1) The weather co-operated and was a nice sunny day
2) The winds were calm and therefore the water was fairly calm.
3) Due to the calm waters Rod was able to keep his breakfast to himself.
4) We saw miles and miles of beautiful but rugged scenery
5) We saw whales and dolphins and sea lines and a lot more
6) We saw a glacier calfing
7) Rod was able to keep lunch where it is supposed to be.
The day started out with us doing a lot of nothing waiting for the cruise to start. I caught up on the blog and Kathy read and did a few chores. Again, good distribution of duties.
We got to the dock about 2:30PM for a 3PM departure and we went out on a boat called the Orca Voyager.
The two people in the picture are Liz and Kenny who are two of our on board crew.We got away in time and shortly Seward started to fade into the distance.
The captain and narrator of the ship gave us some history on Seward that was interesting. Seward is located at the end of Resurrection Bay which is an ice free harbor even in the winter.
It was the major sea port until the earthquake that hit Alaska in 1964 devastated the town. The town sits on gravel bars at the base of the mountains and when the three earthquake following tsumui’s hit, it pushed the town about a mile inland. The oil tanks and diesel tanks that were there to support the shipping exploded and Seward and Resurrection Bay were on fire. The city never recuperated from this blow and Anchorage and Whittier became the major sea ports for both commercial shipping and tour boats.
We made a short stop at Fox Island to pick up dinner. Fox Island got its name because the island was originally used to farm foxes. Prior to World War Two when the Sea Otter population was almost extinct the hunters and trappers still needed to survive. They tried populating the island with foxes as foxes hate water and do not swim well. Once their pelts matured they were harvested just like any other farmed animal. There are no foxes on the island today because when the war started transportation back and forth was curtailed for security reasons.
The route we were following today is to continue out of Resurrection Bay into the Gulf of Alaska. It was while we were into Resurrection Bay that we saw our first large animal of the day. A Humpback Whale, as least that is what they told us we saw. I got a few pictures but it was hard to get real close to them. We did get close enough to realize just how big they are.
It was the major sea port until the earthquake that hit Alaska in 1964 devastated the town. The town sits on gravel bars at the base of the mountains and when the three earthquake following tsumui’s hit, it pushed the town about a mile inland. The oil tanks and diesel tanks that were there to support the shipping exploded and Seward and Resurrection Bay were on fire. The city never recuperated from this blow and Anchorage and Whittier became the major sea ports for both commercial shipping and tour boats.
We made a short stop at Fox Island to pick up dinner. Fox Island got its name because the island was originally used to farm foxes. Prior to World War Two when the Sea Otter population was almost extinct the hunters and trappers still needed to survive. They tried populating the island with foxes as foxes hate water and do not swim well. Once their pelts matured they were harvested just like any other farmed animal. There are no foxes on the island today because when the war started transportation back and forth was curtailed for security reasons.
The route we were following today is to continue out of Resurrection Bay into the Gulf of Alaska. It was while we were into Resurrection Bay that we saw our first large animal of the day. A Humpback Whale, as least that is what they told us we saw. I got a few pictures but it was hard to get real close to them. We did get close enough to realize just how big they are.
Not long after we saw the Humpback whale we came across a pod of Orca’s or Killer Whales. There are two types of Killer Whales and the friendly, fish eating ones are called residential whales. These are the whales that we spotted.
After leaving the whales and Resurrection Bay we entered the Gulf of Alaska and when we passed Aialik Cape we were in the North Pacific Ocean. It was a little choppier and a little queasiness did creep it but I was able to keep things under control.
I thought the landscape was rugged and beautiful when we were in Resurrection Bay but once we got to the Gulf of Alaska I was truly amazed. The rugged peaks, islands, bays, hillsides that are all part of Kenai Fjords National Park cannot be described. We were treated to spectacular views that we could not have seen anywhere except of this cruise.
It is truly breathtaking.
The Aialik Glacier was far end of the tour so we turned around and headed back to Seward. Along the way we did see a couple of more whales, stellar sea lions and lots of birds. Mostly we just sat back and enjoyed the coastline and it stupendous beauty.
The day as a whole was a screaming success. We were told today was the calmest day they have had this year. ( thank you, thank you, thank you ) We arrived safely back into port, took the shuttle to the car park and headed back to the RV park.
Live is good.
After leaving the whales and Resurrection Bay we entered the Gulf of Alaska and when we passed Aialik Cape we were in the North Pacific Ocean. It was a little choppier and a little queasiness did creep it but I was able to keep things under control.
I thought the landscape was rugged and beautiful when we were in Resurrection Bay but once we got to the Gulf of Alaska I was truly amazed. The rugged peaks, islands, bays, hillsides that are all part of Kenai Fjords National Park cannot be described. We were treated to spectacular views that we could not have seen anywhere except of this cruise.
It is truly breathtaking.
After passing Aialik Cape we turned west and moved up the coast to the Chiswell Islands where we ran into these fellows.
The first two we saw had a slight territorial dispute but it was settled quickly as size always wins.
After viewing a slew of sea lions and sea birds we headed into the Aialik Fjord ( I think ) and headed straight to the end to view the Aialik Glacier. On the way we passed Bear Glacier and Pederson Glacier, however we could only see Bear Glacier. Aialik Glacier is the only tideside glacier that can be seen on this cruise. The nine hour cruise is a glacier cruise and you can see 5 glaciers in one Fjord.
After viewing a slew of sea lions and sea birds we headed into the Aialik Fjord ( I think ) and headed straight to the end to view the Aialik Glacier. On the way we passed Bear Glacier and Pederson Glacier, however we could only see Bear Glacier. Aialik Glacier is the only tideside glacier that can be seen on this cruise. The nine hour cruise is a glacier cruise and you can see 5 glaciers in one Fjord.
All the glaciers in the Kenai Peninsula are run offs from the Harding Icefield which is the largest in the world. It is reported to be 20 miles wide, 30 miles long and 1 miles deep in some places. That’s a lot of ice.
We stopped when we got to the Glacier for about 35 minutes and watched ice move. Actually you listened for the large cracks of sound like thunder and tried to gauge where the next piece will fall off. Talk about trained. Fifty people all standing on the boat watching a chunk of ice and hoping to get a picture. The ice shifts and cracks and 50 cameras move into position. The harbor seals that were playing in the fjord were probably thinking that they were at a zoo.
I jest at the situation but the fjord was still amazing. It took three pictures to get all of the fjord into view. We also did see the glacier calfing but it was hard to get pictures of it.
We stopped when we got to the Glacier for about 35 minutes and watched ice move. Actually you listened for the large cracks of sound like thunder and tried to gauge where the next piece will fall off. Talk about trained. Fifty people all standing on the boat watching a chunk of ice and hoping to get a picture. The ice shifts and cracks and 50 cameras move into position. The harbor seals that were playing in the fjord were probably thinking that they were at a zoo.
I jest at the situation but the fjord was still amazing. It took three pictures to get all of the fjord into view. We also did see the glacier calfing but it was hard to get pictures of it.
The Aialik Glacier was far end of the tour so we turned around and headed back to Seward. Along the way we did see a couple of more whales, stellar sea lions and lots of birds. Mostly we just sat back and enjoyed the coastline and it stupendous beauty.
The day as a whole was a screaming success. We were told today was the calmest day they have had this year. ( thank you, thank you, thank you ) We arrived safely back into port, took the shuttle to the car park and headed back to the RV park.
Live is good.
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