Glacier Bay

Our second day of the cruise started with breakfast in the Bordeaux dining room where we shared a table with a nice couple from Tennessee. Denny and I had chosen the "Anytime" dining option which meant we could go to our assigned dining room at any time to eat and therefore we would be seated with different people everytime we ate. Some people preferred the traditional seating so they sat with the same group of people every night, but I liked the freedom of being able to eat whenever I wanted.

After breakfast we headed back to the balcony of our room to watch for whales as we approached Glacier Bay. We didn't see any breach, but we did see one spout and we saw several sea otters resting on their backs while eating a snack of fish. Of course, they were well out from the ship so my picture isn't terrific, but I have the memory even if the picture isn't crystal clear, right?We also observed some puffins floating nearby as well as these harbor seals sunning themselves on an iceberg. Denny and I decided to wander up on deck where we could wander from starboard to port on the ship. Denny had the camcorder while I had the camera and when he complained that his hands were getting cold, I walked back to our room to get our gloves and the binoculars. Naturally, that's when the ship's naturalist spotted a bald eagle on an iceberg and Denny was able to capture it on video. I haven't even had a chance to review any of that yet, but when I do I'll post that clip (if I can figure out how to snip a clip) to Y*uTube.

As the ship approached Glacier Bay a small boat bearing park rangers pulled up near the ship and two rangers boarded our cruise ship to spend the day onboard describing the sights we were to see and creating an information table in the buffet dining area where you could ask questions of the staff.One of the nice things the Princess cruise line has done is to have the microphones of whomever is giving the nature talk from the bridge fed into a private TV channel that you can pick up in your room so that you can hear the person's talk from your balcony. So when we got a bit cold, we stepped into the buffet room, picked up some hot chocolate and returned to our room to enjoy the glaciers from the comfort of our balcony. Nice!If you were in this area two hundred and fifty years ago, you would have been standing on ice because there was no bay here, simply a massive glacier that was about one hundred miles long and several thousand feet deep. Over time, the glacier retreated and the melting waters filled the huge crevasse left behind. What's left today is a few tidewater glaciers that are still dramatic to watch as they calve huge chunks of ice that become icebergs.
Studied by scientists from all over the world, Glacier National Park was named a national monument in 1925 after many years of work and nagging by plant ecologist William S. Cooper. Mr. Cooper returned to Glacier Bay year after year to observe the plant life of the area falling in love with the area, the grandeur of the land and the vast amount of information to be gleaned from the plants and animals that thrive here. John Muir was also a staunch proponent of the area and President Jimmy Carter eventually signed the papers creating Glacier Bay National Park.

Glacier Bay National Park can only be reached by boat or plane. You need special permits to travel the waterways to get to the park and some areas are restricted or forbidden if native animals are breeding, nesting or simply occupying the area so not to disturb them. There are moose, harbor seals, sea otters, humpback whales, puffins, black and brown bears and more that exist here and their habitat is carefully guarded to preserve the species.

We were told that we'd most liking see calving occur at the Margerie Glacier and indeed, we saw one large calving event and three small calvings as our cruise ship made a very slow 360 degree turn in the bay so that people who had rooms on either side of the ship could view the glacier from their balconies.
We cruised around Jaw Point, named for the jaw-dropping sight of Johns Hopkins Glacier as you rounded the point.
Johns Hopkins Glacier.
Our ship was one of the first in a period of time to be able to cruise past the Johns Hopkins Glacier as the area is a prime breeding ground for harbor seals and cruise ships have been forbidden to be in the area until the day of our arrival.

As we returned around Jaw Point we had our second view of Lamplugh Glacier.A cruise ship from another line passing in front of Margerie Glacier.After a long day of being enthralled by the vastness and grandeur of the glaciers, Denny and I met up with our Prudhoe Bay group for cocktails in Crooner's lounge, followed by a delicious meal where I tried venison for the first time (excellent!). Several of us decided to go to see the magician's act (so-so) and then we "repaired to the buffet" for desserts and coffee. What a fabulous day!

Our Day in Denali

I'm going to skip a day that includes playing golf near Denali because I don't have access to my scorecard while we're marooned here in the hotel. Instead we'll segue right into our excursion into Denali National Park.

Our bus driver/guide for the day was Joe, a marine biologist by trade. Our trip into Denali was only a drive of 62 miles of its total 92 mile length, but it would take us all day to travel that distance due to the gravel roadway and the many stops for photo opportunities. When I say stops for photo opportunities, this is not getting off the bus and walking around, because when wildlife is near you may not only not get off the bus but you are not supposed to talk because the park staff doesn't want the wildlife becoming acclimated to the sounds of humans. So on a misty and sometimes rainy day our pictures were mostly taken from inside the bus, leaving the quality of the shots somewhat lacking.

