Knowing that we were about to embark on a 7.5 hour cruise in the open water of the Gulf of Alaska with an all-you-can eat buffet lunch, I took TWO of the motion sickness pills my sweet sister gave me before we left home.
We followed the dark blue route (including the blue dotted lines)...
Thankfully, wildlife doesn't care about the rain. :)
The trip down Resurrection Bay was just fine. The water was quiet and calm with lots of waterfalls to see along the shore. There were also lots of sea birds like puffins, bald eagles, kittiwakes, murres, and cormorants. We saw sea otters (including mamas with babies), scads of Steller sea lions on the rocks, mountain goats (including 2 nannies with kits), and whales (7 humpback & 7 orcas)...
For a while we were followed by the seven members of the AK6 pod of orcas...
Then we went through the Harding Gateway and reached the open water of the Gulf. It wasn't good. Quite a few people who probably didn't think they got seasick found out they did. The poor crew worked hard doling out sea sick bags, ginger ale and blankets for those who made it out to the fresh air on deck.
Since we got our own private table for the duration of the cruise, we played several games of Kings' Corners...
Once we were back into the quiet waters of Aialik Bay, it was time to eat. I wish I had taken a picture of the spread they put on. But I was so busy stuffing my face, I totally forgot. The food was AMAZING! The best prime rib I've ever had and perfectly prepared wild Copper River salmon. Even the side dishes were great! Thanks to my meds, I got to join Chris for seconds. :)
As we continued up Aialik Bay and the Holgate Arm, we started to spot glaciers in the distance...
Then we arrived at the rugged, and very blue, Holgate Glacier...
Right after leaving Holgate Arm we ran into a raft of otters... (don't worry, we didn't actually run into any otters)
Pedersen Glacier in the distance...
You don't realize how big Aialik Glacier is until you notice there is a boat sitting at the base...
The air coming off the glacier was so cold that the rain hit your face as little pellets of ice... Brrr!
You could hear the ice creaking and groaning. Sometimes it sounded like gunfire in the distance...
Then we heard a rumble like thunder... The glacier calved!
Then you could see the waves breaking against the ice and rocks...
It was one of those moments where you are in awe of the power of God and His magnificent creation!
Then all was quiet again except for the distance rumbling, creaking and cracking...
Just before leaving, crew members picked up a piece of glacial ice from the water for Glacier Margaritas... (they even made virgins for the littler passengers or those of us who had taken their motion sickness meds)
Near Porcupine Bay, we saw a sight that very few people ever get to see (and our guide said he'd never seen in 10+ years). A humpback whale breached! And then he breached again. And again. And again...
While scientists cannot agree as to why whales launch themselves out of the water, landing back on the surface with a tremendous splash; I'm pretty sure this guy was simply having fun showing off!
He did it over a dozen times! It got to the point where you could time when he would do it again. He'd show his tail, disappear for a bit and then propel himself high out of the water with a mighty splash.
Just before getting back to Seward, we had several Dall's porpoises following the boat and playing in the bow wake...
After such a once-in-a-lifetime experiences, it was hard to be impressed by anything the rest of the day.
And we certainly weren't impressed by the fact that we had to fill our radiator before heading out of town... :( But we were grateful for the very nice liquor store employee who let us come and fill up our water jug. :)
We ended the day at the rather rustic Crow Creek Mine campground...
No comments:
Post a Comment