Spectacularly sunny weather greeted us again for the fourth day in a row on our southbound voyage from Juneau to Ketchikan. Today we are in Misty Fjords National Monument, and the weather brought out smiles all around the ship. Anne Marie led a wonderful morning stretch on the true sun deck as early risers scanned the shoreline for early morning signs of wildlife. Their tenacity paid off, as we spotted a coastal brown bear in a shady meadow and watched with excitement until breakfast.

The morning ship cruise brought glorious views of glacially-scoured mountains rising thousands of feet from glassy waters. Thankfully, cool breezes broke up even warmer weather in the afternoon, and a polar plunge in the heat was enjoyed by about 30 guests!

We spent the evening in Zodiacs and used the extreme high tide to explore as far up the river as ever reached before, and we cooled down afterward by showering in the remaining waterfalls of God’s Pocket. The day could not have been better, and guests enjoyed an ice cream bar on the sun deck to celebrate the 4th of July!