Day 5 - Glacier Bay

Day 5 – June 12, Glacier Bay

Among the many natural beauties of Alaska, one that is very unique to this area  is Glacier Bay.  Glaciers are caused when more snow falls in an area than the annual rate of melting, causing the bottom layers to be compressed by the new snow falling on the top.  The compacted snows becomes enormously heavy and falls victim to gravity, which pulls the mass into the sea.  Glaciers can also be found in Washington, Oregon, California, Montana and Wyoming, but the majority of glaciers in the United States are in Alaska, over 100,000 active glaciers.  Glacier Bay National Park is the best way to see them.

We entered the bay early in the morning and are on a strict timetable because only two cruiseships a day are allowed in this pristene bay.  Alaska is fiercely protective of its beautiful environment and waters, and none more than Glacier Bay.  This beautiful bay is surrounded by mountains and many glaciers can be seen along the edge.  Occasionally, large sheets of ice dislodge from the main glacier and fall into the bay, a process known as calving.  We didn’t see any of these while we were there, but we saw the evidence of it – there were large chunks of snow and ice floating in the water.

The day is beautiful and sunny (quite unusual they tell us) and the mountains and glaciers glisten in the beautiful sun, mirrored in the water against a deep blue sky.  We occasionally saw an Eagle fly overhead and early in the day, we saw a pod of dolphins swim past our veranda.  We saw several little sea otters swimming by, their tiny heads barely visible above the water, their bodies stretched out behind them.  At one point, I saw something small and light-colored in the water and we realized it was the face of a lone little otter, floating on his back just chilling in the gentle waves.

We stood out on the deck on the bow of the ship for a couple of hours as we passed Margarie Glacier, almost a mile across and towering 200-feet above the water.  Many of the crew were out there also and they served hot pea soup every couple of hours to warm up the sight-seers.  The beauty of the mountains, the glaciers, the bay defies description, so I’ll just leave you with photos.