Alaska - Glacier Bay - Incredible!

On July 26th, 2009, my husband and I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Alaska for our 5th wedding anniversary. We booked a cruise through the World Bird Sanctuary, which meant that not only did we travel with friends and knowledgeable guides, but WBS also got a donation for each person who booked!

Once on the ship, we headed for the great (and huge) state of Alaska. It took a full day of cruising at almost top speed to get there, but the journey itself was fun as we explored the ship.

Our first stop was in Glacier Bay National Park. This park is 3.3 million acres and part of a 25 million acre World Heritage Site - one of the world’s largest protected natural areas!

We spent the entire day cruising through the bay, stopping at Johns Hopkins Glacier, Marjerie Glacier and Grand Pacific Glacier. All throughout the water, near the glaciers, were bits and pieces of the ice that had broken off and were slowly melting in the bay - these are called bergy bits. (Fun name!)

The views were incredible!! At Johns Hopkins Glacier, there was a river of meltwater pouring out of a huge hole in the middle of the glacier. The volume of water was enormous and to give it even better perspective, there was a kayaker right nearby! Wow! It really makes you realize just how big those glaciers are!

The next stop was the Marjerie Glacier, where our Captain stopped the ship for over an hour so that we could just watch the glacier. It was just as huge, and right next to it, at a right angle, was the Grand Pacific Glacier. To look at the two of them, you would never realize that the Grand Pacific was a glacier - it was completely covered with about ½ inch of ‘rock flour’, making it look just like regular land.

While we spent time just watching the glacier and admiring it, we had the chance to hear and see it settle, crack and calve for us! The pieces that broke off weren’t the huge ones that you see on TV, but still impressive enough! And the loud CRACK that the ice made as pieces broke or settled in the warming sun made all of us jump and look excitedly for the next piece to go.

As the Captain made his final turn to leave, he shut down the engines and I could hear the awesome silence of the Bay settle on us. Then I noticed something incredible – the snapping and popping of the bergy bits cracking and melting in the water. It sounded like a bowl of Rice Krispies!

Basically, Glacier Bay is full of incredible sights and sounds, not only the water and ice itself, but the landscape surrounding the bay and the glimpses of the wildlife we spotted. I will never forget it and hope to someday go back. And this magnificence is (if you will forgive a pun) just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the state of Alaska!

Submitted by Laura MacLeod, Education Coordinator, World Bird Sanctuary