Glacier Bay 2

Margerie Glacier – (we did take this photo)

From Wikipedia – Glacier Bay contains tidewater glaciers, mountains, fjords, and a temperate rainforest, and is home to large populations of grizzly bears, mountain goats, whales, seals, and eagles. When discovered in 1794 by George Vancouver, the entire bay was covered by ice, but the glaciers have since receded more than 65 miles.

• Established: 12/2/1980
• Annual Visitors: 597,915
• Size: 3,223,383 acres

July 20, 2025 Day 5 – Skagway

64 degrees and sunny!

Sunrise, 4:20AM – Sunset, 9:53PM

E: Gary headed into town early to scope out the ship-to-town transportation finding out that there’s a shuttle to get me to town, just under a mile, if I want, and to see what was being offered by local tour companies.

Looks like our spontaneity worked well yet again. Gary booked a sled dog summer camp trip where there are 250 dogs and you can play with some possible Iditarod future canine competitors! Dog sledding is the official sport of Alaska!

The tour did not disappoint! After a 30 minute bus ride, we started the real tour by 15 of us boarding an open air monster truck and rode through the forest, to higher elevation, on a winding, steep dirt road. It was fun!

Then we climbed into a 6 passenger weight training wagon and were pulled by 15 harnessed Alaskan Huskies. Our visit allowed the dogs to use our weight as exercise to ready themselves for winter races of which some are 10 days and 1000 miles long….over 100 miles of running each day over snow and ice! 

We got to pet and socialize with some of our pulling team before taking the monster truck back down the hill to base camp. We learned about the Iditarod and met a dog who ran and completed 4 of these grueling 1000 mile races! Then, we moved to the puppy pens!

Gary and I have actually been mushing in Gates of the Arctic NP in 2022 where we each had a team of 4 dogs and were trained over a few days and then took the teams out for an unforgettable day in Gates (see pics and entries on our blog). We were hesitant as to how fun this current tour was going to be but we both loved this experience! It brought us back to how wonderful these canine athletes are!!

Enjoy the pictures!!

July 21 Day 6 – Glacier Bay

73 and sunny!

E:  Welcome to Glacier Bay National Park!! 

Today was another wonderful day!

Both weather wise and appreciation wise! Blue skies, snow capped mountains with the early morning sun glistening on their peaks, the sound of the ship’s waves on the calm, flat water and an espresso in my hand on my balcony. Bliss!

The park rangers from the visitor center on land, boarded our vessel at 6AM via a tender, (any boat that shuttles people to & from ship to shore). They told us they need to climb a rope ladder to get up into the ship from their boat. The ship is moving slowly, the national park boat does what one ranger called an intentional collision to contact the two boats. What a commute!

The rangers set up in the observation lounge just one floor above us. Gary and I picked out our traditional post card and a GBNP pin. We will now have 62 of the 63 NP pins, on our large foam core map of the United States national parks in our living room, when we get home. I also bought a really cute stuffed otter 🤗  Gary was sweet, I sort of jokingly said I wanted the little guy which came with “adoption papers” because all the proceeds go to the AK NPs and he said, ” Get it, you deserve it”. Little did I know we were going to see hundreds of them floating in the sea between the visitor center, at Bartlett Cove where the rangers joined us, to all the way up the Tarr Inlet where we saw Margerie Glacier. Just to clarify, I have been walking a lot, working on doing stairs, going to the gym to use the stationary bike and have done my knee exercises daily. Although we usually spend our money on experiences, not expensive dinners, alcohol or “things”, Gary was referring to me getting “Alaska”, as I named my otter, as a silly but cuddly reward! Sometimes we just need to pull our inner child out to remind us of the simpler things in life. 🦦 The puppy snuggling pictures from Skagway’s post is another example of how to relax and lower your blood pressure instantly!! 🐕

The rangers had a time line of their narrations and activities posted where you could buy the above items we purchased. They also had nature and park books, tee shirts, mugs, etc. available. The history, animals and geological informational talks were patched through all public speakers on board and on a channel in our staterooms. They were well done. Short sessions throughout our several hours floating in the park. And they did three talks you could go to. One for Junior Rangers (youngsters), one for adults (which Gary attended) and a third for teenage passengers, which I thought was a great idea. 

Gary and I viewed Glacier Bay from many locations around the ship’s exterior and observation decks but mostly we enjoyed sitting on our balcony. I had asked for a lounge chair to be put on our balcony on day one. There were two patio chairs and a small side table but the chaise lounge was awesome to get my legs straight out. 

We were in awe of the majestic mountains, some covered with dense, lush, evergreens and others were 3-6,000 ft snow-capped rocky peaks with much higher ones in the distance. It’s staggering to learn that all the trees are “new” because a mere 275 years ago, the entire 65 miles we experienced aboard the ship was entirely solid glacier back then.

The otters were tough to take photos of as we are on level 14, the ship is moving and the little guys don’t stay still, but as I mentioned, we saw hundreds throughout the day!  

We saw a few very large glaciers but the most beautiful and well known in Glacier Bay is Margerie Glacier. Per Google it’s “…approximately 21 miles (34 km) long and 1 mile (1.6 km) wide at its terminus, with a total height of about 350 feet (110 m), of which 100 feet (30 m) is below the water surface. It flows at an estimated rate of 2,000 feet (610 m) per year, or about 6 feet (2 m) per day…”.

