In calm, glistening waters, our day began cruising down Frederick Sound and the Wrangell Narrows were surrounded by the gorgeous mountains of Tongass National Forest. We watched for wildlife out on deck. After a tasty brunch, we arrived in the historic fishing town of Petersburg. With clear blue skies the weather was magnificent, and guests enjoyed several terrific options to choose from, including muskeg walks, photography walks, bike riding, dock walks and flightseeing. In the evening, Petersburg local Becky Knight graciously provided a recap detailing the life of a multi-generational Alaskan commercial fishing family.
Lastly, we ended the evening with a favorite dinner extravaganza – crab night!
Amy has spent several seasons working in Antarctica at both McMurdo Station and Palmer Station, where she supported scientific research for the United States Antarctic Program. Wintering at McMurdo Station and experiencing 24-hours of darkness and -60°F temperatures, she found a true passion for the polar regions and is devoted to sharing this with others.
Parting is such sweet sorrow today is our last day together, and somehow Alaska knew because the clouds gathered were crying all day. That did not stop us from doing one last grand wild Alaska adventure. We as a ship banded together to make sure all guests, staff, and crew still had fun, rain or shine. Our Global Explores got to drive Zodiacs. Our hikers followed old logging roads, noting how the forest had grown back.
The dive team went into the water for underwater images to share. Shay and I worked together to get all the gear collected and organized. The two divers and surface support team hopped into a Zodiac and drove to a rocky spit in Rodman Bay. Looking at the shoreline, there was some skepticism about a good dive in weather like this. As the divers descended into the murky depths, they found the little underwater rocky spit teeming with life. During the dive they videoed shrimp, fish, sea stars, anemones, sea cucumbers, and jellies. We made history in the Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic dive log as we were the first two people to dive in Rodman Bay.
Once everyone was back on ship and dried off, we all gathered in the galley to enjoy a delicious lunch that warmed us back up. We were greeted by a humpback whale family eating their lunch of tasty fish using the bubble-net technique to catch their prey. We lifted anchor, and we began our journey through Peril Strait towards Sitka.
The National Parks System is one of our country’s best ideas for so many reasons. It would be nearly impossible to list all the benefits we collectively gain from these protected and public lands. One of the clearest, however, is the living laboratory of national parks and their ecology — the way in which they provide a window into how nature takes course outside of major human impacts. Today, we discovered that Glacier Bay National Park may be one of the best examples of this.
We began our morning at the face of Johns Hopkins Glacier, one of the many tidewater glaciers snaking from the upper elevations of the Fairweather Mountain range down to the warm(er) ocean waters of Glacier Bay. Like all other glaciers here, Johns Hopkins is rapidly receding, leaving bare earth behind ready to be colonized by plants, animals, and fungi. Over the past 200 years, this has happened across the area of the park, leaving behind over 60 miles of new earth and water. Blank slate for life to takes its course.
Throughout our day of cruising, we were lucky enough to see an entire range of the life that has followed in the wake of the ice. Among the thickets of alders and hemlocks, our naturalist team and deck team spotted a lone bear feeding along the coastline. Soon, three more appeared followed by a moose that began to swim in an apparent escape from the hungry predators. A stunning encounter that set the tone for a day full of sightings. Rafts of sea otters floating gently in the glacier blue waters. Killer whales slowly swimming along the coastline. Mountain goats scrambling up sheer granite cliff faces, seemingly vertical. Thousands of sea birds nesting in safety on isolated islands. And 6 more coastal brown bears foraging for food as they wait for the salmon run to begin.
The amount of life we were lucky to find here today shows just how resilient life is and how quickly it can flourish from nothing when given the opportunity, thanks to the protections of our National Parks.
Do you remember growing up watching National Geographic specials on TV? Those memorable musical notes meant we would be transported to some remote part of the world. As children we sat in awe watching humpback whales, blue glaciers, giant icebergs, baby seals, deer with fawns, sea otters noisily munching shellfish, and the wolves of the sea, orcas. We kids never dreamt that we might grow up to see these things up-close and personal. But we’ve seen them all – on the
National Geographic Venture
this week.
Today, we added another marine mammal to that impressive list – Steller sea lions and wow, did we see them close! The Inian Islands sit adjacent to the open Pacific Ocean. Here, the wide ocean pours through a narrow passageway the locals call “the washing machine.” As the tide changes, an 8-knot current swirls the calm waters into eddies and whirlpools and the salmon catch the tide, and the sea lions catch the salmon. Sometimes a sea lion gets a fish and breaks it into smaller chunks by slamming it onto the water’s surface. It doesn’t take long for the gulls to swoop in for leftover scraps. We hardly knew where to look – the action was all around and it was downright exciting!
In the afternoon our childlike wonder took a different focus. Instead of looking out to sea, the magic was under our feet. The intertidal zone was in full view. As the indigenous Tlingit people often say, “When the tide is out, the table is set.” And it was a feast for the eyes: limpets and sculpins, mussels and crab, periwinkles and barnacles, cockles and whelks and seaweed as far as the eye could see! Experiences like we had today – lost in the magic of the wild world – take us back to the awe and wonder of being a child once again.
