Glacier Bay is a Must See!

(This is a story I meant to post about a month ago and somehow it slipped through the cracks.)

Glacier Bay deserves to be on everyone's "bucket list." In summer the area is restricted to no more than 24 boats plus a few cruise ships on any given day. Considering that the park covers 3.3 million acres, that means darn little human interference in the area. The wildlife are truly free to do what comes naturally to them and the lucky few of us that are permitted entry have a feast for the eyes!

This is a favorite area to the humpback whales. They are as prevalent as mosquitos here. We were able to see breaching whales every single day we were there. And sometimes we saw them a little too close for comfort. Anchored at Blue Mouse Cove, a whale breached about 50 feet from our boat, and then headed straight for us. I said a quick prayer that it would turn sharply and/or not surface directly under us, or get caught on our anchor rode and pull us around the neighborhood. Within a minute or less, the whale surfaced again just 20 feet from our stern, and again it was coming straight for us. Screaming and excitement ensued! I videoed most of this so when we get home I hope to figure out how to post it. (We need a high-speed internet connection for that.) Fortunately, this lovely whale didn't hit us or take us on a joy ride. (Note that at this stage of our relationship with the whales, we still thought they were wonderful and enjoyed seeing them up close!) Apparently, he/she was well aware of exactly where our boat was and was quite capable of avoiding us. We also kayaked fairly close to several whales later that day. They always seemed to know just where we were and how much distance to keep between us and them.

Grizzlies are also commonplace in these parts. We have video of a nice big one in this same cove (Blue Mouse Cove) that I hope to share at the end of this great voyage. Brad and I are both amazed how the bears, the hikers, and the campers manage to coexist without any unpleasant nastiness.

There are also lots and lots of sea otters in Glacier Bay. They are just so darling (not to mention the fact that they can't eat you or crush you!) They lay on the surface doing the back float with their heads, front paws and back flippers out of the water. They often have their babies on their bellies, loving and hugging them. And they are always attentive to passing boats, periscoping their heads as high out of the water as possible to get the best look at you they possibly can. So cute!

There are plenty of waterfowl here too. Tufted puffins and horned puffins are colorful and rare. Bald eagles, like the whales, are like mosquitoes. Ravens, loud and obnoxious, are much more prevalent than seagulls here and don't seem to be afraid of humans at all.

Glaciers and mountains abound in Glacier Bay. (Okay, that was a "duh!") The icy terminus of the glaciers are mesmerizing and the creaks and snaps and pops emanating from them are eerie and fascinating. I could gaze at these glaciers for hours. I took voluminous pictures. I only whish I could come back in the winter to see this area under a blanket of fresh snow. It must be truly awe-inspiring.

As for the weather while we were there: The first two days were nice, mostly sunny days. The last five days were mostly rainy, with clouds almost reaching the water. We did break down and hike and kayak in the rain, but our favorite times were definitely the sunny ones when you could see all of the stunning mountains surrounding the bay.

The park service does a very nice job at Glacier Bay. They have good movies and videos that are on demand and several documentaries they show at periodic intervals during the day and evening and a different ranger talk each evening. The food at the lodge there was quite good. Brad and I both highly recommend this magical place!