Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Alaska Trip Part III – Glacier Bay

Our boat made its way up Glacier Bay.

binoculars

We kept a watch for wildlife.

raftdirections

I scoped out the location of the lifejackets and read the directions on this emergency raft. Based on these drawings, it looks like in the worst-case scenario, everything would go swimmingly.

sealionsbiggroup

Sea lions!

sealionscloser

sealionscrazy

I hate to be judgmental, but has anyone considered the possibility that these animals are just plain crazy?

birds

There were lots of birds. Love is a beautiful thing.

captdonnew

Capt. Don sailed further into the wilds.


threegrizzlies

Then we came across some blood thirsty grizzlies.

chilkatrangenew

The view was amazing.

ridegetop

I like to take photos of mountain tops.

mysteryglacier

I'm not sure what glacier this is, but my guess is that it's either the Reid or Carroll glacier.

glacierwithmountain


glaciercruiseship

Here's the Margerie Glacier. To give you a sense of scale, the cruise ship is 900 feet long and carries 2,000 passengers.

glaciervertical

Let's take a closer look.

glacierlayers

Examine the layers.

glaciertop

Check out the top.

jackatglacier

Here's your humble photographer with a goofy grin, as usual.

grizzlycubsblur

We started back and came across more grizzlies. That's fireweed in the background.


grizzlymomcubsone

If you haven't seen the documentary "Grizzly Man," please do so.

grizzlyriocks

Further down the bay, we came across even more grizzlies!

grizzlytalk

I wonder what they're saying to each other? Probably something like "Have you seen the documentary Grizzly Man? The ending is awesome!"

grizzlytwo

glacierbear

The captain decided to take us up the Geikie Inlet where they had previously spotted something called a Glacier Bear. We weren't disappointed.


baldeagle

We also saw some bald eagles.


I didn't see any whales, but I was in no position to get greedy considering all the amazing stuff I saw and the fact I saw whales in Humboldt the week before. After the tour, we flew back to Juneau, dined at a greasy spoon and then left early the next morning to Seattle. I took off on my own, flying to Portland then Humboldt.

On the flight home, a thought occurred to me – I would have had almost as much fun with my family if we spent the week in downtown Stockton. I just like being around them. Then again, let's keep this our own little secret. I've got a hankering to return to Alaska and no desire to go to Stockton.

clouds

Before I got to Portland I finished reading "Into the Wild." Yeah, that kid made some stupid mistakes, but he also had something very important figured out. Nuff said.

3 Comments:

Blogger Hank Sims said...

I hate to be judgmental, but has anyone considered the possibility that these animals are just plain crazy?

I definitely think you're onto something.

I'm envious as hell of your whole trip. I think it's the most beautiful place I've ever seen. We took the Juneau ski-lift thing, took that same hike you did. I just don't have the words for it. It was stunning.

Did you ever make it to Sitka? It's like the Arcata of the north, but with fewer panhandlers. Whereas Ketchican has the McKinleyville vibe.

9:43 PM  
Blogger Jack Durham said...

Ketchican, Where Mooses (Meese?) Have the Right of Way??

My experience here is limited to what was on this blog. I'd like to check out Sitka.

10:02 PM  
Blogger Jerome said...

Great photos Jack! Looks like an incredible trip! Cheers.

6:02 AM  

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