We didn’t have any specific plans for Alaska except for going on a boat tour to see the giant glaciers calving into the water. It was the one expense we were willing to blow our budget on. And are we glad we did. It was worth every penny and the experience turned out to be more than what we expected – always a treat. The day was such a jam packed adventure that I am going to divide the next few posts into; scenery, wildlife, glaciers and Jr. Rangers.
The tour we chose was a 9 hour boat ride to Aialik glacier with stops for wildlife viewing, lunch on the boat and an all you can eat buffet on an island with salmon, prime rib and king crab legs. We chose this particular tour because it was a “National Park” tour which included a talk by one of the rangers and would enable the Dudes to earn another Jr. Ranger badge.
The boat “Tanaina” was comfortable and clean inside and out and provided plenty of deck space for viewing from every direction. The day before, that tour had been sold out but our tour appeared about half full which gave us all plenty of room to move around and get great pictures.
Captain Chris had been in Alaska for 40 years, was a previous fishing boat captain, and had 16 years experience as a tour boat captain. He was extremely knowledgable, very entertaining and his friendly manner made the trip very enjoyable.
To get to Aialik Glacier, we had to move through resurrection Bay flanked by snow capped mountains past Bear Glacier and into the Gulf of Alaska. Then, around the Aialik Peninsula into the bay where the Glacier was located. The scenery was so diverse from green hillsides to rocky outcrops and flowing glaciers that there was always something new to see. Sometimes the glacier carved saddles in the mountains would dip down, lowering it’s curtain just a bit to reveal yet more snow and glacier covered mountains beyond.
Large islands, small groupings of Islands and an expansive view of the sea accompanied us along the way. We would stay out on the bow for as long as we could for the best views but, there were a few times when the boat hit cruising speed at 24 knots that the wind chill drove us inside. But, with all of the stops for wildlife viewing, we spent most of our time on the deck with a front row seat to the “show”.
A local woman had mentioned to me that we were lucky to be visiting this year because they have had a lot of sunny weather. With the blue skies, we were able to view all of the mountain tops and the contrast it provided with the terrain was spectacular. I imagine that an overcast day would have provided an altogether different experience not to mention a cold one!
If the tour had been just a scenic cruise without wildlife viewing and glaciers. it would have been great. The fact that it included all of these, made it that much better.
“Being on a boat that’s moving through the water, it’s so clear. Everything falls into place in terms of what’s important and what’s not. “ James Taylor
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