July 10, 2009
We are still at Williwaw Campground. We recently learned that a “williwaw” is a sudden violent gust of cold land air common along mountainous coasts of high latitudes. That certainly applies here. We left the campground heading toward Whittier for another glacier cruise. As we were waiting in the line to go through the tunnel and a mother moose with calf in tow came out of the woods and began to walk right toward us. When she got about 50-60 feet away she turned and trotted alongside the road and disappeared into a gully. You never saw so many people jump out of cars with cameras!
We later boarded the Klondike Express for the 26 Glacier Cruise. We were a bit disappointed to find out that the smoke from forest fires was very thick in College Fjord so for health reasons we would not be going into that Fjord (the one with the majority of the glaciers for the day), but would cruise around Esther Island instead. After they served a lunch of fish and chips, we did get to cruise into Harriman Fjord to view 4 glaciers, the biggest and best being Surprise Glacier. It was spectacular and we were able to see a few calving events (where blocks of the glacier ice fall into the water). We also watched playful porpoise jumping and playing alongside our catamaran. The day was also filled with sightings of bald eagles, Stellar Sea Lions and Harbor Seals lounging on the glacial icebergs, lots of Sea Otters floating along on their backs, some with very cute babies napping on mother’s tummy. Look close the baby has its head towards moms tail end. We even saw a man and his dog out paddeling next to the ice bergs.Tomorrow will be a day of rest, catching up on laundry, and generally just enjoying a day of hanging out in camp. We still have a beautiful glacier and waterfall right out the door so we won’t feel sensory deprived.
Friday, July 10, 2009
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