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

Valdez Trip~Bears, fish and the Northern Lights,OH MY!

This past weekend we took an amazing trip, even though it rain 3 out of the 4 days We went out camping in this small southern Alaskan city. Our last city to visit here in Alaska was Valdez.  It was about a 6 hour drive.  Valdez is know for their great fishing, and where there is fish spawning there are,,, you guessed it BEARS!  We were hoping to get some fishing in and maybe to even spot some bears, but it turned out to be more amazing then we ever could have imagined.  Here is how it went.

It is now September here in Alaska which brings fall.  The aspen trees are turning colors.  They put off an amazing yellow glow.  The yellow glowing trees with snow capped mountains as a back drop is just an awesome thing to behold.  So this long drive was very interesting with the changing scenery.

This is Matunuska glacier on the Glenn Hwy.  It was just one of the first amazing glaciers we beheld on this Valdez trip.

We took a side trip to visit the Ranger station at the Wrangell-St. Eilis National Park.  Pictured is Heston with  Mr. Bear.  When they are spread out on the back of a couch they don't look so scary.  

 The national park is full of snow covered peaks.  It is also home to an active volcano.  

Such awesome views.

This drive is also known for the amazing waterfalls.  We must have drove by a dozen different water falls cascading down lush green mountains. Simply amazing!!

We stopped off to see Worthington Glacier.  We took a short walk up to the base of this glacier.  

Heston and Dad get to it first.

More amazing sites.

So we arrived in Valdez and it was raining.   It rained almost the whole time. It finally cleared up our last day, which ended up be the most amazing. I am so glad we held up.  We felt like true Alaskans, braving the rainy weather.

Meet Cliff.  That's what the boys named this little cub.  We visited with him several times.  He enjoyed playing  hide and go seek with us.  

He enjoyed climbing up this cliff (so the boys named him Cliff) to hide behind some small bushes.  

This area of the state contains a hatchery.  We have learned that salmon will return to there birth place to lay their eggs. Since salmon are released  from the hatchery they then return there to spawn.  After spawning the poor little salmon die, so there are dead fish every where.  These dieing fish are a great meal for hungry bears.

Valdez was hit by the biggest earthquake known in North American history.  It wiped out the whole town.  The town still wanted to be a town so they relocated the whole town to a safer area.  

We were surprised to see lots of bald eagles.  We enjoyed the city of Homer due to seeing these amazing animals.  We were so glad be able to see more here in Valdez.  

Oil tanker out in the bay. The Alaskan Pipeline ends in Valdez so it is home to an oil refinery. 

This is a picture of all the dead fish being eaten by all the sea gulls.

Our friends came to visit with us and brought their 'kids'.  Heston and Gizmo enjoyed playing together.

We took a hike to see this waterfall up close.

More bears!!! Yikes!! We have a funny story about a bear.  We were at our campsite and Heston spotted a black bear trying to climb into our neighbors camper.  It was a pop up camper and the bear had it's nose and one paw up in a crack in the canvas.  He also opened their cooler and found himself an afternoon snack.  When he spotted up spying on him the snoopy bear got scared and ran off into the woods.  

We really learned that these bears are more scared of us then we are of them, maybe.

The oil refinery all lite up at night.

We walked over to Valdez glacier and witnessed icebergs floating in the pond.

My kids find a way to stand on the iceberg.  

Mr. Bear needed a back scratch.  Heston offered to do that for him but mom would not let him get much closer.  We were already about 5 yards from this huge animal.  It can be quite intimidating, but so fun to see.

Good bye Mr. Bear.  

This is how you fish in Ak.  Pull your camper along the road side and fish in the bay.  When it's lunch time you have all your lunch fixings in the trailer. 

Trent broke the record, he caught the smallest fish of the day.

Mr. Otter having a salmon snack.

Trent had such luck with his fishing he even caught a bird.  Can you eat sea gulls??  He caught and released it. 

Here the caught bird is getting unhooked.  Poor bird!

Valdez has cute otters.  These animals are sooooo cute.  I want one as a pet.

Heston snags the first keeper.  

Bryson gets the next.

And Trent hooks the last one.

Heston and dad cutting up the fish. It turned out to be a girl fish.  We saw all her eggs, kept them and going to eat Caviar  later. Not really!  It ended up being a science lesson.  They had fun dissecting the fish.

Spotted moose on the road side.

Before this trip our favorite city here in Alaska was Homer.  Homer had all kinda wildlife like bald eagles and amazing mountains and even ocean views.  But after our trip to Valdez , it is now our favorite city.  You can see a little of  all things Alaskan.  On your trip to Valdez you are very likely to see bears,sea otters, seals, bald eagles,and spawning salmon and even sea gulls. Then you have the natural landscape that will just amaze you. Waterfalls, glaciers, icebergs, snow caped mountain peaks,  are just a few. Of course it's one of those you have to see it to believe it kinda things'.  So if you were to ask me where is the best place to visit on your trip to Alaska I would have to say Valdez in September.  We had an awesome time then and I hope your trip will be just amazing also.

On our way home we witnessed the Northern lights in the sky.  We were amazed.  I was not able to get the best pictures.  These couple shots were taken from inside the car through a very dirty windshield.  Seeing these was the icing on our Valdez trip.  After an awesome weekend in our favorite city and then to see these lights we feel that we have had an awesome Alaska adventure.  

We were in awe of the light in the sky.  I'm hooked I want to see them again. Next time I'm taking the tripod.