Alaska Recap - Part 5

Here is the last of the Alaska recaps.

The weather again turned rainy and miserable on Friday. We woke to gray rain clouds and a bit of fog. After yesterdays beautiful weather in Glacier Bay, this was a bit of a disappointment. But it didn't deter us from enjoying our last full day in Alaska.

We anchored near Lake Eva at the entrance to Peril Straight and hiking and kayaking were offered. Instead of having to choose this time, we had the opportunity to do both. All the kayakers gathered together and went for a quick hike prior to kayaking. We tromped through the mud and around a pretty little lake, taking in the lovely scenery. We saw swallows flying around the surface of the lake and were told they had just come up from South America. We got to spot overlooking a great little waterfall and that ended up being our turn around spot. Those wellington boots definitely came in handy on this hike as the ground was very muddy and very wet.

A group of us did a bit of a power hike on the way back and it was nice to work up a sweat. We got back to the beach and all our kayaks were waiting there for us. I met up with momma and we climbed into a kayak and sailed off. We headed back towards where we hiked, this time taking in the scenery from the water instead of the shore. We even tried to paddle upstream towards the waterfall, but due to the strength of the water, we only could get so far.

As we came back in to the area where the swallows were, we lifted our paddles and quietly floated around the small lake. We had swallows flying all around us at one point and it was quite a wonderful experience. After paddling around a while longer, momma and I headed back to the beach for a rather wet landing (think cold waves crashing down your back) and soon enough we were back on board the Sea Lion.

We spent the rest of the afternoon sailing around Admiralty Island looking for bears. We found two. One was a larger brown bear off in the distance, but he quickly went back into the woods as we approached. On the opposite shore, however, we found a young adult brown bear walking along the shore and we were able to get rather close. Bears apparently have better hearing than eyesight (both are good), so we kept as quiet as possible on the boat while we inched closer to the shore. The bear stopped a few times and even once looked right at us, but eventually he kept moving along the shore and then up into the woods out of our view.

That evening, we had our farewell dinner which consisted of "entertainment" from our Naturalists and some delicious white salmon. Yes, white salmon. Only 1% of the pacific salmon population are white (not the normal pink most are used to) and no one really knows why. Looks like Halibut, tastes like salmon. It is delicious with a slightly lighter, less oily flavor than regular salmon. Anyway... it was great and if you ever see this rare fish on the menu or in your fish market, get it and try it out.

Photos of Lake Eva Hike/Kayak & Bears!

We headed to our cabin to finish packing up that evening while the boat sailed through Peril Straight towards our last stop... Sitka!

Sitka wasn't that impressive. We didn't have a lot of time between when we got off the ship and when our plane left back for Seattle. We quickly said our goodbyes to the crew and boarded buses which whisked us off to a Sitka Museum with a large collection of totem poles. After that, we headed into town for some quick shopping and then it was off to the airport. I found out later that there was an Eagle Rescue place in town and I would have loved to visit that, but there just wasn't any time. I think if I had to do the cruise over again, I would reverse course, start in Sitka and get there a day early to visit the Eagle shelter.

Photos from Sitka & Flying Home!

Overall, it was a fantastic trip with lots and lots of photos. Alaska is a treasure and thank goodness some smart folks back in the day had the foresight to buy that chunk if land from the Russians.

Alaska Recap - Part 4

We spent the entire day in Glacier Bay National Park trying to dry out after the previous day's drenching.

We started early and picked up the Park Ranger at Bartlett Cove and sailed into the park as the day was just starting. The only real way to see this park is by boat and the park is very strict on the number of boats let into the park. Per day, only 2 large cruise ships, 3 tour boats (this is what our boat is classified as) and a handful of small private charters and privately owned boats are allowed into the park. It a large park and the limited numbers make it feel as if you have the park to yourself. Plus, in order for those large boats to enter, they must pick up a Park Ranger who accompanies the boat throughout it's 24 hour time limit in the park.

It didn't start out as a nice day with dark clouds hanging over us, but we ventured into the park with our ranger. First up was a small island where we found numerous Stellar Sea Lions and birds of all sorts. This was our first view of the Tufted Puffin and we saw quite of few of these cute little birds flying near the rocks and just floating in the water. I did manage to get some nice shots of a puffin in the water near our ship's bow and a sequence of a puffin taking off from the water (not the most graceful of actions for the less than aerodynamic puffin). Also on this island was a lone sea otter still on its back on shore. I have only seen this guys in the water, so seeing one on shore lying out like it was suntanning was a treat.

