Sailing overnight, we awoke to a hearty breakfast, and prepared for a morning at the tiny and scenic Pavlov's Cove. A short DIB ride to shore, and we joined naturalist Rich for a wonderful hike along the estuary to the waterfall, scrambling up rocks and through mud past the salmon ladder to reach the small lagoon inland. We saw the most northerly amphibian,a tiny frog near the lagoon. Then off to the kayaks for a lovely hour or so, where we explored along the coastline and saw a harbor seal close by, watching us.
One of the couples we met (from Portland) turned out to be big Formula One racing fans, so our lunchtime conversation focused on cars and racing and their upcoming trip to the south of France and the Monaco Grand Prix.
A beautiful warm afternoon - almost t-shirt weather - sitting on the top deck. I took a short seminar from the photo expert on board about using iPhones and iPads for photography, which was very helpful. Then we had a moving presentation by Casey Anderson, a National Geographic photographer and filmmaker who is an expert on bears. His very personal and moving story about going from rehabbing injured wild animals to raising an infant grizzly to creating a habitat for tamed and orphaned Grizzlies was amazing, and he showed footage of his upcoming documentary which focuses on a small group of bears, especially mothers and cubs, over a season.
in the evening, we were enjoying a very nice dinner, when the announcement came "orcas sighted off the bow". I've never seen a room clear so fast. People literally dropped their forks to go up a level to see the two orcas now on the starboard side of the ship. We oohed and ashes and took many photos. They stayed with us for a half hour, and I found tkhat they surfaced about every 30 seconds, so I could start to be ready for them.
After dinner we entered Red Bluff, a gorgeous little fjord with stunning waterfalls and interesting, multicolored waters. The weather was mild so we stayed out until about 10pm, chatting and taking photos as the light faded.
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Stunning Glacier Bay
Tuesday, 19 May 2015
Today has really felt like Alaska. Overnight, we motored up to the entrance to Glacier Bay, which our boat's permit allowed us to enter only after midnight. We stopped to take on fuel and water at Bartlett Cove, and the ranger Marylou Blakeslee (also the girlfriend of our naturalist Rich) and Tlinglit native Leonty Williaams, joined us to be our escorts for the day.
The morning we spent n the bow of the boat, wathcing his magnificent kandscape unfold in front of us, and seeing amazing wildllife. After breakfast we arrived at South Marble Island, filled with Stelller sea lionis, gulls, cormorannts sand one bald eagle. As the eagle left its perch, all the gulls swarmed up and circled around to avoid becoming the eagle's breakfast. As we moved up the bay, we encountered more birds, the famous tufted puffin, a rare loon, a yellow-billed something,, and then father along, sea otters floating lazily on their backs
Glacier Bay is a relatively recent phenomenon. In 1750 as part o f a Little Ice Age, the glacier went all the way to Icy Strait, so what is now the bay was covered with glacier fronted by a small delta where the Tlingit lived. Over time the glacier became the fastest receding glacier in the world, so that by 1879 when John Muir came here, the former glacier was now a deep icy bay. Today, the glacier is 65 miles up from where it formerly ended. Were spending the day going up the bay to the head of the glacier, and then later we'll be coming back down to the entrance to walk in the forest at Bartlett Cove. the glacier is the fastest receding and one of of the fastest melting at the same time.
One of our first large wildllife sighting was a brown bear on the rocky beach at the Tidal Inlet past the Tlingit Point. At first ti was hard to see, then we all spotted it. We were all asked to keep our voices down, and the boat drew close enough to see the bear well through the binoculars. The bear was turning over large rocks as if they were empty shoeboxes, looking for fish. Because it is early in the season (before salmon) they eat small fish and berries. At one point he looked square at us ... the naturalist Rich said the bear could definitely see and hear and smell us and knew we were there. After a while he returned to his feeding and we watched, enraptured.
