Alaska Day 7 - Back to Sitka via Red Bluff Bay

Today we headed back to Sitka by way of Red Bluff Bay.  On the way, we ran into a large group of humpback whales.  The captain estimated at least 15 whales.  They were surfacing all around the ship.  It's interesting that whales can be identified by the markings on the underside of their tail fins.  We saw of lot of tail fins and heard/saw of lot of blowing as the whales surfaced.

The red bluffs were indeed beautiful.  The snow melt from this mountain created a lot of small waterfalls.

We saw the side of this waterfall from a distance.  As we got closer, we saw that this was a fairly large waterfall.  We got close enough to get wet!

Here we are with the waterfall in the background.

The view down this narrow bay was excellent.

 

The ship had an "open bridge" policy; we could join the crew on the bridge unless the sign said otherwise.  Here's Rosie with Captain Stu.

The crew took great care of us during the week.  Here's some of the staff.

Also, the food was excellent.  I'm surprised I didn't gain 5+ lbs.

Here's the entire Road Scholar tour group.  Yes - most of us are over 60.  We even had some folks over 90!

The next morning we arrived in Sitka bright and early.  Here's an extinct volcano near Sitka; it looks neat above the low hanging clouds.

Thanks to the crew of the Admiralty Dream for a great week on the Inside Passage of Alaska.  Rosie and I had a great time!  

Today, we'll be roaming around Sitka and waiting for our evening flight to Anchorage - where we overnight - and then catch our bus for Denali (at 7:30 am). 

Alaska Day 6 - Juneau/Mendenhall Glacier and Orca Point Lodge

This morning we docked in Juneau.  It's the only state capital in the 49 North America states that you can't drive to.  You either fly in, bring you car on the ferry or simply come by ship.  About 40% of Juneau's population work for the government - figures since it's the state capital.  One of the crew members took this early morning picture as we arrived in Juneau.

Juneau itself isn't that big of a place.  For us the main attraction was the Mendenhall Glacier.  We spent several hours walking out to the glacier and the waterfall that's right next to it.  Interestingly, 20 years or so ago, the waterfall used to be covered by the glacier.  However, Mendenhall - like most glaciers - is receding.  When the glacier covered the waterfall, the falls gushed from the face of the glacier - sounds neat.  Here are some photos of the glacier and us near the glacier and falls.

There was a lot of ice floating in the lake in front of the glacier.

After lunch we went to downtown Juneau and visited the Alaska State Museum.  The museum had an interesting display on World War II and the battles fought in Alaska.  If you can't read the banner it says: "When "Over There" Was Here: World War II in Alaska."

Also, they had many native Alaskan items on display.  I liked this one - a waterproof jacket made from animal intestines.  Interesting!

We left Juneau and headed to the Orca Point Lodge for an Alaska crab dinner.  Here's a picture of the Lodge from the ship.

The bay was very peaceful.

The crab legs were delicious!

We also had a demonstration of how to fillet a salmon.  Here we are holding an 8 lb silver salmon.  The finished fillets are below. 

After dinner we had an outdoor fire and made s'mores.  I had several data points to say they were delicious!

The sunset that evening was simply outstanding.

We're almost done with the Inside Passage tour.  The next stop is Sitka - where we started.  However, it's a pretty long trip back; lots more stuff to see!

Alaska Day 5 - Glacier Bay National Park

Early Wednesday morning we arrived at the Glacier Bay National Park lodge to pick-up Brad, a US park ranger, and Bertha, a cultural interpreter for the Huna Tlingit people.  By all accounts (input from the crew and Brad) we had an absolute beautiful day weather-wise to visit the Park.  For most of the day the sky was very blue and visibility excellent.  Rosie is enjoying the view and the sunny day.

Here we are with some scenery in the background.

We saw a lot of wildlife during our trip into Glacier Bay.  Here are some sea lions (older males and teenagers):

We had great views of mountain goats.  Their white coats really stand-out from the mountains.  They're fairly easy to spot.

We saw a wide variety of bird life.  We saw two tufted puffins fighting with each other; why we don't know.  However, while they were distracted with their argument, a bald eagle had them in his sights.  He swooped down and tried to grab one of the puffins.  They dove under water at the last moment.  They were almost lunch!  It was exciting to see this happen in real life.  Here are the two "fighting puffins" and a close-up of one.

 

We also saw a young wolf lying near a small stream inlet on the shore.  While he was sitting there, a brown bear cautiously got into the stream and tried to catch a salmon.  The bear wasn't too good at fishing - at least the part we saw.  However, the wolf was giving the bear "moral support" since the wolf typically gets 'left-overs" from the bear.

Here's a flock of terns that nest in the rocks.

Without a lot of words, here are some photos of Glacier Bay.  It was hard to truly capture the beauty, but we hope this gives you an idea.  We've also made them bigger so it's easier to appreciate the beauty.

On our way out of the Park, we stopped by the lodge.  During a short walk near the lodge, we spotted a female moose and her calf having dinner.  Note: the female moose is wearing a tracking collar.

Next stop - Juneau - the capital of Alaska.