Today dispelled the notion that one needs a blue sky to have an amazing day. Despite mist-shrouded forests and fog-covered peaks, out journey through Glacier Bay National Park today showed us so much that any less cloud cover might have been overwhelming. After several close up looks at brown bears foraging along the intertidal zone, one of which providing a perfect example of the fact that some brown bears can be black in color, a sow and her three cubs were spotted on the beach.
The bow of National Geographic Sea Bird was full as we watched, utterly transfixed by the antics of these fuzzy young mammals, trundling about around their mother. They mimicked her, or valiantly attempted to, as she rolled over large rocks to expose the wealth of invertebrate nutrition that could be consumed. Substantially smaller, her offspring adorably struggled to upturn barnacle-covered stones of an equivalent size to their diminutive mass. This family of four will have to feed as much as possible, almost constantly in the coming months to survive, however it certainly appeared that they were getting the hang of things. As hard as it was to pry our eyes and ship away from such a wild treat there was still much more of this truly epic landscape to see.
Sheer cliffs of granitic rock, carved and smoothed down by the raw power of ice over time, welcome us as we make our way ever northwards into the bay, passing the occasional sea lion and otter. The slowly shifting state of flora hinting at clues to what has happened here as we get closer to the glaciers, the further away the more time the plant life has had to grow.
Goats are spotted along the ridgeline, standing sentry atop these geological ramparts. When finally we turn the corner of Jaw Point, the true wonder of Johns Hopkin’s Glacier is revealed. The cerulean blue ice mixed with the marbled gray of moraine, the sediment scraped along by this downward flowing frozen river, paint a combination of colors in our minds impossible to forget. As if this all wasn’t enough, just when it seemed like we were done for the day killer whales appeared and stayed with the ship all the way until dinnertime. Rain or shine or more rain, Southeast Alaska summers always are able to make memories that will light up our lives.
