Tracy Arm
What a spectacular way to spend our last day together! The terminal moraine at the mouth of Tracy Arm was especially evident this morning as the tide was extremely low when we crossed the bar. A line of jagged rocks with beautiful blue ice bergs caught in their gravelly teeth greeted us while we sipped our steaming cups of coffee on the bow. In the next few hours, thousands of years of geological history slipped past the Sea Lion as she wound her way up the narrow fiord called Tracy Arm. We admired waterfalls and icebergs like the ones in this photograph and contemplated the forces that shaped this remarkable place.
The Sawyer glaciers have recently calved an amazing variety of translucent, impossibly azure blue sculptures of ice and we spent the better part of day admiring the beautiful handiwork of these two glaciers. From the bow of the ship and later from Zodiacs and kayaks, our senses were filled with the flora, the fauna, the sights, sounds and sheer magnificence of being in close proximity to glaciers. On the Zodiacs, we spent some quiet time admiring the rock gardens along the edges of the steep and colorful rock faces. Right now dwarf fireweed as well as yarrow and arnica add spots of color to the scene while arctic terns swooped over us and hit the water, bringing up a small silver fish nearly every time. Herring gull parents protected a spotted fluffy chick from a noisy crow that was a bit too close. Nearby curious harbor seals lay on the icebergs with their rapidly growing pups. Indeed, our visit to Tracy Arm has been a truly fitting close to a very memorable week.
What a spectacular way to spend our last day together! The terminal moraine at the mouth of Tracy Arm was especially evident this morning as the tide was extremely low when we crossed the bar. A line of jagged rocks with beautiful blue ice bergs caught in their gravelly teeth greeted us while we sipped our steaming cups of coffee on the bow. In the next few hours, thousands of years of geological history slipped past the Sea Lion as she wound her way up the narrow fiord called Tracy Arm. We admired waterfalls and icebergs like the ones in this photograph and contemplated the forces that shaped this remarkable place.
The Sawyer glaciers have recently calved an amazing variety of translucent, impossibly azure blue sculptures of ice and we spent the better part of day admiring the beautiful handiwork of these two glaciers. From the bow of the ship and later from Zodiacs and kayaks, our senses were filled with the flora, the fauna, the sights, sounds and sheer magnificence of being in close proximity to glaciers. On the Zodiacs, we spent some quiet time admiring the rock gardens along the edges of the steep and colorful rock faces. Right now dwarf fireweed as well as yarrow and arnica add spots of color to the scene while arctic terns swooped over us and hit the water, bringing up a small silver fish nearly every time. Herring gull parents protected a spotted fluffy chick from a noisy crow that was a bit too close. Nearby curious harbor seals lay on the icebergs with their rapidly growing pups. Indeed, our visit to Tracy Arm has been a truly fitting close to a very memorable week.