Turning around we cruised out back to the bay, going around a relatively bare rock called Gloomy Knob. It seemed gloomy indeed, until we began to see the mountain goats, for whom this area is a birthing ground. Suddenly 1,2 3, then 6 white goats appeared, and what seemed to be a barren rock had small grassy areas and some trees. Ranger Bettylou told us that one was likely giving birth soon, as her rear was bloody and she kept squatting and hunching over. We followed her for a while with our binoculars, and it became clear that she was the lead nanny, with all the others following her whenever she moved to a new area.
Continuing up the bay past Queen Inlet and Rendu Inlet, we had a quick lunch of focaccia sandwiches and salad, then back out as we passed Russell Island going toward the very top of the Bay. large Holland America cruise ship came into view (about 13 decks), which loomed large when compared to us, but even it seemed small against the glaciers and mountains.
As we neared the top of the Bay we entered an ice field, with relatively large bits of ice floating in the water, looking so small against the glacier. Finally we arrived at Margerie Glacier, the most remote in the Bay, which was actively "calving" or losing pieces of ice into the water. We learned that when a piece of the glacier hits the water, it makes a huge sound called "white thunder." Suddenly we heard loud cracks and pops every few minutes, signaling some piece would soon break off. Sometimes these were on the front of the glacier where we could see them (short video below) and sometimes they were far back, echoing around the snowy walls behind the glacier face. For more than an hour we sat at the bow, watching and waiting for the "big one" and come it did come, loudly, near the end of the hour. Then we turned and headed the 60 miles back down the Bay through the afternoon, again looking for wildlife. I took the opportunity to sit on the fantail (third deck) in the sun writing my notes so I would not forget them. This is truly a breathtaking landscape.
Today has really felt like Alaska. Overnight, we motored up to the entrance to Glacier Bay, which our boat's permit allowed us to enter only after midnight. We stopped to take on fuel and water at Bartlett Cove, and the ranger Marylou Blakeslee (also the girlfriend of our naturalist Rich) and Tlinglit native Leonty Williaams, joined us to be our escorts for the day.
The morning we spent n the bow of the boat, wathcing his magnificent kandscape unfold in front of us, and seeing amazing wildllife. After breakfast we arrived at South Marble Island, filled with Stelller sea lionis, gulls, cormorannts sand one bald eagle. As the eagle left its perch, all the gulls swarmed up and circled around to avoid becoming the eagle's breakfast. As we moved up the bay, we encountered more birds, the famous tufted puffin, a rare loon, a yellow-billed something,, and then father along, sea otters floating lazily on their backs
Glacier Bay is a relatively recent phenomenon. In 1750 as part o f a Little Ice Age, the glacier went all the way to Icy Strait, so what is now the bay was covered with glacier fronted by a small delta where the Tlingit lived. Over time the glacier became the fastest receding glacier in the world, so that by 1879 when John Muir came here, the former glacier was now a deep icy bay. Today, the glacier is 65 miles up from where it formerly ended. Were spending the day going up the bay to the head of the glacier, and then later we'll be coming back down to the entrance to walk in the forest at Bartlett Cove. the glacier is the fastest receding and one of of the fastest melting at the same time.
One of our first large wildllife sighting was a brown bear on the rocky beach at the Tidal Inlet past the Tlingit Point. At first ti was hard to see, then we all spotted it. We were all asked to keep our voices down, and the boat drew close enough to see the bear well through the binoculars. The bear was turning over large rocks as if they were empty shoeboxes, looking for fish. Because it is early in the season (before salmon) they eat small fish and berries. At one point he looked square at us ... the naturalist Rich said the bear could definitely see and hear and smell us and knew we were there. After a while he returned to his feeding and we watched, enraptured.
Turning around we cruised out back to the bay, going around a relatively bare rock called Gloomy Knob. It seemed gloomy indeed, until we began to see the mountain goats, for whom this area is a birthing ground. Suddenly 1,2 3, then 6 white goats appeared, and what seemed to be a barren rock had small grassy areas and some trees. Ranger Bettylou told us that one was likely giving birth soon, as her rear was bloody and she kept squatting and hunching over. We followed her for a while with our binoculars, and it became clear that she was the lead nanny, with all the others following her whenever she moved to a new area.