We left the island and continued on along a series of cliffs where we spotted a lone moose and black bear off in the distance. Specks in the camera lens. Then came the mountain goats and we saw plenty of these guys quite close. How they ever manage to cling to those tall cliffs is bewildering, but it is easy to see how they survive the cold Alaska winters with their thick furry white coats.

The sun finally came out as we approached the far end of the park, 60 miles from where we had started that morning and the ship's crew surprised us with peppermint schnapps laced hot chocolate out on the deck to keep us warm as most of the passengers stayed outside enjoying the scenery and animals. That was also a nice treat and one of many we got while on board the Sea Lion.

At the end of that 60 miles, we came to a spot where two Glaciers flow out into the bay; the Grand Pacific and the Margorie Glacier. The Grand Pacific Glacier was the glacier responsible for carving out most of Glacier Bay and was all black and sooty with the silt and sediment it had carved up and pushed forward along its journey. The Margorie glacier was a little cleaner having flowed down from a nearby mountain top. These two glaciers were not a pretty as Dawes Glacier we had seen at the beginning of the trip, but the wide vistas of Glacier Bay created a stunning atmosphere.

After lunching near these two glaciers, we headed back down the bay dipping into several other arms of the bay to look at other glaciers and the beautiful, snow-capped mountain ranges that line the bay. We saw porpoise, dolphins, whales and sea otters swim or float past us as we continued down the bay.

We finished the day in Bartlett Cove where we dropped off our park ranger and got off the ship to take a short hike around the cove. This was my first hike and it was nice to get a bit of activity in other then the kayaking I had only done up to this point. The photography wasn't that good on the hike due to the quickly dimming light and my lack of a tripod, but I enjoyed the hike around the lakes and woods of Bartlett Cove.

We sailed out of the park that evening and headed back down Chatham Straight for our final full day on the ship.

Glacier Bay National Park Photos
Photo Sequence of Calving Glacier

Alaska Recap - Part 3

Tuesday morning we awoke in Saginaw Bay close to Chatham Straight. We got off the boat again and again I had elected to go kayaking.... this time with mom.

We got in a two-person kayak and headed out into the little bay. We spotted some birds along the rocks and then headed for the headlands where there were some supposed Indian rock paintings (not sure if the rock painting is old or not). On our way out to the headlands, mom and I we encircled by the videographer in his zodiac. Oh joy... we were gonna be in the DVD of the trip! We came back to shore along the rocky coast, enjoying the water and the scenery.

Back on board the Sea Lion, we spotted a lone sea otter floating near the ship. He was on his back eating working his paws feverishly. Every once is a while, he would do a complete spin the water, amazingly keeping is head and feet above water. What skill! As the sea otter floated away, we headed out of Saginaw Bay into Frederick Sound towards Chatham Straight. Our goal was to find whales! At the point where Frederick Sound meets Chatham Straight, there is the small Yasha Island. On this tiny island were hundreds of sea lions crowded onto the rocks. We couldn't get too close, but as we approached, many of the sea lions headed for the water while others stayed put and gave us curious glances.

Past Yasha Island, we headed out into Chatham Straight, but there were no whales as yet to be found. We sailed along and discovered a beautiful waterfall along the straight and we went to take a closer look. Eagles and a variety of ducks were near the waterfall. No great photos though since the sun was on the wrong side (the waterfall faced east).

We left the waterfall and continued north up the Straight and suddenly we heard "Whales ahead". YAY! Off the bow we saw two Humpback whales headed towards us. We watched in awe as they surfaced and blew water out their spouts and then dove for deeper waters with their signature tale high in the air. It was great to watch and being in a smaller boat, we even we able to turn the boat around and follow the whales as they ventured south down Chatham Straight.

After an amazing day of viewing all sorts of animals, we ate a delicious dinner. While we were finishing dinner, we noticed out the window a rather fast Dall Porpoise swimming right by the ship. I ran out of the dinning room and discovered the porpoise had moved up to the bow and was riding the bow wave. It was getting dark outside so getting a photo of this very fast porpoise was difficult, but it was amazing to see him riding that wave on the bow of the ship. Beautiful!

Photos from Saginaw Bay
Photos from Chatham Straight

The next day, Wednesday, I woke up not feeling particularly well and what felt like the start of a cold. The weather outside matched my health with nasty rain and swelling seas. Our opportunity to kayak that day got nixed pretty quickly and the crew managed to find a small inlet to offer hikes. I opted to stay on board and stay dry and I took a large amount of cold drugs and snuggled in bed trying to kill this cold as quickly as possible.

