Wow, what a terrific day! Incredible from start to finish. By the time we were up and about the sun was coming down through clouds, the wind was blustery and waves sparkled around the ship. We came to anchor beside George Island, a lovely forested set of hills at the mouth of Cross Sound and exposed to the open ocean. Walkers hit the trail to dive into the history of the island. The trail wound through the ruined leftovers of a WWII outpost and after wandering up and down the island we arrived at an old gun emplacement. Along the way we discovered a couple of banana slugs, remains of a few birds (presumably eaten by peregrine falcons), bear poop, intertidal creatures, and some sweet photo ops. Zodiac cruisers circled the island, investigating the rocky walls for intertidal creatures, looking out at the kelp beds, watching sea otter moms and pups bobbing on the swells, and a spectacular show of a sea lion devouring an octopus. A good time was had by all.
Following lunch we returned to the Zodiacs to zip around the Inian islands, one of the major highlights of our trip. Sea lions basked and bellowed on the rocks and a few of them flashed us their chubby sides which sported research brands. Birds flew around us in clouds and more otters eyed us warily as we passed. Bald eagles nesting in the trees surveyed the boats as they motored past and flew down to catch fish in the waves. The high Fairweather Mountains of Glacier Bay National Park rose majestically from the ragged clouds, tantalizing in their glistening snowy slopes.
The day concluded with an evening of humpback whales, an elusive brown bear on the beach during dinner, sunshine, and a talk on whales by Dr. Andy Szabo.
