George Island—Elfin Cove—Point Adolphus
There is no prettier town in Alaska than Elfin Cove, where we visited after lunch today. Surrounded by high cliffs and a picturesque boardwalk, the town has as many as 300 residents during the summer – only 12 of whom persist through the dark, rainy winter. We saw Elfin Cove at its scenic best, complete with a bearded postmaster and wandering dogs that could have been right out of a scene from Northern Exposure.
Our morning event was hiking and kayaking on and around George Island, which is the perfect combination of human and natural history. The natural history part involves some of the best rocks in SE Alaska – garnet granites! These rocks form when continents or terrains collide resulting in immense pressure and temperatures deep within the earth. So at least 30,000 feet had to be eroded off the top for us to see the rocks we saw on the beach.
The human history is exhibited by relicts of an army base that existed here during World War II, including vestiges of barracks, latrines, and a 6” artillery piece that was installed to repel any kind of invasion of Cross Sound or Icy Strait.
To complete a remarkable day, we set course from Elfin Cove to Point Adolphus. Along the way we did a quick detour into Idaho inlet, where we encountered a batch of sea otters. One, in particular, was completely unafraid of our ship or was snoozing peacefully as he cruised by no more than a few tens of feet from our cameras. But the highlight of the day was the humpbacks of Point Adolphus. It was almost like watching a carefully choreographed team of synchronized swimmers as they simultaneously dived and surfaced in pursuit of their prey. We watched for more than an hour and a half as the sun poured down on the water, turning blows into rainbows. Just another one of those routine fabulous days aboard the Sea Bird in SE Alaska.
There is no prettier town in Alaska than Elfin Cove, where we visited after lunch today. Surrounded by high cliffs and a picturesque boardwalk, the town has as many as 300 residents during the summer – only 12 of whom persist through the dark, rainy winter. We saw Elfin Cove at its scenic best, complete with a bearded postmaster and wandering dogs that could have been right out of a scene from Northern Exposure.
Our morning event was hiking and kayaking on and around George Island, which is the perfect combination of human and natural history. The natural history part involves some of the best rocks in SE Alaska – garnet granites! These rocks form when continents or terrains collide resulting in immense pressure and temperatures deep within the earth. So at least 30,000 feet had to be eroded off the top for us to see the rocks we saw on the beach.
The human history is exhibited by relicts of an army base that existed here during World War II, including vestiges of barracks, latrines, and a 6” artillery piece that was installed to repel any kind of invasion of Cross Sound or Icy Strait.
To complete a remarkable day, we set course from Elfin Cove to Point Adolphus. Along the way we did a quick detour into Idaho inlet, where we encountered a batch of sea otters. One, in particular, was completely unafraid of our ship or was snoozing peacefully as he cruised by no more than a few tens of feet from our cameras. But the highlight of the day was the humpbacks of Point Adolphus. It was almost like watching a carefully choreographed team of synchronized swimmers as they simultaneously dived and surfaced in pursuit of their prey. We watched for more than an hour and a half as the sun poured down on the water, turning blows into rainbows. Just another one of those routine fabulous days aboard the Sea Bird in SE Alaska.
