Petersburg & Frederick Sound
This morning we arrived in Petersburg and disembarked for tours around and above (literally) this Norwegian fishing town. Several chose the on shore option of bicycling around a 5 mile loop, others signed up for a float plane tour of LeConte Glacier and a hike to a nearby muskeg was also available.
Meanwhile, in the muskeg…sphagnum moss had gone wild! Gnarled and twisted trunks of Alaska Yellow Cedar gave the muskeg an surreal feel. If not for the new boardwalk just constructed, it would be easy to imagine this place being in another world. Carnivorous sundew were awaiting, ‘mouths’ dripping with sticky hairs ready to trap an unsuspecting fly. Red tipped Toy Soldiers (cladonia lichen) were spotted on an old stump standing erect with their red caps. Bog rosemary, a deadly plant if ingested, grew quietly by a similar plant called Labrador tea hoping to fool one looking for a relaxing brew… if tea is made from its leaves it will be your last.
Back on board the National Geographic Sea Bird, Fred Sharpe from the Alaska Whale Foundation stopped by to talk about his research on whale communication and behavior. We were especially interested in why the humpback calf we observed the other night breached repeatedly. Fred said it was possible that the calf was protesting being weaned by his mother.
Whale watching was on the agenda for the afternoon in Frederick Sound and Scott Babcock, naturalist, gave a talk on ice and glacial landforms.
The evening was a crab fest delight, we stuffed ourselves on fresh Dungeness crab from Petersburg. Yum! After dinner we were entertained by more humpback whales surfacing and diving all around the ship.
This morning we arrived in Petersburg and disembarked for tours around and above (literally) this Norwegian fishing town. Several chose the on shore option of bicycling around a 5 mile loop, others signed up for a float plane tour of LeConte Glacier and a hike to a nearby muskeg was also available.
Meanwhile, in the muskeg…sphagnum moss had gone wild! Gnarled and twisted trunks of Alaska Yellow Cedar gave the muskeg an surreal feel. If not for the new boardwalk just constructed, it would be easy to imagine this place being in another world. Carnivorous sundew were awaiting, ‘mouths’ dripping with sticky hairs ready to trap an unsuspecting fly. Red tipped Toy Soldiers (cladonia lichen) were spotted on an old stump standing erect with their red caps. Bog rosemary, a deadly plant if ingested, grew quietly by a similar plant called Labrador tea hoping to fool one looking for a relaxing brew… if tea is made from its leaves it will be your last.
Back on board the National Geographic Sea Bird, Fred Sharpe from the Alaska Whale Foundation stopped by to talk about his research on whale communication and behavior. We were especially interested in why the humpback calf we observed the other night breached repeatedly. Fred said it was possible that the calf was protesting being weaned by his mother.
Whale watching was on the agenda for the afternoon in Frederick Sound and Scott Babcock, naturalist, gave a talk on ice and glacial landforms.
The evening was a crab fest delight, we stuffed ourselves on fresh Dungeness crab from Petersburg. Yum! After dinner we were entertained by more humpback whales surfacing and diving all around the ship.
