Alaska - Day 10 - Exit Glacier

Moose like to eat willow bark. It contains the chemical salicin, the same that is in aspirin. This helps relieve their headaches.

Here you can see Moose teeth marks.




We hike through the valley that has been carved by Exit Glacier. It is amazing how much the glacier has receded over the years. Even as we were driving up the highway to the glacier, we see signs with numbers on them... 1892....1908... These show where the glacier extended to that year.




Sometimes you can find snow with a reddish tint.
It's hard to see in this photo, but in the lower left there is some 'weird' looking snow that was slightly pink. This snow has a bacteria living in it that turns it the reddish hue, and is sometimes referred to as "watermelon snow". Ice worms live off this bacteria. Ice worms have to stay around 0 - 4 C. If you held one in your hand, it would literally melt from overheating.



So that is Exit Glacier. You can feel the wind coming down from the ice fields. It is named Exit Glacier because that is where some explorers existed from the ice fields, skiing down the glacier.


After visiting Exit Glacier, we head north into Alaska, stopping for a visit at a Wildlife Preserve.

Lots of animals here. Most of these animals were brought here after being found injured. Some of the animals here were once thought to be extinct. The preserve is trying to re-establish the population of the endangered species.

What's the difference between a caribou and a reindeer?
Caribou are wild.
Reindeer are domesticated.






Also, we learned that the mosquito really is the Alaskan state bird. I know, you probably thought it was the Ptarmigan, but you'd be wrong. Speaking of birds, here is an eagle that cannot fly. Poor eagle.




For the evening, we stay in the Alyeska Resort, a very nice ski lodge. We ride a lift up to check out the view.

Alaska - Day 9 - Seward and Kenai Tours

The cruise is over, and now we begin the land tour.

We pull into port at Seward. Our first visit is the aquarium there.
It's pretty much your run of the mill aquarium. It has fish and other aquatic creatures, as aquariums are wont to do.






Next is the fjord tour.
A fjord is a waterway that has been formed from glaciers. Normally a valley filled with water would have a V shaped base. But because of the way the glacier has carved away the valley, the base has U shape instead.


Seward:



Seward was once a major player in the oil industry, but an earthquake destroyed the town in 1964. The earthquake was a 9.2 on the Richter scale and lasted for four minutes. The quake broke open lots of oil barrels, which then spilled into the fjord. The oil caught fire. Shortly after this, a tidal wave resulting from the quake carried the burning oil into the town. Whatever had not already been destroyed by the earthquake was burned by the fire.


We saw lots of animals on our fjord tour.

Sea otters are pretty much awesome.



It's pretty much impossible to get a picture of a porpoise (they move way too quickly), but a pod of them decides to play around our bow for quite a bit.




Kingfisher of some sort.




Killerwhales. The females travel in a pod close together. The male follows not too far behind, few hundred meters maybe.






Puffins. They can't fly right now. They tried.




Mama and baby goat.




And some neat cliffs.



We also saw a humpback whale and and a bald eagle.


We stay in a lodge not too far outside Seward.
This is across the street. See how flat it is between the mountains? This is evidence that a glacier passed through this valley, scraping away and carving it into what it is today.

Alaska - Day 8 - Hubbard Glacier

Today we are going to see a tidal glacier (actually two). A tidal glacier is one that is going directly into the ocean. As we approach, we can see the trail of icebergs leading to the glacier.



We also see one very dirty glacier in the background. The glacier is dirty from boulders it has picked up as it has traveled.




The Hubbard Glacier is much cleaner in comparison.



We get to see the glacier caving a lot as the sun warms up the ice. Caving is when a chunk of the ice breaks off. The ice is incredibly blue because of its density. Glacial ice is under a lot of pressure from the weight of the ice itself.

There is caving in the very beginning of this video.



I wish I could truly convey the majesty of the Hubbard Glacier through pictures and words, but nothing could substitute for the sheer awe of being in its presence, hearing it, feeling it. It is truly a living creature, constantly changing, moving, breathing, evolving.



As we leave the glacier, we spot some bears along side the coast. Grizzly bears and brown bears are actually the same species, the only difference being in the diet. These are brown bears, living along the coast and eating a lot more fish.



For the evening, we watch a cake demo (Schwarzwald I believe). We got to partake in samples as well.



After this an evening show -- Gazpachos!

Alaska - Day 7 - Skagway

Skagway is a gold rush town. It served as a gateway town for the Yukon Goldrush.

The first place we visit is the Gold Rush Cemetery. Soapy Smith, a famous con man of the time, is buried here, as well as his killer and town hero, Ried. Behind the cemetery, it's just a short walk to Ried's Falls.

From Wikipedia:

[Soapy Smith] mixed the money-wrapped packages in with wrapped bars containing no money. He then sold the soap to the crowd for one dollar a cake. A shill planted in the crowd would buy a bar, tear it open, and loudly proclaim that he had won some money, waving it around for all to see. This performance had the desired effect of enticing the sale of the packages. More often than not, victims bought several bars before the sale was completed. Midway through the sale, Smith would announce that the hundred-dollar bill yet remained in the pile, unpurchased. He then would auction off the remaining soap bars to the highest bidders.

Through manipulation and sleight-of-hand, he hid the cakes of soap wrapped with money and replaced them with packages holding no cash. The only money "won" went to shills, members of the gang planted in the crowd pretending to win in order to increase sales.

Reid's Falls:


Soapy Smith's grave:


Skagway served as a gateway town for the Yukon goldrush. Many folks that came searching for gold were ill-prepared for the harsh trip and died along the way.




The gold that was found in the Yukon was Klondike gold--22 karat--the purest found naturally.


We also saw some mountain goats!




Skagway Brewing Co. is a microbrewery and the only place to find Spruce Tipped Ale, a brew made from spruce tips (though I'm sure not the only place to find an ale made of spruce tips). This brew was used to protect people from scurvy back in the day. The large glass is the Spruce Tipped. It's deeeelicious.




It's tradition at the port to paint the names of the ship and captain on the cliff on the maiden voyage visit here. Supposedly, the crew got to do the painting, and the more respect they had for the captain, the higher on the rocks they would do the painting.



Someone also painted Soapy Smith's skull.



Back to the ship.



We see some humpbacks that night.
Unfortunately they are not feeling very photogenic today.



We search the sky for potential northern lights, but didn't see any. It's really the wrong time of the year to see them.

Alaska - Day 6 - Juneau

Did you know it is not possible to drive to Juneau? One can only arrive by boat or plane.



The first place we visit is Juneau's gardens and the Tongass Rain Forest. The Tongass is the largest temperate rain forest in the world. And if you're confused about a rain forest existing in such a cold climate, don't worry. A lot of people only think about tropical rain forests. But a rain forest is defined by a certain amount of rain that must be received per year.

In this garden, they are using uprooted trees as what they call "flower towers". They're pretty cool.





We take a drive up a narrow road in the forest.








And at the top, there is a nice view.



After this, it is off to see the Mendenhall Glacier.


OMG SINGLE RAINBOW!!


See how dense the ice is (so blue!)


Snow melt fall.



That night on the ship...

Entertainment: MATT YEE!
Give me an OY!
Give me an OY! OY!
Give me an OY! OY! OY!
Mmmm....(this is the sound of drinking)


After this I wandered around the ship (approx 1 am.)