Glacier Cruising

This was our second cruise here in Alaska.  Our first cruise was a wildlife cruise and we saw awesome animals like whales and seals.  But we did not get to see a tidewater glacier.  It also rained on us so, we  decided to go back out to sea.  We watched the weather and found a great clear day to cruise again.  We were hoping to see it all this time, glaciers and wildlife. 

 We cruised in the Chugach National Forest.

We did not see this on the first cruise that we took.  This is a tide water glacier.  We had the opportunity to see the calving of this glacier.  This is when parts of the glacier breaks off and splashes into the ocean.  This is so  amazing  to see and hear.  They can make some of the worst crashing sounds you have ever heard.

 

This is called the land of the emerald sea.  The color of this water is a very amazing aqua color.  Very beautiful to see.

We did see these cute little sea otters.  These animals are so adorable.  They swim on their backs and their floating motion almost makes them look like they are waving.  I wish I could take one home for a pet.  We could start a Hartwell Lake sea otter species.  

The other animal we saw on this cruise is the sea lion.  They are lazy flabby creatures that just sit on these frozen ice bergs and hope the sun doesn't shine. (If the sun shinned they would lose their bed.) Although we humans were all wishing the sun would shine.  We are just thankful that it did not rain on this cruise.

These are receding glaciers.

More sea lions.

These glacier can produce some of the most amazing waterfalls.

Our cruise ship ran right through these ice burgs.  The boys said they know now how the people on the titanic felt.  Not completely like the titanic people, they ended up all wet and frozen.  We stayed dry and warm and safe on our little cruise ship, for our five hour tour.

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip 

That started from the Whittier port 

Aboard this tiny ship.

The mate was a mighty sailing man,(Heston)
The skipper brave and sure. (Bryson)
Five passengers set sail that day
For a five hour tour, a five hour tour. 

The weather started getting clear,
The tiny ship ran into ice,
If not for the courage of the fearless crew
The major would be lost, the major would be lost.

 

The ship set ground on the shore of this uncharted frozen isle.

So this is the tale of the castaways,
They're here for a long, long time,
They'll have to make the best of things,
It's an uphill climb.

The first mate and the Skipper too,
Will do their very best,
To make the others comfortable,
In the frozen island nest.

The stewardess made the boys some very special drinks out of the frozen iceberg that they pulled out of the ocean.

Cruising the Alaska waters is a very fun way to see the landscape.  And we are very glad that we did not end up like Gilligan:-) on our 5 hour tour.

The boys earned their Junior Ranger Badges from the Chugach National Forest.

We had an awesome time, so glad we decided to try a glacier cruise. The first cruise we took was called a wildlife cruise and we saw all kind of Alaskan sea wildlife.  This cruise was a glacier cruise and we saw some awesome glaciers.  So if you are planning on cruising  Alaskan waters pick the cruise that states what you want to see, or just take them all.  That way you are sure to see it all.

 Glacier Cruising