Our day started at dawn in Bartlett Cove where we picked up National Park Service Interpretative Ranger Kaylin Werth and Hoonah Tlingit Cultural Interpreters Bertha Franulovich and Gary Brown Sr. from Alaska Native Voices. As we sailed north through Glacier Bay a rare clear day allowed us to see Mt. Fairweather shining on the horizon.
Our first stop was at South Marble Island, a seabird rookery where we watched glaucous-winged gulls, black-legged kittiwakes, pelagic cormorants, tufted puffins and Steller’s sea lions hauled out on the rocky shore.
At Gloomy Knob on the north shore of Glacier Bay our naturalist Linda Burback spotted mountain goats with new kids of the year sunning themselves high on the rugged cliffs. As we proceeded on guests spotted harlequin ducks and a flock of over 1,000 surf scoters floating on the glassy water. At the head of Tarr Inlet we stood on the foredeck in awe of the Grand Pacific and Margerie Glaciers. The Margerie calved blue ice into the turquoise waters as black-legged kittiwakes soared overhead
After perfect views of the rugged Lamplugh Glacier we proceeded to Jaw Point at the mouth of John Hopkins Inlet and reveled in clear views of the John Hopkins glacier. The knife-edge ridges and gleaming summits of Mt. Wilber and Mt. Orville sparkled in the sun beneath a nearly cloudless dome of sky.
Perfect weather held as we returned to Bartlett Cove. We disembarked to take walks through the rain forest and to view the recently finished articulated humpback whale skeleton near the park headquarters.
Varied and hermit thrushes called to us from through the extended twilight of the late Alaskan evening as we pulled National Geographic Sea Bird away from the dock and reflected on an incredible day of glacial landscapes, beautiful skies, and abundant wildlife.
