Glacier Bay National Park greeted us with a spectacular day from sunrise to sunset. As we all know, the temperate rain forest environment of Southeast Alaska, receives great amounts of rain during the late summer. This rain is carefully timed by nature to give life to the salmon streams, the forests, and all the creatures that are getting ready for a long winter. With that said, some days can be glorious, with perfect weather, and today was one of those days.
We woke up all the way up Johns Hopkins Inlet. The alpenglow painted the snowy tops of the mountains in pink, and the forest in pastel colors. The mirror-like water doubled up the beauty with the perfectly reflected image on its surface. This was just the beginning to a day full of scenic highlights, traveling through the footprints of glaciers from the past.
We made our way up into Tarr Inlet, where we were mesmerized by the beauty of the Margerie and Grand Pacific Glaciers. National Geographic Sea Bird quietly waited in front of the face of Margerie Glacier. We could see some parts of the glacier calving into the water. One of the most amazing sensorial experiences came more from the sounds of nature than from the visual images themselves. It is hard to describe the sound of the cold thunder of dying ice, which has fulfilled its journey through the centuries.
Dozens of sea otters were seen as we sailed through. Eagles, puffins, porpoises, and mountain goats, reminded us of the wild soul of a place that has remained virtually untouched; a landscape that is not empty, a landscape that is alive.
