Glacier Bay - Whales & Otters by the hundreds...

 

Crossing Icy Strait this morning.   Wow.

Early morning selfie from John & Susan in Hoonah as we were leaving at 0645 (6:45am).

Don't they look all perky and awake!
Saying goodbye to Hoonah.


Looking back towards Hoonah (which is actually off to the left in this photo).
Three cruise ships in Port Hoonah.  That would make for a very busy day for the Hoonahese... (I just made that word up).

Also, that makes it a good time to leave...

Out in Icy Strait looking west towards the Fairweather Range.  Unfortunately, we can't see the higher peaks that we now know are there.

When we were on this same route a few years ago, we never saw the mountain peaks, so we didn't know they were there back then either...




A half-dozen of these sight-seeing tour boats zoomed past us both coming and going to the whale viewing areas neat Point Adolphus. 
We leverage these sight-seeing boats by watching where they stop for there you find whales.

I reiterate, when we come upon whales, we slow down and do not alter our course to be nearer to them.   I both want to see the whales and I want to give them their space.  That's not an oxymoron; it's a rational accommodation.  Not everyone shares my particular point of view on this matter.

BTW, there is actually a whale in this photo.   The black dot below the far right boat is the whale's back.
And, of course, it started raining.   But fortunately, no wind.   As a stinkpotter (powerboater) I hate wind.   I used to love winds back when we were sailors...
Fortunately, the rain passed and the fog lifted a bit to yield this expansive view of the entrance to Glacier Bay.  We have to stay 1 mile away from land (like the point jutting out from the right in the photo) as that is where the humpbacks congregate to eat.

Otters, semi-technically, sea otters...  These have got to be the cutest little critters.  Were they the inspiration for George Lucas's ill-fated Ewoks?   The faces of the otters bear a striking resemblance to the Ewoks.  (FWIW, I hated the whole Ewok thing).
This is an otter raft.   There are perhaps 30+ members of this raft.   There are lots of otter rafts around of various sizes.
We made it!   Here is proof.
On the dock, we are greeted by this totem.
Our resident model, Susan, reenacting/hamming-up the scene where she is obtaining the highly desired National Park Stamp.
Not to be outdone by his wife, John is doing his "Killroy was here" thing.  Can you spot him?
Selfie with Snow, a 45' pregnant female humpback whale that was unfortunately killed when she was hit by a cruise ship.
A field of Nootka Lupine.   These beautiful flowers graced the southern shore of Bartlett Cove in Glacier Bay.
The Lodge at Glacier Bay.   After we were officially oriented, we stopped in for lunch and a tour of the gift shop.   We did our part to support the local economy.

I had the Sockeye Salmon BLT and I can report that it was really really good.  Loads of Cholula and black pepper helped a lot!

Back aboard Blue Redd we headed deeper into the bay.  Our goal for the night is to get to S. Sandy Cove, on the east side of the bay/park.

This is the Holland America Line, Konnigsdam.   If the only way you can get here is by cruise ship, then do it.  Holland has an excellent program. That is the cruise line we took for our first visit up here.
Just some more scenery.

And then there were humpback whales.  Full video, below.


B'bye...

When you see the tail, the whale has gone deep.  That means you won't see them for a few minutes (up to 10 minutes).
The view from our anchorage tonight at S. Sandy Cove.   Are you jealous yet?


How about now?

Now?

Wimer Garbage Pasta dinner.  Garbage means a little bit of whatever veggies are around (mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach, artichokes, olives, capers, zucchini, etc.) with spicy Italian sausage, more spices, and a pasta.

Quite good, even great!

We paired that with a Long Cellars 2023 Reserve Cab Sauv.

We are living the dream.





I couldn't decide, so I just put all those photos into tonight's blog.

A beautiful little duck cruised on by.   Looks like it got something of interest.
This is looking down at a kelp leaf about 3' from the boat.   I thought this was particularly spectacular as it shows off the color of the deep milky-blue water.
No RummyKub tonight.   John & Susan try to teach us cribbage.   I'm afraid it is hopeless as I swear they just make-up the rules as we go along.

Regardless, we are having a blast as I think this is really a drinking game.
Just to give you a better sense of our experience, here is a 360 video of our anchorage.

Tonight's sunset, at 2305 (11:05pm).   I gotta get to bed!

Good Night, My Friends.

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