We woke the next morning at the feet of two huge tidewater glaciers at the top end of Glacier Bay. This bay is home to one of the most remote National Parks in the system, accessible only by water or float plane. With a park ranger we had picked up in Gustavus, we spent the whole day working our way slowly down the bay, taking in the glaciers, sea life, and wild life. This is the only National Park in the area, with the number of ships strictly limited, allowing for a proliferation of animals. It was amazing.
Margerie Glacier
Grand Pacific Glacier
Ice floes up Johns Hopkins Inlet
We spent all day on the bow (Dad's far left)
Arctic terns skipping across the water
One of the highlights of the bay was seeing a family of grizzly bears and a herd of goats high up on a cliffside. Bears are elusive and rare to spot, and Alaska is one of the few places where grizzlies exist in any significant numbers. And mountain goats are just cute.
Not to be overlooked were the sea lions. There was a huge colony of them on South Marble Island, flopping around and making a huge ruckus.
