Hubbard Glacier - Day 4 (Part 2)

We approached Hubbard Glacier and had nothing but fog....then all of a sudden we caught glimpses through the sky of towering snow-capped peaks around us. Then dense fog. The captain said we were lose, and not to be alarmed by icebergs. Not quite “titanic-sized” but enpugh he had to navigate through. We dropped to a crawl as the fog made it difficult to spot them.

Suddenly we broke out into bright sunshine, out of the fog bank we left behind and there it was, the Hubbard Glacier directly in front.

Hubbard Glacier is the largest tidal glacier in North America. A tidal glacier is one that reaches the sea. As it was early in the season, there was lots of ice infront of us. The captain stated he would get us as close as possible. The face of the glacier is over 6 miles long where it reaches the ocean. Even from a distance you could appreciate the size of it, the colors, the deep blue in the ice. The Hubbard Glacier is actually fed by 3 other glaciers from high above in the surrounding mountains. These rivers of ice join up with the Hubbard as it flows to the sea.

The captain got as close as he dared. We could hear the rumble of the glacier even from this distance. After a bit the captain rotated the ship 360 degrees, slowly and on a dime. Ships are designed to turn in this manner with no forward movement. Kind of amazing in of itself given the size of the vessel. This rotation of the boat allowed all on board to get perfect photos of the glacier.

Then it was time to head back to the open sea, and that fog and the familiar rythmn of the ship’s foghorn. And it is now almost dinner time. Hahaha

Tomorrow we arrive at Ice Straight Point. Not far from Juneau in one of the interior passages known for Humpback Whale feeding behavior. It is still early in the summer, but the whales have finished migrating from the Baja of Mexico where they spend the winters to breed, so I hope we will see what is known as ‘bubble net’ feeding behavior. We will see!

Truly a relaxing day today on the ocean, with a spectacular glacier viewing to cap off the day! Until the next post.....

Foghorn Tuesday On The Way to Hubbard Glacier - Day 4 Alaska Trip (Part 1)

The ship cruised along all Monday night until about 430AM when we hit some major fog. The boat slowed and continued its journey. I awoke at 8AM to the sound of the ship’s foghorn calling out every minute or so into the distance. It was erie but also soothing. After breakfast of coffee, juice, fruit and a pastry, I got ready for the day and went up on deck. The fog was thick. After walking the ship a bit, I settled in the Observation Lounge in the bow area. It has a beautiful interior with wrap around picture windows looking ahead; and it has an outdoor deck. Since we were traveling slowly the breeze was not bad outside in the bow.

After enjoying the morning air and fog, I went back inside for a cappuccino with a view! Later in the early afternoon the captain announced we were going to be 2 hrs late to the glacier today due to the fog and reduced speed. He anticipated that we would have clearing later in the day as we got closer in to the coastline and the glacier.

Lunch was good, I sat with a group from Hawaii and we talked a bit and they tried to get me to try the Sushi they prepared at the morning cooking class, I passed. After lunch the fog was lighter but still present and the lonely foghorn was sounding its warning every minute on the minute. As visibility increased we increased speed. I enjoyed a Strongbow Cider (the unofficial drink of my rugby team, especially after our trip to the UK last summer) in the sports bar while watching about the Patriots signing of Tim Tebow! Really? Hmmm....

As I am writing this, I am sitting on my balcony and a pod of Orcas (Killer Whales) go swimming past. So cool! The Foghorn is really getting to me, in a good way. I think I will miss it later in the trip when we have clear weather and sailing. It is so soothing as it echos across the water into the fog.

Few more hours until the Glacier, I may just read a bit, as it is one of those days, and just seems appropriate to sit on the balcony, grab some coffee, wear my sweater and read to the rhythm of the foghorn.

Will post more about today at the Glacier later tonight. Pics will have to wait as the connect speed by satellite is much slower, hard to upload.

Permission to Come Aboard - Day 3

Monday June 10th is day 3 in Alaska, but was the first day for the cruise..departure day. Had a nice breakfast at the hotel in Anchorage, then it was time to catch a cab to the train station for the 2 hour trip to the port of Whittier.

