College Fjord to Whittier

Posted on June 20, 2013June 20, 2013 by Dusty Roads

College Fjord to Whittier 24 Nautical Miles 8 Knots

As the Island Princess came about and started her return trip through College Fjord we kept our eyes peeled for animals. So far we hadn’t seen the abundance of wildlife we’d expected but maybe the unusually late spring and cold weather was partly responsible. At least the scenery was spectacular.

We did spot something. I’m not sure what. Just a dark head moving through the water leaving a wake… otter? seal? certainly not a whale or a porpoise. I’m really not sure. Now it’s easy to see how legends like the Loch Ness Monster come into being.

As we headed back to the stateroom we stopped to linger near the enclosed pool, not to swim but to say good by to the little stowaways we’d been watching the whole cruise. There were some little sparrow/ finch type birds that had apparently joined the ship in warmer climes but they seemed to be doing ok for themselves in the enclosed part of the deck.

But we had to get back to the room. Tonight we’d deal with luggage. It will be tagged and placed outside our stateroom door. We are going on to Denali and the luggage is limited. I sent some on to the Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage, things I didn’t expect to need but with the camera as my “carry on” I was still pushing the limit.

In the morning we’d be in Whittier where we’d board the dome train to Denali. That would take most of the day. The brochure says it’s 9 1/2 hours. For a number of reasons our train ride turned into 11 hours. The folks that took the bus arrived before we did! More on that later.

But I wanted to tell you a little about Whittier. We didn’t get to see much of it but we did get some basic information. All of our itineraries listed Whittier (Anchorage) so I wasn’t sure if Whittier was a neighborhood of Anchorage or if the names were for the same place or what.

Turns out Whittier is a little town in its own right. It sits at the head of Passage Canal, a deep fjord that connects with Prince William Sound. It’s location provides easy access to the interior of Alaska. The town was originally established in World War II to allow for the movement of troops and supplies but it had a long history of being a supply route for the Chugach Indians, fur traders and gold prospectors.

One thing that I found amazing is that most, if not all, of the 180 full-time residents live in the same building, the multi story Begich Tower originally built to house operations and personnel when the railroad was extended. The railroad tunnel has been converted to allow both rail and auto traffic so Anchorage is now only 90 minutes away.

We got a glimpse of Begich Tower as we were escorted from the ship to the train. Once out of the cold we settled in for the next leg of the journey.

Oh Land Of the Midnight Sun

Posted on June 19, 2013June 19, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Seeing how tiny the boat is one can appreciate the magnificence of the mountains.

We had to stay up later and later to any glimpse of a sunset.

But the “Golden Hour” lasted much longer than an hour.

College Fjord

Posted on June 18, 2013June 18, 2013 by Dusty Roads

It’s the last day of cruising. We’re well on our way through the Gulf of Alaska and Prince William Sound .

Glacier Bay to College Fjord 438 nautical miles 18.4 knots

College Fjord contains the largest collection of tidewater glaciers in the world each named after an east coast college or university.

College Fjord is beautiful. Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words.

It seemed that we’d finally left the rain and clouds behind. The sun was bright, reflecting off the white snow covered mountains.

Once you enter the Fjord you will pass Holyoke, Barnard, Wellesley, Vassar, Bryn Mawr and Smith Glaciers on the port side. Harvard is at the head of the fjord.

On the starboard side you’ll see Amherst, Lafayette and Yale.

This is truly what you think of when you think of Alaska.

Grand Pacific Glacier

Posted on June 17, 2013June 17, 2013 by Dusty Roads

There was a time, many years ago, when Glacier Bay wasn’t a bay. It was an ice field. The bay was completely covered by miles of ice. As the ice receded the bay was formed and at the head of the bay we now have the spectacular Margerie Glacier.

But right next to Margerie Glacier, barely noticed because of its spectacular cousin, is a remnant of that Ice field. The Grand Pacific Glacier lies at the very head of the bay to the right of Margerie as you approach. It looks like land. It looks like dirt. It’s a black line as it reaches the shoreline.

No pretty blue ice for this granddaddy of glaciers but if it weren’t for this dark and unassuming glacier, we wouldn’t have the Glacier Bay of today. Back in the 1600’s the Grand Pacific Glacier made a final surge, tightening its grip on the area. Before its last push was done the valley was filled with up to 4000 ft. of ice. Then it began its retreat leaving the characteristic U-shaped trench which gradually filled with water giving us the spectacular beauty we see today.

