May 4 - Glacier Bay National Park

The last few days have whizzed by. After leaving Homer we spent a day at sea on our way to Glacier National Park.  We had our penultimate trivia game and we’re once again in the lead, but only by ten points.  I went to a lecture about Arab-Israeli conflicts. It was interesting but no solutions were offered. (If someone had an answer he’d probably have come forward by now.) At dinner I dined with one of the new guest entertainers who came on in Kodiak.  She’s a Russian violinist who was a very nice dinner companion.

May 4th we arrived in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.  What a glorious place this is!  I didn’t get up in time to see this, but one of my shipmates Greg did. There was a truly spectacular sunrise.  We spent the day cruising up and down various arms of the waterways in the park.  The most magnificent is Tarr Inlet  into which Marjorie Glacier and the Grand Pacific Glacier flow.  I’ve been here before but I can’t remember how far into the inlet they flowed so I can’t judge how far they’ve receded.  Grand Pacific glacier is very debris filled and just looks like a muddy delta flowing into the water. Marjorie, on the other hand, is a tall white cliff of ice meeting the water.  We didn’t see any calving while we lingered but I have seen that before and it’s impressive, in terms of both visual and audio sensations.  There were lots of little ice pieces, called growlers, in the water and a few larger floes.  We were pretty far away but on a couple I could see numerous black spots which were seals sleeping on the ice.  It wasn’t a sunny day which was a shame because the ice looks even more beautiful when the sun shines on it.  It makes it easier to see all the colors in the ice.  The ship moved slowly and silently through what are essentially fjords and the only sounds were of birds cawing.   It is probably one of the most peaceful places I’ve seen.  The surrounding mountains are rocky and where there is vegetation it's fir trees.  Interspersed I could see some aspens which hadn’t yet begun to leaf out.  There was quite a bit of snow on the mountains.

These two photos of the sunrise are courtesy of my friend Greg

More photos of Glacier Bay than you ever wanted to see

This is Marjorie glacier

Those black things on the ice are some seals taking it easy

Just to prove I was here

These were some orcas spotted in the water

Not a bad birthday breakfast - heart shaped pancakes with strawberry & blueberry eyes, a mimosa some bacon and a capuccino

The earliest recorded history of Glacier Bay comes from a 1741 expedition by the Russian Vitus Bering.  Shortly after that expedition around Alaska, Russia staked a claim to the area and it belonged to them until we bought it in 1867. In between the British sea captain George Vancouver, who explored much of the northwest Pacific coast, had written that one of his ships was blocked from exploring this area by a wall of ice 2 miles wide and 3900 feet tall. The British tried to claim the land as a result of that expedition but the dispute was settled in an 1825 treaty and Russia maintained its ownership.

 

In the evening I had dinner in the TK Grill with friends and the Cruise Director and his assistants to celebrate my birthday.  We had a lovely evening, talking and laughing a lot.  We missed the show and after I went down to the Club and danced (a little) and talked with friends until nearly 2 AM.  It was a wonderful day in a beautiful place.  I’ve been so lucky to be able to go to and see the things I have.  Life has been good.