July 29, 2008 Day 30

Len and I went on a glacier/wild life tour on Wednesday out of Seward, AK. The boat left the dock at 10 a.m. The weather was rainy, windy, and cold. They warned us before we left that the seas were not optimal, and that they may not be able to make it all the way to the glacier. We had the option of cancelling and getting our money back, or, take our chances. We took our chances and boarded the boat (how many times does one get to Alaska, after all??). It wasn't even 20 minutes into our trip and the captain spotted some orca whales in the Resurrection Bay waters. As we rounded the peninsula and hit the open waters of the Gulf of Alaska, things started to get pretty rough. Several passengers got seasick. Fortunately, we did not. We got into calmer waters and the captain continued to point out wildlife. In the water we saw black seals, sea otters, puffins, jellyfish, and stellar sea lions. Male stellar sea lions can reach up to 2,000 lbs and they don't bark like black seals. They growl like lions! As we got closer to the glacier, we saw mountain goats, bald eagles, and black bear (on land, of course; not in the water, duh)

The Aialik Glacier was like something I've never seen. This particular glacier comes right up to the water's edge. The glacier wall is over 800 feet high at the water's edge. We were able to get within 1/4 mile of the glacier and witness a lot of "calving". Calving is where portions of the glacier break off and hit the water. You actually hear the "splash" about a second after it falls into the water.

On our way back to Seward, we were able to see a humpback whale (the largest of whales) "blow". A blow is where they surface and then exhale a huge spout of water, which can be seen up to a mile away. They then go back under for another 6-8 minutes of swimming before resurfacing again. They can resurface up to a mile from where they went under. Amazing!

The cruise tour also included an all-you-can-eat silver salmon and prime rib dinner on their private island: Fox Island. For an addtional $15 you could add a pound of Alaskan King crab legs (my favorite!).

It was an 8 and 1/2 hour cruise (lunch and dinner) and well worth it!! (pics attached)