The first stop we made on our journey through Southeast Alaska was in Tracy Arm where we first went to see the North Sawyer Glacier from the comforts of National Geographic Quest. Majestic waterfalls all around us surely made for the start of an amazing morning and first day of the trip. We then went for Zodiac cruises up to the South Sawyer Glacier. Weaving our way in and out of beautiful ice sculptures in order to get to the face of the glacier and enjoying the sounds of the ice popping and the Harbor seals relaxing on ice flows, we enjoyed an amazing morning watching the calving of the glacier and all the thundering sounds it makes. Afterwards, we cruised out of the fjord and watched as whales spout and bears scavenged the shoreline for mussels and barnacles.
7/11/2024
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National Geographic Venture
Petersburg, Alaska
We spent our entire day exploring the community and surrounding ecosystems in Petersburg. With its proud Norwegian heritage, Petersburg is a commercial fishing town with a year-round population of just over 3,000, and it offered us a true taste of daily life in Alaska. Norwegian flags hung outside many of the houses, and detailed rosemaling decorative art adorned shutters and eaves. Fishing boats and skiffs moved in and out of the harbor around National Geographic Venture at dock, bringing in loads of wild Alaskan salmon for processing at the canneries. We rode bikes, hiked, and meandered around the town and forests. Some of us explored the muskegs, a type of peat bog, and the amazing plant life that has adapted to the acidic and nutrient-poor habitat. Other guests rode bikes or walked through town, visiting the local hardware stores that sell just about everything you could possibly need as a fisherman in Alaska. The weather cooperated with another day of moody clouds but no rain, and we were even graced with patches of blue sky and sun.