Endicott Arm
Rather than trying to give my own words to this amazing voyage, the guests aboard the Sea Lion for the past 10 days contributed their thoughts and memories about our trip together in the Inside Passage. – Robert Aldridge
Moving North – with a few side trips – Alaska’s inside passage now belongs to us. Equaling the frenzied voyage of Ivan Doig’s fictional characters in The Sea Runners, but with better groceries and without Tlingit warriors chasing the ship, our team saw granite, Sitka spruce, harbor seals, tidal glaciers, tufted puffins and more. We’ll be back to travel the ‘other’Alaskas.
Perched on a rugged hilltop, we stared along the huge gun barrel trying to imagine the life of the WWII soldiers who guarded the area. Suddenly a morning on George Island turned into yesterday. It was a cold, wet, and lonely defense of the USA.
Kayaking up rivers and streams, sometimes a tiny bird appears flitting here and there, all very beautiful from our ship. We watched sea otters drifting by clutching their ‘catch’, everything calling out ‘what a wonderful journey’.
The watching eyes belonged to the yellow-beaked predator that perched over the top of the tallest fir tree watching for his next meal to swim by. Bears on ridges, goats with kids, flowers on hillsides, sea lions sunning, majestic mountains magnified!
Soaring majestically, aerie perches, drenched in beauty, windows wildlife, spiritual insights, connected appreciation. Mares eat goats, and moose eat goats, and little kids suckle. But most of all calves are made of ice.
Ranger David Sholar accompanied us and added greatly to our enjoyment. He pointed out among many other things, how the glacier carved an obvious ‘u-shape’ in the rock, proving Muir’s theory of how Yosemite and other areas exhibiting this geometry were formed.
Suddenly there was a clap of thunder, but the sky was blue. What was it? It thundered into the water, soon sending an impulse to the ship lifting us several feet. But this was seen by another observer, on the glacier itself? What was it? A bear a top the glacier with major calving below! The brown bear wanted to see the other side of the glacier, so needless to say he became the spirited bear! The glacier ice bear has just overtaken the spirit bear – but we will keep looking!
We hope that the bear on the glacier was really a thunderbird and would soon turn into an eagle and fly away.
It was a day on the Sea Lion that even amazed the naturalists!! What a gift we were given today in Glacier Bay, a day that only God could have given!
How can I explain the emotion I felt with the contrast of the grandeur of the larger-than-life glacier and the tiny speck of life of the stranded bear? Mother Nature at her best!
What a beautiful world God has given to us. We must be very special to be placed in such a wonderful place in the vast space. I have been so inspired by the beauty of nature. The amateur artist in me wants to go home and try my hand at wood carving. I love all the art of God!
This trip offered so much. Vivid experience and interpretation, short lectures on so many subjects about Alaska. It has been a wonderful learning experience. Alaska has a great history, and this trip has offered a short beginning that hopefully we can all build on. Inspired, amazed, humbled. Wow! A dream now fulfilled.
Each day has offered a new gift I cannot pick my favorite, but a sunrise experienced in solitude at 4am on the bow was unforgettable.
This has been an amazing trip. It is #11 to Alaska for me and once again I dare to say it has been one of the best. Everything has been great – spectacular scenery, wonderful places to visit, new friends, and a very neat ship from which to see all these wonders.
Sharing this amazing Alaska with a group of dear friends is such a gift. Naturalists and historians sharing their vast experiences and knowledge of the sea, mountains, animals, plants and even ‘stumps’, truly enhance the experience even more.
And then the delightful ship and crew to care for your every need as you travel along the way. Can we please just stay like this? Friendship, appreciation for nature, land and sea!
We want another one, just like the other one! Bigger! Better! Get us wetter! Eagles swooping, terns a looping.
My, my, my, life will never be the same – Sea Lion take me away.
Rather than trying to give my own words to this amazing voyage, the guests aboard the Sea Lion for the past 10 days contributed their thoughts and memories about our trip together in the Inside Passage. – Robert Aldridge
Moving North – with a few side trips – Alaska’s inside passage now belongs to us. Equaling the frenzied voyage of Ivan Doig’s fictional characters in The Sea Runners, but with better groceries and without Tlingit warriors chasing the ship, our team saw granite, Sitka spruce, harbor seals, tidal glaciers, tufted puffins and more. We’ll be back to travel the ‘other’Alaskas.
Perched on a rugged hilltop, we stared along the huge gun barrel trying to imagine the life of the WWII soldiers who guarded the area. Suddenly a morning on George Island turned into yesterday. It was a cold, wet, and lonely defense of the USA.
Kayaking up rivers and streams, sometimes a tiny bird appears flitting here and there, all very beautiful from our ship. We watched sea otters drifting by clutching their ‘catch’, everything calling out ‘what a wonderful journey’.
The watching eyes belonged to the yellow-beaked predator that perched over the top of the tallest fir tree watching for his next meal to swim by. Bears on ridges, goats with kids, flowers on hillsides, sea lions sunning, majestic mountains magnified!
Soaring majestically, aerie perches, drenched in beauty, windows wildlife, spiritual insights, connected appreciation. Mares eat goats, and moose eat goats, and little kids suckle. But most of all calves are made of ice.
Ranger David Sholar accompanied us and added greatly to our enjoyment. He pointed out among many other things, how the glacier carved an obvious ‘u-shape’ in the rock, proving Muir’s theory of how Yosemite and other areas exhibiting this geometry were formed.
Suddenly there was a clap of thunder, but the sky was blue. What was it? It thundered into the water, soon sending an impulse to the ship lifting us several feet. But this was seen by another observer, on the glacier itself? What was it? A bear a top the glacier with major calving below! The brown bear wanted to see the other side of the glacier, so needless to say he became the spirited bear! The glacier ice bear has just overtaken the spirit bear – but we will keep looking!
We hope that the bear on the glacier was really a thunderbird and would soon turn into an eagle and fly away.
It was a day on the Sea Lion that even amazed the naturalists!! What a gift we were given today in Glacier Bay, a day that only God could have given!
How can I explain the emotion I felt with the contrast of the grandeur of the larger-than-life glacier and the tiny speck of life of the stranded bear? Mother Nature at her best!
What a beautiful world God has given to us. We must be very special to be placed in such a wonderful place in the vast space. I have been so inspired by the beauty of nature. The amateur artist in me wants to go home and try my hand at wood carving. I love all the art of God!
This trip offered so much. Vivid experience and interpretation, short lectures on so many subjects about Alaska. It has been a wonderful learning experience. Alaska has a great history, and this trip has offered a short beginning that hopefully we can all build on. Inspired, amazed, humbled. Wow! A dream now fulfilled.
Each day has offered a new gift I cannot pick my favorite, but a sunrise experienced in solitude at 4am on the bow was unforgettable.
This has been an amazing trip. It is #11 to Alaska for me and once again I dare to say it has been one of the best. Everything has been great – spectacular scenery, wonderful places to visit, new friends, and a very neat ship from which to see all these wonders.
Sharing this amazing Alaska with a group of dear friends is such a gift. Naturalists and historians sharing their vast experiences and knowledge of the sea, mountains, animals, plants and even ‘stumps’, truly enhance the experience even more.
And then the delightful ship and crew to care for your every need as you travel along the way. Can we please just stay like this? Friendship, appreciation for nature, land and sea!
We want another one, just like the other one! Bigger! Better! Get us wetter! Eagles swooping, terns a looping.
My, my, my, life will never be the same – Sea Lion take me away.
