Glacier Bay, Alaska
On a clear, warm day we cruised into a glassy calm Glacier Bay and tried to soak in as much as we could. Stunning scenery, with peaks over 15,000 feet visible from sea level, the cracking and crashing of enormous tidewater glaciers. The abundance and diversity of wildlife – humpback whales, black bears, brown bears, sea otters, Steller sea lions, mountain goats, porcupine, and birds – tufted puffins, Kittlitz’s murrelets, harlequins, yellow-billed loons and a myriad of others.
Perhaps taking a back seat to the attraction of the impressive bears and terminally cute sea otters were the mountain goats. Usually only glimpsed as white specks on a distant mountain top, there is one place in Glacier Bay where goats can be seen close to sea level and, therefore, at eye level. As we cruised the coast of Gloomy Knob (which today completely failed to live up to its epithet) sharp eyes picked out several goats resting or grazing on narrow ledges on the precipitous slopes. Both male and female animals sport horns and beards, but we found a one horned, bearded animal, which we knew was a nanny once we saw a small kid nestled beside her.
Any day in Glacier Bay is an all out assault on the eyes and mind. The ability to process the full range of experiences here today and summarize them on one page is beyond most of us. Whatever words I have used here will not, cannot, do justice to the place. Weeks, months, years of reflection and memory will.
On a clear, warm day we cruised into a glassy calm Glacier Bay and tried to soak in as much as we could. Stunning scenery, with peaks over 15,000 feet visible from sea level, the cracking and crashing of enormous tidewater glaciers. The abundance and diversity of wildlife – humpback whales, black bears, brown bears, sea otters, Steller sea lions, mountain goats, porcupine, and birds – tufted puffins, Kittlitz’s murrelets, harlequins, yellow-billed loons and a myriad of others.
Perhaps taking a back seat to the attraction of the impressive bears and terminally cute sea otters were the mountain goats. Usually only glimpsed as white specks on a distant mountain top, there is one place in Glacier Bay where goats can be seen close to sea level and, therefore, at eye level. As we cruised the coast of Gloomy Knob (which today completely failed to live up to its epithet) sharp eyes picked out several goats resting or grazing on narrow ledges on the precipitous slopes. Both male and female animals sport horns and beards, but we found a one horned, bearded animal, which we knew was a nanny once we saw a small kid nestled beside her.
Any day in Glacier Bay is an all out assault on the eyes and mind. The ability to process the full range of experiences here today and summarize them on one page is beyond most of us. Whatever words I have used here will not, cannot, do justice to the place. Weeks, months, years of reflection and memory will.
