Alaska Cruise - Glacier Bay, 6/13/2019

Glacier Bay was the highlight of the cruise for me, partly because my 1989 cruise did not go there, and partly because the overcast skies cleared not long after we entered the bay.  The magnificent scenery was enhanced by blue skies, bright sun and puffy white clouds.

Glacier Bay is a national park, the 46th that I have visited, and we were joined by two national park rangers and a naturalist who explained and described the effects of glaciers, how they are formed and how they recede.  I'm sure everyone appreciated these lectures as we cruised the bay.  Here are just a few of the many photos I took.  Honestly, I don't remember the names of the various glaciers, but that doesn't seem very important.

  

 

 

 

As glaciers move toward the ocean, the edges break off and fall into the sea as icebergs, a process known as calving.  Although we heard and saw many such events, getting a photo was very difficult.  One particularly large one lasted long enough for me to get a shot of the last remains of ice falling.

There were quite a few waterfalls created by melting ice in the hanging glaciers.

We saw lots of icebergs, as well as wildlife, some of it riding the icebergs.  While I was pleased  to see puffins, I did not have my longer lens on deck to get good close-ups of them.

Finally, as we were leaving Glacier Bay, a park service boat rafted up with the Bliss and the rangers and naturalist transferred to the smaller vessel to be taken ashore to await tomorrow's cruise ship lecture.