Alaska, June24, 2025, Baby, it's cold outside

 Ward and I recently took a trip to Alaska. We flew into Anchorage (via a stop in Seattle) and used our friends' house as our home base. I am chronicling our trip here.

Cascade, Berry, and Coxe Glaciers at the entrance to the Harriman Fjord in Prince William Sound.

Today's outing was the "26 Glacier Cruise" out of Whittier. Whittier is a small town in Prince William Sound, accessible only by boat or through a tunnel. The tunnel was initially designed for trains, but was later modified to accommodate cars as well. However, there is no 2-way traffic, so getting through the tunnel is carefully timed for trains and cars going inbound or outbound. We left early and got through a cycle earlier than planned, which gave us time to explore the town and the local museum.

The Whittier Tunnel under Maymard Mountain was built in 1943 to enable sea-going shipping to reach the interior of Alaska via the railroad.

The museum was a single room that highlighted the importance of the area during World War II and the Cold War, featuring local heroes and their stories. There were also first-hand accounts of the harrowing 1964 earthquake. Bo, who has visited the museum over the years, said it has really grown. When it first opened, the exhibit featured artifacts and index cards.

The 26 Glacier Cruise we were on supposedly went by 26 different glaciers. We didn't see that many because of the fog and rain. However, the promise of many glaciers is not the reason we booked this afternoon cruise. It was because it had a no-motion-sickness guarantee. I am prone to motion sickness, so when I saw this one, I said. "Sold!" It was also a favorite of Bo's, who went with us. BTW, it lived up to its promise of a big boat in calm waters.

The boat was a large catamaran, and we were joined by several hundred people on the outing. We sat in a booth with three other friendly tourists from Memphis. I was especially impressed with Ginny, who sat across from me, because she was an expert at spotting animals. The captain called out animals when he saw them and slowed down the boat, but Ginny saw some things he didn't. I called her Eagle Eyes and stayed with her at times while Ward and Bo went out on the deck for better looks. We saw more sea otters than anything else, but we also saw sea lions and humpback whales. Well, we saw their water spouts, but I did see a fin of one of them. Ward saw a harbor seal that I missed. Bo had a better camera than we did, so the animal pictures I'm posting were taken by him.

We sat in the upper cabin of the boat.

After lunch was served, people moved freely about the boat, both inside and out.

Sea otters

This sea otter had a baby riding on its belly.

Sea lions

This sea lion was enjoying an afternoon nap among the kittywinks.

The captain stopped the boat for a while in front of Surprise Glacier. Surprise Glacier was further up the Harriman Fjord from the three glaciers in the first picture. Perspective was hard to get here. The glacier looked about 400' across and about 400' away. In reality, it was 3/4 mile across and about 1/2 mile away. We saw several pieces of ice break off (calving) that didn't seem that big until we felt the large waves they generated. The captain said that one of them was one of the biggest he's seen. (The black stripe in the middle is the medial moraine.)

I hadn't realized before this cruise how blue glacial ice is. Think blue popsicle. 

The captain told us this was J. K. Rowling's yacht. It was huge! Harry Potter has rewarded her well.

On the way home, we stopped at Portage Lake overlook. It was beautiful, but I was cold. After a brief picture, I appreciated the beauty from the warmth of the car.

Bo dropped us off at the airport, so we could pick up a rental car to use for the rest of the trip. B had a much-appreciated dinner waiting for us.

Tune in tomorrow for when we spent the day chasing Denali.

Until next time...