It is located at the top of Tarr Inlet (see map). We were very close to the British Columbia border as we literally could sail no further and dead-ended at two glaciers. 

Shortly after we stopped to view Margerie’s blue ice gleaming in the sun. She calved! …a portion of the ice broke off. A sight that is not always seen by the only two cruise ships per day, allowed in Glacier Bay. I had my phone on video, ready and hoping to see action. The timing was perfect! I was able to catch a portion of Margerie sliding into the frigid water! We took a couple snapshots from that video for you to see but the speed in which the hundreds of feet of ice fell made it difficult to see in still photos. As the ice began to break off, a rolling chorus of ooos and ahhs resounded throughout the ship. It was amazingly memorable.

Ferris Glacier sits to the right of Margerie and the two close off the Tarr Inlet. Ferris is all brown, stone looking. A completely different look than that of Margerie. Just behind Ferris are more glaciers and the border of British Columbia, Canada. 

We were entertained and in awe of the many sounds the ice makes. The icebergs floating loosely in the inlet make a popping sound, like fizzing seltzer bubbles. The glacier rumbles like thunder and makes cracking sounds. Nature’s symphony.

On the return trip back toward the visitor center, where the park’s boat picked up the rangers around 2:45pm, brought small but artfully shaped icebergs.

The ship then docked in Hoonah, AK on Icy Straight Point. The park service and the native community worked together in the late 1990’s and in early 2000’s built a dock and a nature’s theme park of sorts. You can take a 1/2 walk from the dock to the center of the action, through a beautiful forest, or you can ride a complimentary 6-8 person car gondola that runs continually while the ship’s in port. 

They have built a huge zip line; another gondola to the highest peak; restaurants and gift shops of local’s wears as well as the typical tee shirt, magnets, etc. There was a very large ropes course and adventure park. There is a lovely sprawling peddled beach to play on and locals performing native music and dance to experience. We even witnessed a whale sighting from the shore. They did a really nice job with providing the locals with income and still keeping their personal residence and town separate and private.

Gary and I walked the wooded path to the activities and returned via the gondola, enjoying a couple local deer as we passed over them, before boarding the ship for a nighttime sail to arrive in Sitka tomorrow. Our second to last stop.

July 22 Day 7 – Sitka

Another beautiful day!

E: Gary has gotten really talented at getting off the ship, as soon as we dock, to scope out local tour company’s offers for the day. Bravo Gary! You did a great job finding a small boat tour to view otters up close!

The young lady marketing for the captain is from Scotland. This is her second summer working in Sitka roughly June – August and she just graduated from high school!

Side note: in Skagway, the sled dog bus driver told us that a lot of the guides are recruited from Utah. She is a college student at Brigham Young University. Why do they recruit from Utah? Because alcoholism in AK is pretty high. In the winter, for instance, it can be dark in Skagway 20 hours in December…what else is there to do?! So, the tour companies hire non drinking Mormon students. You’ll never have to worry about an employee being late for work due to the previous night’s hangover and while driving guests, they are alert, grateful to be working, polite and friendly. I kid you not! 

OK, back to Sitka otter tour!

As we headed to the small motorboat tour Gary booked 30 minutes before the tour’s departure, we saw over 70 people boarding a Cruise-booked otter and wildlife tour. We paid roughly the same as the cruise booked tour but there was a total of 5 of us! We love the small boats.

Boy did we get a great ride! The dad, mom and teen daughter who joined us were from near Ottawa, Canada. They spoke French to the daughter as she doesn’t speak a lot of English but the parents spoke English well. He used to be a whale watcher for a Canadian parks department so we learned a little from him. 

Highlight of the day for me, and one of the highlights of the cruise…otters up close! Lots of them!! See pics! Come on, they are soooo cute!

At one point the captain took us to see whales and seals, which was great, but then he asked what we’d like to do next and all 5 of us told him to take us back to the little island where we saw the otters! So, I was not alone in my quest and enjoyment to get in more cuteness! We saw a baby on mom’s tummy (ahhh!); one otter was using his/her rock to open shellfish and they rolled and frolicked in the ocean’s mist like Peter, Paul and Mary’s, Puff the Magic Dragon song!! 

After unsuccessfully getting the captain to allow us to stay watching our little fury friends longer, he dropped us off in a marina in town (6 miles from the ship’s docking location) after our 2 hour+ speedboat fun. 

Gary and I walked through Sitka National Historical Park where we meandered through tall Sitka pines on a path lined with locally carved totem poles. We enjoyed another rocky beach; saw several soaring Bald Eagles and even saw a juvenile eagle in a tree, just 10 feet above our heads!!

I toured a Russian church in town and then we caught a free shuttle the 6 miles back to the dock. 

Awesome day! Otters, seals, eagles, I was able to walk around in the woods – which is my favorite hiking location anywhere. I am getting stronger 10 weeks post knee replacement!

Tomorrow is a day at sea, a stop in Victoria, BC on Thursday and then sail to Seattle Friday morning, before heading home to Phoenix. 

I have not mentioned much about our cruise experience and if you want to hear more, please email us. There’s so much to say about our adventures off the ship this trip. Our goal with any cruise is to get off and experience local on shore activities. I am keeping our journaling mostly about our nature, wildlife and Alaskan outdoor adventures.