Glacier Bay

This is a national park, and our visit has been partly narrated by a park ranger who boarded the boat along with two other rangers early this morning. We’ve been watching the breathtaking views since 6 AM, from our stateroom balcony and, in fact, all over the ship, from different vantage points. My hands are still chilly. I have warm clothes, including the outer layer of my winter jacket, but I forgot gloves. A mistake. For an hour or so late this morning, it was actually warm because the sun was hot, but otherwise the air is cold and damp. However, we’ve been told more than once that this is some of the best weather all summer.

There’s nothing quite like the opaque blue of the ice; now I can visualize the color “glacial blue”. Bob says this is the most awesome scenery he’s ever experienced. My own enjoyment is tempered by a little guilt, as I reflect on the carbon footprint left by this cruise ship and its passengers. The earth has lost about 90% of its glacier ice, said the ranger.

After we left the area with glacial ice, we headed out into the fog, cruising toward Ketchikan. We came back to our stateroom to warm up after lunch; I have seen more marine life in the last half hour than in the entire time we’ve been at sea. I had a brief glimpse of an orca as it dived, and the tailfins of three porpoises, off the bow of one of the park rangers’ boats. The hills are lower now, and dense with evergreens above the rocky beaches. It isn’t yet 4 PM, but dusk seems to be creeping in, a herald of the long fall evenings ahead.