If you are visiting Alaska a trip into Glacier Bay is a once in a lifetime experience. We stopped to pick up a park ranger (Glacier Bay is a national park) around 8am. She narrated our trip into the bay, pointing out interesting things along the way. “Look, at 2 o’clock, there are some mountain goats. See those little white dots half way up the mountain. There they are,” she would tell us. Unfortunately, I was did not see any goats or bears or any wild life. What I did see was nature; rivers of ice, mountains, waterfalls, glaciers, clouds and mist. I did my best to capture it for you.
Lets start with a photo taken from my seat in the Explorations Cafe, as we entered the bay.
The day, as we had grown accustomed to, was rainy, windy and cold with wind gusts of over 40 miles per hour. Taking photos in these conditions was a challenge; I was concerned about exposing my cameras to the elements. Even with a “rain coat” for my equipment it was a difficult. Ultimately, I used my iPhone. It’s water resistant and has a good camera. It was a life saver, and I developed a new respect for that little phone and plan to use it a great deal more in the future.
I decided to post the photos individually so that the rugged beauty of Glacier Bay can be appreciated.
Mountains beyond mountains; they fade into the mist.
As you gaze at my photos look for color.
The pictures were all taken in color and not black and white. In some instances you will discern the green in the trees and brush but most of the time you will see shades of grey in the mountains and white in the clouds.
A river of ice flows as if from the clouds.
The scenery everywhere we looked was extraordinary. The misty clouds floating around the mountain peaks gave an etherial feeling to the mountains and provided interesting, photogenic views. I tried to capture what I felt and in one or two instances I think I succeeded.
When we reached the end of our voyage we arrived at Margerie and Grand Pacific Glaciers. Glaciers are rivers of ice moving inexorably to the sea carrying within their massive, frozen bodies the mountains, ground to a fine power, through which they travel. While there we were fortunate to see Margerie calf. According to the ranger, Margerie is 21 miles long.
I am not sure how far away we were but consider as you look at this that the face of the Margerie Glacier is one mile wide and taller than our twelve deck ship.
In this photo, taken with my iPhone, the glacier is calving. You can see the water splashing in the center of the photo.
As ice calved from the face of the glacier it formed this ribbon in the water.
Here is a photo of us, on the left, and Caden, Valerie and Colin on the right. All outside enjoying our trip into Glacier Bay. The day may have been miserable but we still enjoyed our day in the bay.
I love the contrast created when clouds meet the mountains. It is a challenge for me to accurately replicate nature on days like this. I did my best. Here are a few of the ones I think are best. Let me know what you think and enjoy our day in Glacier Bay.
Ah, the majesty of nature!
I see the goats 🐐 I see the goats 🐐