The train followed the same route along Seward Highway that I drove on Saturday to Kenai Peninsula, however, it left the main tracks in Portage and headed over to Whittier. To get to Whittier the train had to cross 2 mountains with glaciers,rather than climb the tracks tunneled through. 

The first tunnel was like any other, it was a mile long and when we emerged on the other side we were in a giant bowl valley with high peaks and glaciers all around. Once we got to the other side of the valley the train stopped.

We were at the mouth of the other tunnel, it was a 2.5 mile long tunnel and on the other side was Prince William Sound and Whittier. The thing is, this tunnel was a shared tunnel by trains and cars. And only one lane.....so the train waited until cars emerged coming out of Whittier. Once they emerged the train blew the horn and proceeded into the tunnel with about 50 cars and trucks following us through on the way to Whittier.

We emerged in Whittier and the Cruise ship was in plain site. Not really a huge town, it was formerly a military base, a secret one, hence the tough access. No mostly tour boats but not much in way of a town to explore. So, I took some photos and then proceeded to the ship for lunch and got situated.

We pulled out at 9PM and headed on our way. Dinner at 9:30PM with stunning views, remember it is still light out here, and then off to the observation deck for a glass of wine and watch the sunset as we navigated through the Sound and its islands. Dolphins flying in the bow wake. Was very cool and serene.

It’s Tuesday and I just finished breakfast on the balcony of my room. It is a very foggy morning in the Gulf of Alaska, and the seas are slight at 1.4 Ft. We have about 105 miles until we reach the Hubbard Glacier and sail through the fjords and passages. Today is a day at sea. I’ll post more on next entry, right now I need to finish my coffee and enjoy the foggy morning.

Photos may be lacking due to slow connect speeds. I’ll try though later.

All Aboard! Everyone Loves a Train!

Sunday morning I awoke at 6AM and headed out to the Anchorage Depot for the Alaskan Railroad. Today was going to be the infamous 12 hour train journey into the interior of Alaska, via Denali National Park on the Denali Star.  This train is the most common ways for locals to travel in the winter. Okay, they can fly too, but the train through the snow is more fun.

No snow today, sunny and warm. I was in the Gold Star dome car with panoramic views and an outdoor vestibule at the back of the car. The lower deck featured the restaurant for all 3 meals served during the day, and the upper deck was the dome seating and stocked bar.

I spent almost the entire journey outside. With all my camera stuff everyone thought I was a professional photographer. Haha. Everyone was on animal patrol. Along the way we saw a Bear, Moose and Caribou. In Fairbanks we saw Reindeer, but they were domesticated.  We went by Mt. McKinley, the highest peak in the US; we also passed by the Alaskan Early Warning radar site built in the height of the cold war and still in use today. This site and 2 others, one in GReenland and the other in Scotland are used to identify ICBM launches from Russia (then USSR).

Oh and about 1 hour outside of Anchorage, we passed through Wasilla, AK but no sign of Sarah Palin!!!

Food on the car was great. I also met  lot of people. Once couple was from Salisbury MA just up the road from where I went to High School. 2 couples were from Australia, from Queensland (Brisbane) and they were fascinated that I knew who the Reds were and some of their star players Like Will Genia and Quaid Cooper. The Reds are the provincial Rugby Club and pro team that competes for Queensland in the Super 15 Rugby league that is contested by the top provincial teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.  SANZAR (the 3 rugby national rugby unions) is also trying to promote rugby in Japan and the West Coast of USA and hopes to have franchises in both someday.

Anyway, the Aussies were saying that as amazing a country as Australia is, they really have no areas that regularly get snow and cold weather. So Alaska was blowing their minds!  They had already visited the Glaciers and Fjords of the Kenai Peninsula (like I did) and had already been to DisneyLand in LA and loved it. The are headed to Las Vegas next. LOL

Majority of passengers from Anchorage got off at Denali, for trips into the wilderness and lodges. Others joined the train after having spent a week in the national park. One thing about Alaska......it is few and far between the times you see any sign of civilization. Just animals, wild rivers and mountains. Mt McKinley was impressive from a distance and my photos really don't capture it at all.

Okay bed time for me, as I need to be up to pack and catch the train for the ride to Whittier, and board my cruise ship tomorrow, the Norwegian Sun.