That afternoon as we headed up into Icy Straight near the entrance of Glacier Bay, the weather let up enough that we were able to spot and follow another Humpback whale. This guy was very close to the boat and at one point surfaced a mere 100 feet in front of the bow. Everyone was able to get great shots of him as he dove and produced his barnacled-covered tail one last time.

Although the wildlife was cooperating with us, the weather was not and our afternoon activity also got canceled. Instead, we headed to the small town of Elfin Cove, a adorable little village with no roads where the locals get around on a small network of boardwalks. Apparently only about 20 people live here in the winter, but its close access to the Pacific makes it a prime fishing lodge local in the summer months. We walked around the boardwalks, visited a few of the local stores, watched a man doing a honest to goodness chainsaw carving out of a tree trunk, and talked with some of the local fishermen in town. It was a very enjoyable time and I think Lindblad should add this quaint little town as a permanent stop on this cruise. We were told by some of the crew that they divert to Elfin Cove maybe once a season, so we felt lucky that we got to go there. It sure beat Petersburg.

It took us a while to leave Elfin Cove due to a old hand truck getting caught in the ship's anchor. They had all the crew working on that anchor for about 2 hours before they got the hand truck released. Once able to freely move again, we headed out into Icy Straight and docked overnight near the entrance to Glacier Bay.

Photos from Icy Straight & Elfin Cove

Alaska Recap - Part 2

Monday, May 12th was one of those days that you look outside at the windy, miserable weather and head straight back to bed. We had sailed overnight down Frederick Sound to the mouth of LaConte Bay. Our plan was to get into the maneuverable little Zodiacs and boat around all the icebergs calved off of the nearby LaConte Glacier then head to the small fishing village of Petersburg where some of us would take a flight seeing trip in a float plane over the LaConte Glacier. As the weather got worse, however, those plans quickly changed. The water was too rough to do the Zodiac trips through the LaConte Glacier ice burgs (quite the bummer), so instead, our ship headed across the bay to the small Ideal Cove where hiking was offered. Now, I am not much of a hiker so I elected to stay on board the ship while everyone else went out and hiked in that miserable rainy weather.

After the rain-soaked hikers returned from their adventures, we ate another delicious lunch while the boat headed north to Petersburg. As we approached this cute little Norwegian town, we noticed about 20-30 eagles lining the shore. Apparently, these eagles were looking for easy pickings as this area was downstream from a cannery. Heh. Smart eagles. We walked through downtown Petersburg which really was only one street about a quarter-mile long. There were some nice little artsy stores in between the obvious tourist trap stores. Mom and I had fun window shopping and mom did find this beautiful drawing of eagles and totem poles which she said was what Alaska was to her so far. I stopped by a grocery store and picked up some snacks for the room and bought a few Alaska trinkets. After the quick walk through town, I grabbed the camera, covered it with a shower cap (makes for a great rain cover) and headed out along the numerous fishing boat docks. There were all sorts of neat things to photograph amoung all the various fishing boats, but to cold and rain starting soaking into my bones so I headed back to the warmth of the ship.

Before dinner we noticed two Stellar Sea Lions right off the ship. I am not sure what they were doing…. Either they were playing, fighting, or they were in the throws of some weird sea lion mating ritual, but they were splashing about all over each other occasionally coming up for air. We had fun watching & photographing them for a long time and eventually the sea lions headed off for other waters. For dinner, we had fresh Alaskan King Crab Legs! And whoa boy, were these things large and fresh. They kept bringing plate and plate piled high with this gigantic crab legs and we enjoyed cracking them open and eating the delicious crab meat inside. That was one of the best and most memorable meals we had that week.

Here are more photos.

Alaska Recap - Part 1

So, I finally got some photos from my cruise to Alaska posted. YAY!

Mom, her friend Joy, and I headed to the Seattle airport on Saturday, May 10th for a quick flight up to Juneau, Alaska. Most of our fellow passengers seemed to also be on our cruise boat as some already were wearing their Lindblad/National Geographic hats and name badges. After arriving at one of Juneau's three airport gates (I love tiny airports) and dropping our bags off with the Lindbald folks, we boarded buses for a tour of Juneau and the Mendenhall Glacier.

