Glacier Bay, Alaska
It is a “Fairweather Day” in Glacier Bay. Cloud free days, when one can see the magnificent Fairweather mountain range, are unusual in this maritime climate, but we have one. The scenery is sublime.
National Geographic Sea Lion left the dock in Bartlett Cove with two important guests, our Park Ranger Andrea and our Cultural Interpreter Bertha, who spoke about the Tlingit people and their deep ties to Glacier Bay. Over the course of the day, both would share their knowledge and passion for this remarkable land, greatly enriching our experience and understanding of our national park.
South Marble Island is home to tufted puffins, common murres and many other seabirds, plus bald eagles, black oystercatchers, common ravens and a variety of other avifauna. It is also an important haul out for Steller sea lions. Actually, it is more like a bachelor pad, as the vast majority of these sea lions are sub adult males not yet of breeding age.
We continued up bay, towards the Marjorie and Grand Pacific Glaciers. A honey colored brown bear strolled along the shore, providing us with excellent views. At Gloomy Knob, we had a wonderful experience with three mountain goats – a nanny and kid and an adult male. Another highlight came as we passed between Russell Island and the mainland. A wolf was patrolling the shoreline. We had a long look.
Finally, we made it up Tarr Inlet to the faces of Marjorie and Grand Pacific Glacier. With snow covered peaks as a background, we watched the glacier faces. Marjorie Glacier put on a spectacular show of calving, as numerous large chunks of ice fell from the glacier face into the fjord.
Heading down bay we enjoyed the scenery and digested all of our amazing experiences from the day.
