Woke up earlier than anticipated, so I went ahead and took my shower, had QT, and joined Judy and Jim for breakfast. It was still kinda drizzly, but it was supposed to clear. We all took a vote and decided Kevin should stay in bed, and when he didn't show Marshall said he either got my note or came to the same conclusion independently!
We boarded the boat and all claimed seats towards the front before stationing ourselves on deck. Marshall showed us the proposed route, but since there was a weather warning out, there was a very good chance that we wouldn't even make it up either of the fiords (you have to skirt the end of the peninsula, and the waves at that point can be pretty rough). So we prayed for the best (or at least I did), and once we got out into Resurrection Bay (evidently named for a captain who gave the traditional greeting one Easter morning) we got our first new trip bird fairly quickly: Double-crested Cormorant! Judy had gotten her life Northwestern Crow the night before at dinner, but it was nice to see them again today (good to know they're the only crow in the area, too). A lounging Sea Otter was a hit, especially as he let us get fairly close before submerging! Kittiwakes were pretty common as well, and as we cruised to some nesting rocks we added Pigeon Guillemot, Marbled Murrelet, Common Murre, and both puffins to the list. The kittiwake colony was impressive, but they also wanted to show us the Steller's Sea Lions on the rocks. Later they showed us some cliffs with nesting Horned Puffins and Red-faced Cormorants.
We did end up steaming around the point to Northwest Glacier, and I was real thankful we made it cuz apparently an earlier boat didn't make it, it was so rough out there. A couple of people did bite the dust however (I camped out on the stern, knowing I would be one of the casualties if I didn't), as the swells looked huge and overwhelming from my perspective, but we did pick up several Sooty Shearwaters, which was a real treat! The kids that made up the crew, especially this one guy named Eric, were great: they were very attentive to those who weren't feeling well and regularly asked me how I was doing! Unfortunately the stern was also the only place for smokers to have their fix, so I had to put up with that periodically (I think the guy sensed my annoyance, however, because he seemed to go out of his way to be cordial!). But the Lord was good-naturedly chastising me about how I can't judge that guy for needing his nicotine fix when I'm on my third Diet Coke of the morning...☺ Regarding the seasickness, the reason the first captain probably turned back was not the severity of the waves (those boats can handle them fine) but the fact that most of the passengers were miserable! We may have had a couple who lost their cookies and several who were about ready to, but the difference with our boat was that despite all that, most everyone was excited about what they were seeing and having a great time! So that prompted the captain to go ahead to Northwest Glacier. (And speaking of cookies, they baked the best chocolate chip cookies right there on the boat on the way back!! Yum!!)
Boat similar to the one we took into Kenai Fiords Waiting to board
We relax on the bow while the boat is still Jim and Marshall
in port (and it's not pitching...)
Nancy and John
Resurrection Bay is relatively calm, so we risk staying at the bow for awhile...
Curious Sea Otters
Steller's Sea Lions
Black-legged Kittiwake colonies
Herring Gulls
Pretty impressive! More swarms of kittiwakes
Once we made it into the fiord and towards the glacier, we crossed the point where the glacier originally started over 100 years ago, where the water gets deeper and colder, and in the bergie bits Marshall spotted the stars of the day: two Kittlitz's Murrelets alongside a Marbled, and you could really see the difference! Kevin had told us earlier to look for the white outer tail feathers when they took off, and when these birds did so, you could see that, too, especially next to the Marbled! Mammal-wise we enjoyed Harbor Seals in here, and watched a Bald Eagle land on one of the ice fields on the hill, looking just like one more rock! We sat and watched the glacier for awhile, waiting to see if it would calve, but it just thundered a lot (which was impressive in and of itself)! Eventually we tore ourselves away, enjoying Killer and Humpback Whales on the way out. Just before the rough stuff a couple of Pacific Loons flew by, and we found a snoozing Black Oystercatcher on a rock. Made it back without further incident and had another marvelous dinner at Ray's, and then got everyone "mad" at me cuz I said checkout time was eight when it was really eleven--it's just that their funny little plaque looked like it said eight!
Views of Northwest Fiord and the glacier; notice the distant line of "bergie bits" in the right photo...
...and now we're in it! A different glacier that I believe they actually fly
people to via helicopter and let them hike the top!
Marshall in a meditative mood (or else the
Dramamine got to him...)
Sue and Marshall are enjoying themselves while Judy and Pat wait patiently for the glacier to calve...
"We could be waiting a long time!" The fissures looked promising, and it made a lot
of exciting noise from deep within, but only shed
a little ice in the end...
In the meantime, we enjoyed the lounging Harbor Seals!
The water is filled with "bergie bits", chunks of the Our target bird for the area was the tiny Kittlitz's
glacier that have calved! Murrelet; notice the white outer tail feathers of the
two birds on the left, as compared to the dark tail
of the Marbled Murrelet on the right.
More scenes heading back... Waterfalls
Killer Whale family
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