At this time the Grand Pacific Glacier continues to retreat . As it does it grows Glacier Bay a little each day. Prediction are that by 2025 the Bay may extend another 12 miles.

As we left Glacier Bay we headed into the open waters of Prince Williams Sound. Our Princess Patter said to keep our eyes open for porpoise and other small dolphins but the more open waters of Prince William Sound also brought more wave action and the good ship Island Princess began to rock a bit. Not too bad but for someone prone to motion sickness enough to send me to my bunk. Sandy was fine but chose to stick close. I think she used the ship laundry while I rested. My case of sea sickness wasn’t severe, just enough to be uncomfortable.

By dinner time most of the discomfort had passed even though we could still feel the ship’s motion more than I expected from a ship her size. Looking out the windows we could see why. The waves were running 4-6 ft. They were beautiful and mesmerizing but I didn’t trust myself to watch them for too long. I didn’t want to get queasy again as tonight was lobster night. That’s my favorite dinner on these cruises.

I haven’t said too much about the food on board but most of the time it was quite good and there was always food someplace from the Horizon Grill to the Pizza stand to popcorn by the pool. You certainly don’t go hungry.

The dinners were excellent, for the most part. We had a wonderful scallop dinner one night and of course the lobster and prawns were out of this world. My Beef Medallions one night were very tough and almost inedible which I found surprising and on our last night I chose the “thanksgiving” dinner of roast turkey. The theme was American but it was obvious that the meal could not have been prepared by an American because it was the worst turkey dinner I have ever had. But that was an exception not the rule.

By tomorrow we would be in College Fjord so the ship should stabilize as the waters there would once more be protected. I am looking forward to that.

Welcome to Glacier Bay National Park

Posted on June 16, 2013June 16, 2013 by Dusty Roads

And so as we arrive in Glacier Bay, a land reborn, a world returning to life, a living lesson in resilience. If ever we needed a place to intrigue and inspire us, to help us see all that’s possible in nature and ourselves, this is it. (from the Glacier Bay Brochure issued by the National Park Service)

Did you know that 250 years ago there was no Glacier Bay? 250 years ago the bay was completely covered by the Grand Pacific Glacier.

Naturalist John Muir was enamored of Glacier Bay. ” The very thought of this, my first Alaskan Glacier garden, is an exhilaration.”

As we stood shivering on the deck watching the ship make it’s way through the loose ice, it was easy to share that sentiment. Each berg, no matter the size, was unique and beautiful in its own, cold way.

The floating ice was getting larger now, an indication that we were nearing the end of the bay where the prize of the Margerie Glacier waited.

Glacier Bay is not only known for it’s ice, it’s also known for it’s wildlife but so far we hadn’t seen too much, possibly because of the late start to spring this year. But the bay was about to offer a consolation prize. As a particularly large ice floe floated by we spotted a strange looking spot on the ice. Binoculars came out to confirm and sure enough, it wasn’t dirt, it was a bald eagle.

It stayed right there floating along like Huck Finn on his Mississippi raft until it was out of sight.

About 9:30 we reached our destination, Margerie Glacier and with our arrival the jockeying for a view with the other 2000 passengers began in earnest.

Excited calls of “It’s Calving” mingled with the rangers comments over the PA system. Camera shutters clicked and no one wanted to miss a moment. People were crawling under the railings to get a tiny sliver of unobstructed view for their cameras to peek through.

I confess my frustration level was growing as I am sure was the case for many others. Those big blue screens may cut the wind but they are really in the way for pictures. Cold and (I confess) a little irritated we decided to go back down to our stateroom and see if we could see anything from our balcony.

Hit me upside the head for my stupidity! Here was the real view and we didn’t have to share with anyone else. Plus we were protected from the wind so it wasn’t as cold. Thank you Island Princess for the balcony upgrade.

We sat in comfort and snapped pictures to our hearts content. I did see the glacier calve once. I didn’t even try to catch a picture as I was just too much in awe. Although we wasted 45 minutes or so topside we still had a good 30 minutes before the captain swung the ship around so the starboard side balconies could have their turn.