Oh, and even though it is light out, it is after midnite and I need sleep.

Ton of pics!!

Kenai Fjords National Park - Day 1

So, after only about 3 hours of sleep, in mostly daylight overnight period, I arose at 4:15am for the journey to Seward Alaska. I had rented a car for the day and took the early morning drive to Seward. It is only about 120 miles but takes a solid 2.5 hours due to some construction and some mountain driving.

Scenery? Well I was almost late for my tour as the scenery along the way was amazing. Alaska is incredible.  As I arrived in the little town of Seward, on Resurection Bay, I found a little shop and had a fresh breakfast burrito, and then made my way to the tour boat that would take me on a 9 hour tour into the National Park. This particular tour went the furthest out of the bay, into the open ocean of the Gulf of Alaska, and then into the Northwestern Fjord.

Not 10 minutes having pulled out of the harbor, we came across a Sea Otter just floating on his back sleeping. The bay was extremely calm and the sun had not gotten high enough to really peek over most of the mountain peaks yet. But this Sea Otter was just floating on his back, occassionally doing a barrel roll to keep his body wet. The guide said it was like a wetsuit, that the water trapped in his fur warms up to help keep him warm.

A little later, and further out in the bay we came across a young Humpback whale. We followed him for a bit. Nothing too exciting in terms of breaching, but we did see his tail fluke and he exhaled right near us at one point before diving deep.

THen we came across tons of Orca Whales (Killer Whales). Several variety, and all were spying on us, jumping and just having a good time all around us. We even picked up their sounds with hydrophones as they seemed to be just having fun.

Later we came across another Humpback Whale, a mom with her calf. It was just casually cruising, with calf right by its side. Very cool. Then we spied some Sea Lions, sunning on the shore. But the water was rough as we were in more open waters so we sped past. We'd see more later.

We turned into a bay, calmer waters, and there we spotted a Bald Eagle perched in a tree watching us. As we krept closer, he soared away to another tree, more hidden. But still he kept a watchful eye on us. And then another lone Humpback just cruising the sheltered waters.

We finally entered the Northwestern Fjord. Passing by several small glaciers, we suddenly noticed lots of floating ice. More and more, mostly small, but as we got deeper into the fjord they got more plentiful and bigger. Clunk! That one hit the boat! Then more. Was kinda fun, everyone was joking bout Titanic. But these boats can handle these small icebergs. We rounded a corner in the Fjord and then we saw the Northwestern Glacier. Right down the mountain into the sea. As we got closer we heard thunder. No, wait, the sky was clear....that was the glacier. It moans, and groans, and every now and then you catch a chink calving off into the ocean. Some small, and others large with huge sprays as the ice hits. Then the sound comes rumbling. We turned off the boat and just drifted and listened. AMAZING!

Oh, and on the ice bergs were tons of harbor seals. Some moms with their pups, keeping a watchful eye on us.

Eventually we made our way out, and over to a sheer granite cliff carved by the glacier when it was much bigger and further down the fjord. We spotted mountain goats literally on the ledges of the cliffs, some momma goats and their kids.  Plus, waterfalls just pouring off these cliffs that soared 500-800 ft high. The water coming from the snow up above. Another Bald Eagle was here watching us again.

We then ran into the fastest Dolphins in the world, although I forget their name. They were fast, and raced the boat.

We left the fjord, and out to some of the islands in the Gulf of Alaska. Tons of sea birds. Then we spotted huge spray spouts on the horizon. The guide says they were too big for Orcas, maybe even for Humpbacks. It may be the 2nd largest whale in the world, the Fin Whale. They tend to be shy, and they are very fast whales. As we made our way out into open waters we saw spray spouts everywhere. Some Humpbacks, very LARGE ones and the Fin Whales. We stayed and spied on them for 30 minutes.

On our way back in we stopped at a popular sunning rock for Sea Lions. They were barking and roaring like crazy.

On our way back into the harbor, we saw the Sea Otter again, still snoozing on his back, although he did wake to poke a look at us as we drifted by him.

On the drive back to Anchorage, I stopped for a Moose who was just strolling the river bank. Cool. Only thing missing this trip was a bear!!! But I got lots of days left!

Bedtime! Pics hopefully soon.