Factoids: There are six million acres of land in Denali National Park. The trees are within the boreal forest, the northernmost treeline on the continent, and are comprised of alders, poplar and spruce. There are no pine trees in the boreal forest.

While most of the road within the park is gravel roadway, near the entrance the road is paved and has an underlay of styrofoam as a base to protect the permafrost. Also near the entrance a five mile section of the road is closed to any and all foot traffic during the moose rutting season as a protection both for the moose and humans.

There are 35 species of willow in the park, the dwarf willow being a favorite of caribou. In my pictures you will see a very red plant--that will be dwarf birch although dwarf willow is also red.

In the park there is only a three month period of lush plant and tree growth for the animals to eat before the winter season starts and the plants begin to lose their nutrients. Therefore Denali NP can't support a lot of animals as there is would be too much competition for food for the animals. Nature's way of keeping the animal population under control.

Charles Sheldon watched as Dall Sheep were being hunted to extinction in this area of Alaska and so he lobbied for the area to be made into a national park. He also worked with Theodore Roosevelt and many others to form the Boone-Crockett Club, dedicated to preserving wildlife.

The horns of a Dall Sheep take 7 to 8 years to grow into a full curl and the horns have rings like a tree.

There are currently 2000 caribou in the park.

The only fish in the rivers within the park are the Arctic Grayling, which are the only type of fish that can survive in the glacier silt-filled waters. Therefore there are no bald eagles in the park because they don't eat grayling. There are, however, golden eagles because they eat mammals.

The mineral rhyolite is found in the mountains here. It is also found in Nevada and Arizona.

Scientists come from all over the world to study Alaska and Denali National Park due to its unique climate, animals and topography.If you click on the above picture to enlarge it, you will see the bloody area on the center antler where this male caribou has just finished rubbing the velvet from his antlers.

And now it's time to get out of the room and hit the Shipshewana Flea Market, famous in this area of Indiana. More pictures of Denali to follow. Internet connection willing, that is.

A Day to Play

For the past two days we've been playing catch up with friends Rene and Barb, sharing evening meals and playing card games and causing multiple full bottles of wine to mysteriously empty themselves. Rene decided that we needed to see at least one of the area attractions before Denny and I headed off to Alaska, so today he and his lovely wife drove us to the wildlife park known as Northwest Trek. Northwest Trek was created after the Hellyer family graciously donated several hundred acres of land near Eatonville, Washington. The Tacoma Metro Parks area acquired more land and now Northwest Trek has 725 acres, 435 of which is home to the herd animals of bison, deer, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, moose and caribou that roam free. There are smaller fenced exhibits of grizzly and black bear, lynx, wolves, coyotes, fisher, wolverines, otters, beavers and also displays of reptiles and insects. The park operates a tram that meanders through the herd animal area so you can get up close and personal and the rest of the animal displays are approached on foot by the looping walking trails throughout the exhibit area. There are picnic areas if you wish to bring your own lunch or you can purchase some excellent sandwiches at the cafe near the park entrance.
This is the type of park where you can spend as much or as little time as you like. The tram ride takes about an hour and if you catch one of the park employees giving a talk on one of the critters you may find yourself standing there asking question after question as I did about the tiny Western Screech owl on display as we were wandering the paths. Which is how I discovered that they obtained the little guy when he was discovered starving in a yard. Medical tests showed no physical problems but he wouldn't hunt long enough to get enough food to keep himself alive or to have the strength to fly. So he became, after a long and intensive training session, a teaching exhibit. Weighing 5 ounces, or the equivalent of 150 paperclips, his eyes are 80 percent of his head, which doesn't leave a lot of room for his brain. The young lady holding the owl had a wealth of information about this adorable little creature and I walked away amazed and intrigued. I can deal with rescue animals but I wasn't thrilled with the enclosures for the cougars, bears, lynx, wolves, etc as I considered them way too small and the cougars' behavior only reinforced my belief. But much of the park was interesting, the employees were very knowledgeable and gave the impression they enjoyed their jobs, the park is beautiful and the opportunity to see baby bison, deer and bighorn sheep was really fun. All of us walked out admitting that we learned quite a bit and we thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon.
The evening was complete after Barb's wonderful meal of homemade split pea soup, with crusty multi-grain bread and Caesar Salad and another card game before we begged off to finish packing for our trip.


The RV Vagabonds are going to be off-line for the two weeks we're going to be in Alaska since I'm not taking the laptop with me. I'm hoping the grandeur of our largest state will keep me from suffering Internet withdrawal symptoms. In the meantime, I'll take lots of pictures which you'll see once we get back in the states and back on the road again.