Juneau

 

Today we went whale watching. We watched one group of humpback whales including a baby playing on the surface for 30 minutes (the maximum time allowed) and then went searching again. We found another whale spouting about a mile away. They typically spout 3 to 4 times and then dive deep for food with their tail rising in the air. Later the whale approached our boat. Humpbacks come to Alaska each summer because the cold water and abundant sunlight lead to lots of plankton, which starts a rich food chain. The whales feed here and then head to Hawaii to mate and raise their young.

St. Nicholas 

In the afternoon, I took a quick walking tour of Juneau. First was St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church was built in 1894. The local Tlingit leaders invited the church to this area of Alaska, long after it was part of the U.S. Then I visited the state capital, housed in an office building with marble columns in front. It had several historic pictures including the 1958 newspaper when congress passed legislation making Alaska a state on January 2^nd, 1959. Since then, there have been numerous attempts to move the capital out of Juneau, since the city is isolated from the Alaska population. You can’t drive to Juneau, you must take either a boat or an airplane.

Ferry leaving Juneau

Haines

 

Haines

Haines is across the Lynn Canal from Skagway. We’re the only ship in town, compared to 3-5 ships per day at Skagway. Today, we’re boating along the shoreline of the canal between the two towns to see the waterfalls and any wildlife we can spot. The canal is typically 1500 feet deep. Sawmill waterfall had the most volume of water. It used to fall directly in the canal, but over the years, the land rose, rebounding from the weight of nearby glaciers. We continued to Long falls, Hidden Falls, Twin Falls, Lightning Falls, and Sisters Falls. 

Sawmill Falls

On the way we spotted many eagles and a two different groups of harbor seals.

Harbor Seals

Hubbard Glacier

 

Hubbard Glacier

We entered Yakutat Bay at 7:30 AM with fog and cloudy skies. This entire bay was ice 500 years ago. About 10 AM we reached Disenchantment Bay, named by Alessandra Malaspina in 1792 when he saw Hubbard Glacier and not an entrance to the legendary Northwest Passage. Hubbard glacier is the largest tidewater glacier in North America: 9 mi wide, 76 Miles long, 400 feet thick, 160 feet below water. The ice flows for 400 years reach the ocean. The ice is 10x denser than an ice cube causing it to look blue. We lucked out, the sun shone on the Glacier as we approached. 

Carol took the catamaran to get within half a mile. We could hear the occasional crack of calving ice, they saw four. The glacier here is advancing because climate change is causing more snow to fall in this valley. That night we had an Indonesian dinner and our servers dressed in traditional costume.

Meylia and Kliss

Day Two at Anchorage

 

Alaskan Masks

We woke up to find that we could see Mount Denali from our ship in the harbor, then we went to the Alaska museum. The second floor was the most interesting. Here we were introduced to tools, baskets, clothes, ceremonial masks and hats from the many native people’s of Alaska. I was particularly impressed by the winter clothes and boots made from squirrel skins, bird plumage, moose fur, seal intestines, or other animal products. The artwork was also very different in each culture.

Parka made of squirrel pelts

They also had an exhibit on the cold war. Recalling our history of testing atomic bombs in Nevada or the Marshall Islands; learning to duck under your school desk if the air raid siren sirens go off, and the backyard bomb shelters. Other exhibits included native and modern artwork as well as lots of Alaskan jokes.

Earthquakes in Alaska

We had learned that the largest recorded earthquake was a magnitude of 9.2 on March 28^th, 1964. We started our city tour viewing the 30 foot drop at the marina, that is a result of that earthquake. Our city tour continued at the International Airport (the third busiest cargo airport in the world), the float plane lake/airport, and the Alaska Wild Berry Chocolate Factory.

30 foot drop from 1964 earthquake

Anchorage

 

Anchorage is the population center of Alaska, it has a population of 290,000. We moored in the industrial port, one of only 4 ships that will moor here this summer. This led to a problem: our bus driver had to find his way in and out of the port. Many roads dead ended in stacks of storage. We had the same driver as we had in Valdez, a talkative guide named Patrick.

Bear at Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

Our first stop was the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, where they have kept most of the big animals native to Alaska. On the way we encountered a moose and her calf. Here we saw Musk ox, black and brown bears, caribou, elk, buffalo, and an arctic fox. We initially drove by most of the enclosures but since we were running late. That left little time for a closer look at the animals. We ended up leaving 20 minutes late, missing our scheduled boat at the next stop. So, we visited the Begich Boggs Visitor Center, which told the natural story of the area.

At Portage Lake

The highlight of the day was the boat tour of Portage Lake, which in 1911 was completely ice. The Portage glacier has retreated over time, leaving the lake with lots of waterfalls.. We approached the 4 ½ mile long glacier. It is ½ mile wide and 600 feet deep. We had several large icebergs in front, big enough for the blue color to stand out. Our commentator was funny and informative. We made a wrong turn trying to return to the ship again and ended up about 20 minutes late for dinner.

Portage Glacier

Kodiak Island

 

Going crazy after all the fog days

We are extremely tired of hearing the ship’s foghorn. The last four days have been foggy for most of the day. The temperature was between 43 and 47 every day. We are eager to get off the ship. The last few days, we’ve played a lot of trivia, enjoyed the dinners each night with our table mates and had a show each night. 

Carol, Sue, Ray, John, and Mary 

Today I went on a rainforest hike in Abercrombie State Park on Kodiak Island.  This is a Sitka Cedar forest with moss everywhere. 

Sitka Cedar Forest

This part of Kodiak island is protected from the wind. We hiked around Lake Gertrude, which pours into the ocean. Some managed to spot puffins and other water birds. Two-thirds of the island is within the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, home to 3500 Kodiak bears. The town itself was quiet. It is another big fishing center.

View of ocean shoreline

Arctic Circle

 

Crossing the Arctic Circle

We sailed north from Nome and at 8:10 AM crossing the Arctic Circle, about 8:30 we started heading east, and then turned south, leaving the circle a little after 9 AM. The wind was about 40 mph, the temperature was in the low 40’s so a very cold day. Mary woke up about 2 AM, I woke up at 4 AM and took a picture out our balcony door. Yes, it was light, but very cloudy, so not very impressive. We had a Arctic Circle crossing ceremony at 10 AM, where you could officially join the Blue Nose Club by diving into the aft pool which they filled with ice. Most everyone stayed in the pool for quite a while since it was 66 degrees, much warmer than the air outside.