Continuing up the bay past Queen Inlet and Rendu Inlet, we had a quick lunch of focaccia sandwiches and salad, then back out as we passed Russell Island going toward the very top of the Bay. large Holland America cruise ship came into view (about 13 decks), which loomed large when compared to us, but even it seemed small against the glaciers and mountains.
As we neared the top of the Bay we entered an ice field, with relatively large bits of ice floating in the water, looking so small against the glacier. Finally we arrived at Margerie Glacier, the most remote in the Bay, which was actively "calving" or losing pieces of ice into the water. We learned that when a piece of the glacier hits the water, it makes a huge sound called "white thunder." Suddenly we heard loud cracks and pops every few minutes, signaling some piece would soon break off. Sometimes these were on the front of the glacier where we could see them (short video below) and sometimes they were far back, echoing around the snowy walls behind the glacier face. For more than an hour we sat at the bow, watching and waiting for the "big one" and come it did come, loudly, near the end of the hour. Then we turned and headed the 60 miles back down the Bay through the afternoon, again looking for wildlife. I took the opportunity to sit on the fantail (third deck) in the sun writing my notes so I would not forget them. This is truly a breathtaking landscape.
Quiet Islands
Monday, 18 May 2015
We rise again early, though this time after sleeping a good 8 hours, to a little more wildlife watching before breakfast. Then suiting up for more adventures on the lovely George Island.
We take the Zodiac out to the shore, and have a great time kayaking ... Barney and I are getting the hang of it now. We see some amazing starfish and anemones up close, cormorants, and an eagle soaring overhead. After the walk, we take the "medium" walk up too the summit to see the WWII gun which was placed there in anticipation of a possible Japanese invasion - there was a rather bloody battle on two of the Aleutian Islands, so this was not so extreme as one might think.
Then we met a woman who has lived for 40 years in the tiny (12 people year-round) village of Elfin Cove. Though she and many others raised their children there, in the late 1990s the state government closed their one-room school and the young people all moved away. It's primarily a fishing refueling stop as well as a popular spot for sport fishing with lots of summer rental cabins. The entire village has only boardwalks, no sidewalks, no streets,and the only access is by boat or plan (no cars).
The former schoolhouse was converted into a tiny historical museum, filled with artifacts of life there. They only got electricity 30 years ago, and internet fairly recently. The museum has old washing boards and wringers, old salmon canning tools, embroidered linens, books, old wooden school desks and more. Many of the artifacts looked just like something that would have been in my grandmothers' homes.
We motor over to the Inian Islands, and go for a spectacular 90-minute DIBS (Zodiac) ride. We see Steller sea lions lounging on the rocks ... what a treat to see them fully-grown and healthy, after only seeing ones that were sick, injured or malnourished at the Marine Mammal Center. It ha been amazing to see how many people know of TMMC on this trip, which is great. Huge flocks of cormorants and gulls are nearby. Otters play in the water, and a group of young sea lions jump in the water and pay and put on quite a show for us.Everywhere around us is beautiful scenery, including the Fairweather Mountains, which apparently are not that often seen due to fog. We saw at least half a dozen eagles in trees or flying overhead. It was a wonderful trip.
Afterwards, we tried out the marine shower which was quite nice, and I rinsed out a few things. A nice dinner of tofu curry and crab cakes, followed by a visit to the bridge to chat with the first mate, and see a a beautiful sunset. In all a truly wonderful day. Barney has already gone to sleep, and I am next.
We rise again early, though this time after sleeping a good 8 hours, to a little more wildlife watching before breakfast. Then suiting up for more adventures on the lovely George Island.
Then we met a woman who has lived for 40 years in the tiny (12 people year-round) village of Elfin Cove. Though she and many others raised their children there, in the late 1990s the state government closed their one-room school and the young people all moved away. It's primarily a fishing refueling stop as well as a popular spot for sport fishing with lots of summer rental cabins. The entire village has only boardwalks, no sidewalks, no streets,and the only access is by boat or plan (no cars).
