(And Otters and Whales…… no fair just scrolling to the end!)
Yes, otters are residents of these here parts and are not afraid of the big, bad ships. Believe it or not, no one threw food overboard as this is obviously strictly forbidden, can hurt the little guys, and you can be thrown into the hooscow….. way up here!
One of the main reasons that folks come on this Alaska Cruise is to see the Glaciers. We sailed into Glacier Bay yesterday morning like we owned it. Well, as a matter of fact, we kind of did, at least for the day.
I can’t!
Glacier Bay is part of our incomparable National Park System and as such, gets benefit from the Protective Powers of that organization. So, in order to limit the impact of too many peeps peeping at the giant ice rivers (and colliding in front of the glaciers trying to get closer and closer, and then the Captains get in a fight and before you know it the passengers are jumping over the railings and boarding each other’s ships armed with swords and cutlasses in an attempt to secure the best possible viewing spot…..)
I’m sure that you can see how messy that could get!
In order to prevent that from happening only two ships are allowed in Glacier Bay at the same time, or day. Princess Cruises along with Holland America helped establish the Ranger Programs here way back in the ‘60’s, before Glacier was elevated from a National Monument to a National Park. Even today these “sister cruise lines” are recognized as “Historical Partners” with the Park Service and receive priority.
That was evident yesterday as we were the only ship in sight except maybe a small sailboat or two. These coveted Glacier Reservations must be made well in advance as there are a few more Lines able to enter Glacier Bay and they are Cunard, Viking, Seabourn, and NCL. On top of that, Princess must have put a reservation in for incredible weather, as you will see from the attached pics, was on a scale from 1 to 10 (with 10 being the highest) a solid 15! 😊 We know how good it was because the four NPS Rangers that came aboard for seminars and running commentary over the PA system, could not stop raving about how great it was compared to the regular weather.
Glacier Bay National Park is the 6th largest National Park spreading out over 3.2 million acres! The top 6 are dominated by the National Parks in Alaska, only Death Valey N.P. slides in at #5.
So, without further commentary from me, we present just a tiny slice of the vastness of Glacier Bay in the giant Glacier Bay National Park!
Yes! It must be a Megaptera novaeangliae!!! (A Humpback Whale)
Guess what its scientific name means…..
Correct!
“Big-Winged New Englander!”
I knew you guys were on top of this stuff!
Dive! Dive! Dive!
Some glaciers pick up more dirt and debris as they slide towards the sea, and some others get more dust and dirt blown their way depending on their location.
And then some have surrounding hills avalanche down on them.
Lots can happen over the hundreds of years it takes to make their journeys.
But how in tarnation can we get a good look at it with the Hordes invading and ‘hoarding’ the rails?
I know! We’ll be patiently waiting on the other side where no one is!
And the Captain has to turn around and……
“Voilà!” We’ll have the rail!
2 replies on “Glacier Bay”
Breathtaking. It is hard to process just how awesome nature really is. So glad you got to see a whale.
My friend Clyde and I were just there a couple of weeks ago on an NCL cruise. It is so amazingly beautiful. Our weather was cold and wet but we still got to see the glaciers. Hi from Tombstone!