Glacier Bay National Park
Light, light and more light!
The longest day of the year started early for us in Bartlett Cove. A few ambitious people got out of their warm beds at 5:00 a.m. to go for an early morning walk through a beautiful mist-shrouded forest. The sounds of the birds singing complemented the serene, peaceful atmosphere.
Before breakfast we picked up Adrianna Cahill, the National Park Ranger who would spend the day with us sharing her knowledge of this fabulous place. At Boulder Island we watched sea otters poking their heads above the water to get a look at us. Next, we sailed to South Marble Island where we were delighted to watch Steller sea lions frolicking, seemingly without a care in the world. Pigeon guillemots were everywhere and we saw tufted puffins swimming in pairs. It was quite a sight when a flock of kittiwakes perched on a cliff were startled as a bald eagle flew by, causing them to fly off in unison.
We continued sailing north to Tidal Inlet where we watched a brown bear cooling off in the sea. He then marked his territory by standing up and scratching his back on a tree! Our luck continued as we saw another brown bear. This one was turning over mussel and barnacle covered rocks looking for food.
Our route took us face to face with two gigantic glaciers. The two and a half mile wide, black-streaked, Grand Pacific Glacier contrasted with the beautiful blue Margerie Glacier a mile away. We even saw some ice falling off the Margerie Glacier. In Geikie Inlet we spotted eight mountain goats scaling a steep mountainside. "How do they manage to get up there without ropes?" we wondered.
We celebrated the summer solstice with a grand finale that had everyone whooping and cheering. Twenty-eight brave souls dove into the 46 degree sea and we have the pictures to prove it!
Light, light and more light!
The longest day of the year started early for us in Bartlett Cove. A few ambitious people got out of their warm beds at 5:00 a.m. to go for an early morning walk through a beautiful mist-shrouded forest. The sounds of the birds singing complemented the serene, peaceful atmosphere.
Before breakfast we picked up Adrianna Cahill, the National Park Ranger who would spend the day with us sharing her knowledge of this fabulous place. At Boulder Island we watched sea otters poking their heads above the water to get a look at us. Next, we sailed to South Marble Island where we were delighted to watch Steller sea lions frolicking, seemingly without a care in the world. Pigeon guillemots were everywhere and we saw tufted puffins swimming in pairs. It was quite a sight when a flock of kittiwakes perched on a cliff were startled as a bald eagle flew by, causing them to fly off in unison.
We continued sailing north to Tidal Inlet where we watched a brown bear cooling off in the sea. He then marked his territory by standing up and scratching his back on a tree! Our luck continued as we saw another brown bear. This one was turning over mussel and barnacle covered rocks looking for food.
Our route took us face to face with two gigantic glaciers. The two and a half mile wide, black-streaked, Grand Pacific Glacier contrasted with the beautiful blue Margerie Glacier a mile away. We even saw some ice falling off the Margerie Glacier. In Geikie Inlet we spotted eight mountain goats scaling a steep mountainside. "How do they manage to get up there without ropes?" we wondered.
We celebrated the summer solstice with a grand finale that had everyone whooping and cheering. Twenty-eight brave souls dove into the 46 degree sea and we have the pictures to prove it!
