The early risers this morning were blessed with a rare sighting of a moose on the shores of Glacier Bay. The low island was the terminal moraine of the glacier that used to fill all of Glacier Bay in the 1700’s.
After breakfast, we all went outside to see the wildlife of South Marble Island. There were tufted puffins in the water and flying around us. Steller sea lions were swimming and playing near shore. Then we saw two humpbacks spouting near the island! What a bountiful place!
The Glacier Bay National Park ranger Sue Hazlett introduced us to the story of the bay and park. The bay was formed during the 1800’s as the 65-mile long glacier rapidly receded by breaking off billions of icebergs Soon afterwards, the ship slowed down so we could see Gloomy Knob, a limestone mountain with spectacular geologic features. The naturalists spotted several mountain goats and we all got to see them on the steep cliffs.
Later, we saw our first glaciers. There were some hanging glaciers and some valley glaciers in their distinctive U-shaped valleys. As a part of the Family Program, Ranger Sue gave a demonstration on bears for the kids on board. Then, we went outside to see the stunning Lamplugh Glacier, with its blue ice rising out of the water. The ship moved past thousands of icebergs to Johns Hopkins inlet, where we could see one of the most spectacular geologic places in the world. There were a dozen glaciers of all types and sizes all around us. Waterfalls streamed down the 3000-foot cliffs.
After lunch, we entered Tarr Inlet, where two glaciers come to the sea. The two-mile wide Grand Pacific Glacier was black from sediment picked up by the glacier. The one-mile wide Marjorie Glacier was much prettier, with white and blue ice face rising over 200 feet above sea level. We all came out to watch it for an hour as huge ice chunks fell off it to become icebergs. This event, called calving, resulted in a thunder-like noise, a huge splash, and large waves as the ice fell into the fjord. Wow!
Late in the afternoon, ranger Sue gave a presentation on the undersea life of the national park. The Family Program kids took turns chopping up an iceberg that we had netted from the fjord. The photo shows some of the children creating ice cubes and an “ice sculpture” for the lounge.
After dinner, we all went ashore at Glacier Bay National Park headquarters to walk around. Most of us walked through the rainforest with a naturalist, whereas a few of us wandered up to the visitor center to see the museum.
