Glacier Bay National Park
Each day began with a scavenger hunt. The 28 younger members of our family expedition took slips of paper and throughout the day searched for the listed items. Nothing was collected, but at day’s end there was a collection of memories. Find an animal with no legs, one with at least six, a plant that eats bugs, a heart-shaped leaf, and finally, a memorable moment. On the first couple of days, when our expedition leader asked for volunteers, a few hands tentatively raised. By last evening, hands of the young and young-at-heart eagerly lifted skyward to share their moment. For some, it was a field of orchids with a heavenly fragrance. Others marveled as a 40-ton whale miraculously lifted itself from the sea. Sometimes it was as simple as sipping water from a leaf, or as powerful as a sea lion’s roar. For each person the memorable moment was his or her very own, and will never be taken away.
Our first stop in Glacier Bay was South Marble Island with dozens of tufted puffins. Even if bird-watching wasn’t your passion, who could resist that improbable orange beak, those fluffy white tufts and those great webbed feet? In the air and on the water, puffins rock!
Afterwards, we met our park ranger Fawn, who had lots of educational activities for the kids. Then on to the glaciers; no matter how many hours we spent in front of tidewater glaciers, it was not enough. They mesmerized us with their cobalt blues; their snap, crackle and pop, and the imminent icefall any second, any minute, any day now. That splash was memorable! As we retraced our steps back down Glacier Bay, Sharon offered a lovely program on Northwest Coast art, while our younger ones worked on their junior ranger badges and journals.
So what was the memorable moment today? For me, a gasp. The golden brown bear was tough to find at first, distant on the shore. One of our young travelers tried to see it, and for awhile the search seemed fruitless, the big binoculars scanning and scanning, constantly on the move. Suddenly he stopped still like a stone, and then I heard it.
Each day began with a scavenger hunt. The 28 younger members of our family expedition took slips of paper and throughout the day searched for the listed items. Nothing was collected, but at day’s end there was a collection of memories. Find an animal with no legs, one with at least six, a plant that eats bugs, a heart-shaped leaf, and finally, a memorable moment. On the first couple of days, when our expedition leader asked for volunteers, a few hands tentatively raised. By last evening, hands of the young and young-at-heart eagerly lifted skyward to share their moment. For some, it was a field of orchids with a heavenly fragrance. Others marveled as a 40-ton whale miraculously lifted itself from the sea. Sometimes it was as simple as sipping water from a leaf, or as powerful as a sea lion’s roar. For each person the memorable moment was his or her very own, and will never be taken away.
Our first stop in Glacier Bay was South Marble Island with dozens of tufted puffins. Even if bird-watching wasn’t your passion, who could resist that improbable orange beak, those fluffy white tufts and those great webbed feet? In the air and on the water, puffins rock!
Afterwards, we met our park ranger Fawn, who had lots of educational activities for the kids. Then on to the glaciers; no matter how many hours we spent in front of tidewater glaciers, it was not enough. They mesmerized us with their cobalt blues; their snap, crackle and pop, and the imminent icefall any second, any minute, any day now. That splash was memorable! As we retraced our steps back down Glacier Bay, Sharon offered a lovely program on Northwest Coast art, while our younger ones worked on their junior ranger badges and journals.
So what was the memorable moment today? For me, a gasp. The golden brown bear was tough to find at first, distant on the shore. One of our young travelers tried to see it, and for awhile the search seemed fruitless, the big binoculars scanning and scanning, constantly on the move. Suddenly he stopped still like a stone, and then I heard it.