The former schoolhouse was converted into a tiny historical museum, filled with artifacts of life there. They only got electricity 30 years ago, and internet fairly recently. The museum has old washing boards and wringers, old salmon canning tools, embroidered linens, books, old wooden school desks and more. Many of the artifacts looked just like something that would have been in my grandmothers' homes.
We motor over to the Inian Islands, and go for a spectacular 90-minute DIBS (Zodiac) ride. We see Steller sea lions lounging on the rocks ... what a treat to see them fully-grown and healthy, after only seeing ones that were sick, injured or malnourished at the Marine Mammal Center. It ha been amazing to see how many people know of TMMC on this trip, which is great. Huge flocks of cormorants and gulls are nearby. Otters play in the water, and a group of young sea lions jump in the water and pay and put on quite a show for us.Everywhere around us is beautiful scenery, including the Fairweather Mountains, which apparently are not that often seen due to fog. We saw at least half a dozen eagles in trees or flying overhead. It was a wonderful trip.
Afterwards, we tried out the marine shower which was quite nice, and I rinsed out a few things. A nice dinner of tofu curry and crab cakes, followed by a visit to the bridge to chat with the first mate, and see a a beautiful sunset. In all a truly wonderful day. Barney has already gone to sleep, and I am next.
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Stunning Alaskan Seas
Sunday, 17 May 2015
This morning around 6:30, an announcement came that there were some humpback whales, Dall porpoises and stellar sea lions off the bow. We dressed quickly and went to the bow (quite chilly) and saw a cow and calf humpback swimming and breaching for quite a while, absolutely amazing to see live.
After breakfast and briefings about bears on the trails and getting on and off the DIBs (their version of Zodiacs), we sign up for kayaking in the afternoon, and Barney gets ready for the photography workshop as we cruise between Baranof and Chicugof
This morning around 6:30, an announcement came that there were some humpback whales, Dall porpoises and stellar sea lions off the bow. We dressed quickly and went to the bow (quite chilly) and saw a cow and calf humpback swimming and breaching for quite a while, absolutely amazing to see live.
On to Alaska!
Saturday, 16 May 2015
A leisurely “Barney breakfast” and we explore the neighborhood a bit before heading back to the airport for the afternoon flight to Sitka. Arriving in plenty of time, we load with quite a few others on the same rip, stopping in Ketchican en route to Sitka.
After landing and claiming luggage, we board a bus to the Alaska Raptor Rehabilitation Center, rather like the Marine Mammal Center, for eagles, hawks and owls. There was a flight training area for injured eagles who were learning to fly again, with a one-way mirror so they would not get used to people. A 25-year-old eagle who was not able to recover enough to be released, named Volta, was shown by her trainer in the auditorium. Several times she extend her enormous wings, a bit shocking how large she was. We also saw Tootsie, a tiny, adorable owl weighing only 4 ounces. Outside a variety of raptors were in open area enclosed by netting. The horned owl was hooting at us up close.
After a quick buffer dinner, www walks into the cute little town of Sitka (everything was closed by this time) and went into the historic St. Michael's. Russian Orthodox Church, still very active. There were many relics, ritual crowns, and incredible icons.
Then off to the ship, which looks capable of handling about anything. Our cabin, #212, has two single beds at a 90 degree angle, a marine toilet/shower and small sink … very cozy, but I imagine we won’t be spending much time in the room. We unpack our many layers and drop off to sleep to the gentle rocking of the boat.
A leisurely “Barney breakfast” and we explore the neighborhood a bit before heading back to the airport for the afternoon flight to Sitka. Arriving in plenty of time, we load with quite a few others on the same rip, stopping in Ketchican en route to Sitka.
