Glacier Bay National Park
We woke up this morning in the north end of Glacier Bay in front of Margerie Glacier. This beautiful glacier had a wall of white ice soaring 200 feet high out of the green fjord water. After breakfast, we spent a fascinating hour observing Johns Hopkins glacier as it had a series of calving icebergs. Several huge chunks of ice fell into the water with a splash, whereas others shot up from below the water. The Glacier Bay National Park ranger Jenni Burr conducted one of two kid’s activities as part of this week’s family program aboard the Sea Lion.
After lunch, we cruised into Tidal Inlet, where we saw two mountain goats high up on a grassy mountain. There was a brief glance of a brown bear up on another rocky mountain. There were also two humpback whales breaching and tail-lobbing in the distance. We didn’t know which way to turn our binoculars! After a slide show on marine mammals by Pete Pederson, we stopped to view the South Marble Islands. On a huge rock outcrop, there were many Steller sea lions, many of which were sliding into the ocean. Many tufted puffins and other birds were swimming and flying around the ship. Then a humpback whale appeared right in front of us! Later, we stopped to watch one of the many cute sea otters in Glacier Bay.
When we got to the national park headquarters, we went on a hike through the forest. We saw a boardwalk, lily ponds, huge moss in the trees, and a rocky beach at low tide. After dinner, there was a great sunset over Mt. Fairweather and the kids played another game of Alaska charades.
We woke up this morning in the north end of Glacier Bay in front of Margerie Glacier. This beautiful glacier had a wall of white ice soaring 200 feet high out of the green fjord water. After breakfast, we spent a fascinating hour observing Johns Hopkins glacier as it had a series of calving icebergs. Several huge chunks of ice fell into the water with a splash, whereas others shot up from below the water. The Glacier Bay National Park ranger Jenni Burr conducted one of two kid’s activities as part of this week’s family program aboard the Sea Lion.
After lunch, we cruised into Tidal Inlet, where we saw two mountain goats high up on a grassy mountain. There was a brief glance of a brown bear up on another rocky mountain. There were also two humpback whales breaching and tail-lobbing in the distance. We didn’t know which way to turn our binoculars! After a slide show on marine mammals by Pete Pederson, we stopped to view the South Marble Islands. On a huge rock outcrop, there were many Steller sea lions, many of which were sliding into the ocean. Many tufted puffins and other birds were swimming and flying around the ship. Then a humpback whale appeared right in front of us! Later, we stopped to watch one of the many cute sea otters in Glacier Bay.
When we got to the national park headquarters, we went on a hike through the forest. We saw a boardwalk, lily ponds, huge moss in the trees, and a rocky beach at low tide. After dinner, there was a great sunset over Mt. Fairweather and the kids played another game of Alaska charades.
