Where in the World?

We arrived at Glacier Bay National Park around 11:00 a.m. ADT (Alaska Daylight Time), which is one hour behind Pacific Time. Glacier Bay National Park is 3.3 million acres and is bordered by the Tongass National Forest in Alaska and the Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park in Canada. The combined protected area is over 24 million acres; second in size only to Antarctica. Glacier Bay is now a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and is also a World Heritage Site with the other adjoining parks.

The entire area is breathtaking in both its natural beauty and in the sheer size of everything you see. In the first photo on the left you can see at the bottom center a torrent of water coming out of the Lamplugh Glacier. The height of the ice you see in this photo is approximately 75 – 100 feet; i.e. almost 10 stories.

The photo on the right with the almost Z like dark area is a small part of the Margerie Glacier which is about 1 mile wide. The last photo is a wide angle shot of the Margerie Glacier; about 2/3 mile. We were about ½ mile away from this glacier which is 25 stories tall. Wow! If you look really close on the bottom right portion of the glacier in the last photo you can see the Z shape there. That will give you an approximate scale. For about an hour we sat in front of the glacier and were blessed with multiple calvings (parts of the leading edge of the glacier cracks off and falls in the ocean). The last calving was huge and formed an immense wave that actually rocked the large cruise ship. It was quite exciting.

During the entire day I was fortunate to see multiple wildlife sightings:

• Two bald eagles; one flying low over the water and another sitting on a large rock out in the bay.
• Many sea lions – I’m estimating several dozen.
• Four minke whales or maybe one four times. It was hard to tell but it was still incredible to see them blow out air and then dive again with their tail in the air.
• Many birds; puffins, different types of gulls and a duck.

Some people near me also saw some porpoises and a brown bear on the shore. Overall we saw the Reid, Lamplugh, Johns Hopkins, Margerie and Grand Pacific glaciers which is over two miles wide and 25 miles long.

Tomorrow we arrive in Juneau to spend the entire day. Erica and I will be taking a helicopter ride, weather permitting, to the Mendenhall Glacier. We will have the opportunity to walk around on the top of the glacier before flying back down. The rest of the day is one of finding what adventures await us.

It was a day out of a dream. I’ll never forget it and hope to return to see everything again.

Michael