After landing and claiming luggage, we board a bus to the Alaska Raptor Rehabilitation Center, rather like the Marine Mammal Center, for eagles, hawks and owls. There was a flight training area for injured eagles who were learning to fly again, with a one-way mirror so they would not get used to people. A 25-year-old eagle who was not able to recover enough to be released, named Volta, was shown by her trainer in the auditorium. Several times she extend her enormous wings, a bit shocking how large she was. We also saw Tootsie, a tiny, adorable owl weighing only 4 ounces. Outside a variety of raptors were in open area enclosed by netting. The horned owl was hooting at us up close.
After a quick buffer dinner, www walks into the cute little town of Sitka (everything was closed by this time) and went into the historic St. Michael's. Russian Orthodox Church, still very active. There were many relics, ritual crowns, and incredible icons.
Then off to the ship, which looks capable of handling about anything. Our cabin, #212, has two single beds at a 90 degree angle, a marine toilet/shower and small sink … very cozy, but I imagine we won’t be spending much time in the room. We unpack our many layers and drop off to sleep to the gentle rocking of the boat.
Packing a lot of Seattle into one day
We began our one-day whirlwind tour of Seattle with breakfast at Glo's, a wonderful local cafe filled with a very hipster crowd. clearly the hoodie is the official uniform of Seattle. We shared a delicious omelet and Belgian waffle and plotted out our day.
First stop, the original and immense REI which appears to have everything including a 65-foot indoor climbing wall and tracks to try out your mountain bike or new hiking boots. Barney got a combo monopod-trekking pole for taking photos, and then we took the bus down to Pike Place.
Pike Place is a bit like Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, but with more fish and about the same number of tourists. We gawked at the enormous king crabs and lobsters a bit, ran into someone I know from the Humanities West board also on holiday, and worked our way down toward the water away from the shops. After a brisk walk along the waterfront we found a nice pier to eat our picnic lunch we'd brought, and watch the boats and ferries go by.
Going for the trifecta of tourism, we walked up to Westlake to the transit center to ride on the Monorail, for the 7 minutes it take to get to the Seattle Center. Wondrous as it was when new - Barney came up here in 1962 for the World's Fair and rode it then - it was pleasant but not extraordinary.
We walked to the EMP museum, the beautiful undulations of metal glistening in the sun, and ENT inside, looking for the Jimi Hendrix exhibits - he was the inspiration for the museum, but the galleries about him were being renovated. So we toured an exhibit on the evolution of the electric guitar, where I finally leaned what a "pickup" actually is. Apparently early electric guitars were considered so similar to telephones that it was hard to get patents on them. In another area you could go into a tiny practice room outfitted with electric guitars, electric bass, drum, miss and keyboards, and have a little fantasy moment of what it would be like to play in a rock band.
On to cocktails! We went to Mistral Kitchen, a bit set of downtown,which has been recommended to us by Paul's stepfather Peter, who travels to Seattle often. The drinks were delightful - mine was called "Courting Rachel" and involved a cool little device which turns square ice into a perfect sphere and hickory-smoked bourbon which they did in front of us with a creme brûlée torch and a rubber tube to infuse the bourbon in a glass container. It was quite a show, and delicious. And the wall behind the bar was a wonderful collage of bottle openers.
Seattle is clearly undergoing a gigantic building boom, with new buidlngs gong up everywere.
More walking to another recommendation of Peter's, a fantastic sushi place called Shiro's. I don't think I've ever had such incredible sushi outside of Japan. The king crab with ponzu sauce was wonderful, but utterly incredible were the smoked mackerel and the sockeye salmon. The smoked mackerel had a deeply smoky flavor, and the salmon was butterfly and melted in your mouth. We also had some tempura, very light so you mostly tasted the item inside the coating rather than the coating. All told, a wonderful sushi experience.
Walking a few blocks more we went to the Chihuly garden, which had a spectacular collection of his work both indoors and out. It struck me that the glass looks so beautiful in an outdoor setting, where it seems like a natural part of the plants and shrubs. As we were outside, a man got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend, and everyone cheered! We offered to take a photo of them, they looked so happy.
