We were not able to enter Tracy Arm because the ice was still too thick for safe passage, so the captain chose instead to cruise up Endicott Arm to the Dawe’s Glacier, which in the Captain’s opinion, is the more spectacular of the two.
When we cruised to within two miles of the Dawe’s Glacier, the pilot brought our ship around so that the starboard side had a full-on view of the glacier. Ten minutes later, he continued the maneuver until we on the port had the same opportunity to view this magnificent natural phenomena. We remained this far from the glacier because from the sea to the top of the leading edge, the glacier is 200’ thick and the calving of a large chunk of ice could jeopardize the safety of the Star Princess and her passengers.
Once we all had the opportunity to view the glacier, we continued on as our second mate informed us that we would be passing the Golden Princess who was behind us in queue, awaiting her turn for the view. What is so serendipitous about this is that our friends, Chuck La Grave and Lou Kravitz, are onboard the Golden Princess, so as they passed, we videoed their passage to later give to them. As the two ships passed, a roar from the crowds on both ships arose in our hails to each other.
We arrived in Juneau at 2 pm, and disembarked the ship under cloudless skies with temperatures in the mid 70’s. A more warm and dry summer this region has not seen in years!
We window shopped the downtown bounty of Juneau’s tourist district and then returned to the pier for a bus trip to the Mendenhall Glacier. We had only one hour to visit this massive glacier. The visitor’s center is located where the leading edge of the glacier had been in 1957, Between 1980 and 1999, it retreated an average of 90 feet a year. Then, in 2000, it lost 300 linear feet and in 2004, 600 linear feet. Who says there is no such thing as global warming!
After our trip to the Mendenhall Glacier, we were treated to a traditional Alaskan salmon bake. Now I don’t want to get too puffed up, but Susan and my salmon on a plank, baked in our Weber grill is far, far better than what we consumed today and our side dishes are much more scrumptious and creative as well. If this sounds like an invite for y’all to visit, it is.
Weary from today’s journeys, we retired to the ship, ordered a bottle of wine, and even as we post this, we are sitting on our balcony at 10:30 pm with no coats, enjoying a balmy 68 degree Juneau evening.
No comments:
Post a Comment