Cool mist and fog in the distance greeted us in the pre-dawn morning of our day in Glacier Bay National Park. Our first order of business was to pick up a ranger from the National Park Service as well as a cultural interpreter.

As the sun broke over the horizon it quickly burned off the remnants of the fog that had been lingering through Sitakaday Narrows.

Cruising north our cultural interpreter sang a welcoming song and she and Ranger Erica gave us an orientation to the Park as well as a primer on the birds that we might see today—which was indeed timely as we encountered hundreds of sea birds at South Marble Island including kittiwakes, murres, and both tufted and horned puffins.

Transiting the entire day under cloudless skies yielded views of brown bears fishing, glaciers calving and even a small group of killer whales.

After dinner we enjoyed walking around the Park Headquarters in Bartlett Cove to admire the trails through the forest and around the totem poles and tribal house.