Out last stop was the Space Needle, just next to the Chihuly Garden. The elevator whisked us up to the top, after a short stop to get more passengers from what looked like a graduation dance on a lower floor. On this clear might Seattle sparkled below us, and we enjoyed picking out the landmarks of where we'd been during the day. While w know e only barely scratched the surface of Seattle, we really enjoyed the day, and after one last bus ride back to Capital Hill, we headed off to bed, to get ready for our departure to Alaska tomorrow.
First stop, the original and immense REI which appears to have everything including a 65-foot indoor climbing wall and tracks to try out your mountain bike or new hiking boots. Barney got a combo monopod-trekking pole for taking photos, and then we took the bus down to Pike Place.
Pike Place is a bit like Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, but with more fish and about the same number of tourists. We gawked at the enormous king crabs and lobsters a bit, ran into someone I know from the Humanities West board also on holiday, and worked our way down toward the water away from the shops. After a brisk walk along the waterfront we found a nice pier to eat our picnic lunch we'd brought, and watch the boats and ferries go by.
Going for the trifecta of tourism, we walked up to Westlake to the transit center to ride on the Monorail, for the 7 minutes it take to get to the Seattle Center. Wondrous as it was when new - Barney came up here in 1962 for the World's Fair and rode it then - it was pleasant but not extraordinary.
On to cocktails! We went to Mistral Kitchen, a bit set of downtown,which has been recommended to us by Paul's stepfather Peter, who travels to Seattle often. The drinks were delightful - mine was called "Courting Rachel" and involved a cool little device which turns square ice into a perfect sphere and hickory-smoked bourbon which they did in front of us with a creme brûlée torch and a rubber tube to infuse the bourbon in a glass container. It was quite a show, and delicious. And the wall behind the bar was a wonderful collage of bottle openers.
Seattle is clearly undergoing a gigantic building boom, with new buidlngs gong up everywere.
More walking to another recommendation of Peter's, a fantastic sushi place called Shiro's. I don't think I've ever had such incredible sushi outside of Japan. The king crab with ponzu sauce was wonderful, but utterly incredible were the smoked mackerel and the sockeye salmon. The smoked mackerel had a deeply smoky flavor, and the salmon was butterfly and melted in your mouth. We also had some tempura, very light so you mostly tasted the item inside the coating rather than the coating. All told, a wonderful sushi experience.
Walking a few blocks more we went to the Chihuly garden, which had a spectacular collection of his work both indoors and out. It struck me that the glass looks so beautiful in an outdoor setting, where it seems like a natural part of the plants and shrubs. As we were outside, a man got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend, and everyone cheered! We offered to take a photo of them, they looked so happy.
Out last stop was the Space Needle, just next to the Chihuly Garden. The elevator whisked us up to the top, after a short stop to get more passengers from what looked like a graduation dance on a lower floor. On this clear might Seattle sparkled below us, and we enjoyed picking out the landmarks of where we'd been during the day. While w know e only barely scratched the surface of Seattle, we really enjoyed the day, and after one last bus ride back to Capital Hill, we headed off to bed, to get ready for our departure to Alaska tomorrow.
Thursday, May 14, 2015
The Alaska adventure begin in Seattle
And so our Alaska adventure begins. After being up most of the night with a sick dog, we left for the airport Thursday morning, made SFO on Bart in plenty of time, and had a smooth flight to Seattle. Barney especially enjoyed the trip from the airport on the light rail link to downtown. Then a short bus ride to our airbnb flat, in an interesting somewhat hipster-y neighborhood called Capital Hill. Just outside our flat is a view of the Seattle Space Needle on a lovely warm day.
Barney made instead friends with the resident cat, Iris. Madeleine, just don't let Atlas see this!
And we went shopping for a few groceries in this very hipster neighborhood, and look who we saw!
We enjoyed a lovely dimmer at Cuoco, recommended by Madeleine's boyfriend Paul' stepfather, who come to Seattle often. The ham hock cakes with mustard aioli were out of this world!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)