye to the world,
She slips behind the water, she stays,
And when she is done
She rises
And gives us more life.
Author: Natcher Pruett (Age 10)
Friday, June 16th was a spectacular day onboard the Sea Bird in the wilderness of Alaska. For an hour and a half Jake, David, Simon, Will, naturalist David Stephens and I sped about in the 50 horse motor boat. With half an hour left in our allotted time slot, a humpback whale fluked just a hundred yards off the bow of the Zodiac. We then proceeded two miles down the fjord and spotted four whales all breaching continuously. It was amazing to see those whales breaching and spy-hopping from less than two hundred feet away!
Less than 24 hours later, we arrived next to Dawes glacier for a once in a lifetime show. We witnessed the most spectacular caving of a 300 foot serac that was the cause of the tsunami-like wave. It was an awesome demonstration of the power of nature that I was fortunate enough to have seen.
Author: Reeve Waud Jr. (Age 14)