Things about Alaska's capitol city that I did not know. The city of Juneau is almost as large at Delaware and Rhode Island combined with only a population of roughly 31,000 folks. Thats a lot of extra land. Juneau is the second largest municipality in the US, coming second only to the nearby Sitka, Alaska. Juneau was named for a gold prospector, Joe Juneau, after names like Harrisburg and Rockwell were deemed to boring for city names. Juneau has only about 40 miles of paved road and can only be reached via ferry or airplane.

We headed out of Juneau to our first Glacier... the Mendenhall Glacier. We only had a short time to visit, so I took a quick walk on the beach and up to a viewpoint. The Glacier is quite large, but has been steadily retreating since the early 1900s and rapidly retreating since the last decade.

It was back on the bus and into downtown Juneau where we visited the Alaska Museum. It was nice to learn a bit about the history of Juneau and the area, but I really wish we had spent more time at Mendenhall Glacier and less time at the Museum.

The ship was docked nearby and we got in line to check in. With only 56 passengers on such a small cruise ship, check in was quick and easy and soon enough, we were all on board and unpacking clothes in our cabins. Since there were three of us, I ended up with the single cabin on the main deck all the way up near the bow. This turned out to be a great cabin with only one minor flaw (will get to that later). We all meet in the lounge for a meet and greet with the boat's officers, staff, and our expedition team and then it was into the dinning room for dinner. We didn't depart Juneau until late in the evening as most of us were getting ready for bed.

In the morning, I woke up and looked outside my window to see huge chunks of ice floating by. We were heading into the Endicott Fiord towards Dawes Glacier. The weather was very moody as mother nature had thrown a thick gray blanket down low into the fiord. As we sailed on futher, the ice chunks got larger and more in number and ranges in color from transparent like the ice cubes in your water glass to this amazing blue color. We passed lots of small waterfalls trickling down the steep cliffs of the fiord and finally, we came around a bend in the fiord and there nestled under a thick low hanging cloud, was Dawes Glacier. It looked tiny from so far back but soon enough we would get a lot closer and realize how massive this Glacier was.

Another great thing about being on a Lindbald ship.... Zodiacs! The ship carries a small fleet of zodiacs which after anchoring, they put into the water. Donned in our parkas and wellingtons, we climbed aboard and headed closer to the glacier. The weather was lifting and the views of the glacier from a mere quarter mile distance became amazing. Dawes Glacier is apparently 200 feet high at its face and roughly 2 miles wide and it has this amazing blue color to it.

Zodiac-ing through the burgy bits and hearing the cracks and groans of the glacier as it moved and calved was an amazing experience. We would hear this loud crack and thunder and turn and notice a small section of the glacier had calved into the water. Often times, we would hear the cracks and pops of the glacier, but we would not see any calving; the insides of the glacier was moving as well as it inched forward in its travels from the faraway ice fields in Canada. We saw the white specks of mountain goats high up on the cliffs and wondered how on earth did they get up there and how do they move about without falling. We also saw tons of bird flying about and resting on bits of iceburgs in the water.

We got back on board and sailed out of the fiord. Next stop was a small little bay nearby where we were able to anchor. We again donned our parkas and mud boats and the zodiac took us to shore where we could either hike or kayak. I elected to kayak around the bay and headed over to a pretty waterfall cascading into the bay. I then kayaked along the shoreline enjoying the beautiful rock formations and plants. It was nice to get off the boat and find ones own quiet piece of Alaska to enjoy for an hour or so. I could have kayaked out there forever.

Soon enough, we were back on board, meeting new friends while enjoying a hearty dinner. Soon after dinner we headed to bed exhausted from a great first day in Alaska.

More photos:
Flying to Alaska, Mendenhall Glacier, & Juneau.
Dawes Glacier
Kayaking around Williams Sound

Home

We got home from our Alaska Cruise on Saturday. Left the cold and rainy Sitka, Alaska and flew to the HOT Seattle. Seriously.... it was 90 degrees when we landed in Seattle.

The cruise was GREAT! I don't think I will ever climb on one of those huge cruise ships with 3,000 other people ever again. We were on the Lindblad/National Geographic Sea Lion with 56 other people. The small boat carried zodiacs and kayaks and we were able to change course to follow whales and change itinerary to adjust for weather conditions. Well worth the expense.

Of course, now I want to go on several other Lindblad Expeditions.... Baja, the Arctic and the Galapagos are high on my list.

I took lots and lots of photos of lots and lots of different kind of animals and pretty scenery. Will post them soon.