Saturday, May 31, 2014

Alaska: Day Six - Stephen's Passage & Dawes Glacier



On Day Six, our ship went up into Stephen's Passage.  

from here


Our captain told us that he decides based on weather conditions which fork of the passage to go up to give the best view of glaciers, and he chose the Endicott arm in our case, so we got to see the Dawes Glacier (and another one that I didn't discover the name of).


I wore this:


Stephen's Passage


We got up much earlier than we did most of the other days because the captain said that we'd be closest to the glacier around 7:30 am.  So we hopped right up and got dressed and went up to the deck to eat breakfast and LOOK!


My sweet Mom in front of a glacier (not Dawes Glacier)

As the ship cruised up the canal, we saw icebergs in the water.



Some of the icebergs were amazingly BLUE!

There were waterfalls everywhere


and the water was very smooth.





Further up, the water was a beautiful bluey-green color 
(because it's silty freshwater meltoff from glaciers and snow)


Then we got to a smallish bay-like area where it didn't seem as if the ship could go any farther.
The captain kept the ship in the same spot for 30 minutes or so and made the ship just spin in a circle so everyone could see everything on all sides.  There were glaciers on more than one side, beautiful shiny (thanks to ice and water runoff!) rock walls, and rushing waterfalls.  It is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.


the blue in between the mountains is a glacier


And suddenly, there was Dawes Glacier! 




 This photo should give you some sense of the size of this beast.
We weren't really close enough to touch it, though it sort of looks in this photo as if we were.


Shiny rock walls


Dawes Glacier with reflections and grass rocks



Rugged, steep mountains with fog


Another glacier (between the mountains) with a rushing stream


Close-up of the stream



Shiny rock walls with reflections in the water



Are the rocks made of glass?!


After the ship spun slowly around for a while, the captain steered us back down Stephen's Passage towards Ketchikan.  We didn't get tired of looking or taking photos!


Greg


There was even an iceberg shaped like a heart!



me with icebergs




It was chilly, though (probably in the low 40s), so I had some hot tea


Dawes Glacier in the background


here you can see me, the beautiful water, and some landscape rushing by


As we were getting out of the Passage, we noticed a strange line in the water . . . 



Even the texture of the two waters seemed different.



It was fresh glacial runoff meeting salty sea water!






Then it was time to get ready for dinner.


I wore a yellow dress.


It was another formal night, and our server had conferred with me beforehand to arrange a "happy anniversary" celebration for my parents (this trip is to celebrate their 45th anniversary - what a milestone!)
The servers are amazing - he happened to hear us saying that this was an anniversary trip and he brought it up to me secretly and came up with the whole plan.  Thanks, Evangelisto!

There was a small cake with a candle and some singing.




Evangelisto also made a rose out of a napkin as a gift.




Another server made some fun napkin origami items for us.

I got a boot!


Cora got Speedy Gonzales!
And when Jillian tried to take him away, Cora grabbed him and clasped him tight.  She loved him!


This night, I tried Baked Alaska for dessert!  
Under the cream, I found three different flavors of ice cream - yum!


I also had a strawberry moussey thing which was extremely good.


We had some photos taken.
Can you pick out my parents and Jillian and Cora across the rotunda?


That was Day Six!
See you tomorrow for our visit to Ketchikan!


Bonus photo for today: the vacuums used on the ship!
Doesn't this little guy make you happy?

1 comment:

  1. What a delightful account of our beautiful day!!!!! You definitely are a great blogger! Loved the map of the inside passage and the Speedy Gonzales/Cora picture. She looks like the tease she was when she pulled the napkin away!!!! 😁

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