One of the trips I was most looking forward to, as well as dreading a bit, was the small boat wildlife viewing trip on the Steller Sunrise, a vessel that carries about 10 passengers into Resurrection Bay, the Gulf of Alaska, and up into the fjords of the south Alaska coast to look at glaciers. I was excited about it because of the potential for seeing whales, porpoises, birds, sea lions, and seals. I was worried because it was an eight hour trip, and I didn't want to get sea sick.
We got the little "button" wrist bands, and whether they were the reason or not, I am happy to say that neither Doreen nor I got even a little squeamish on the ride.
And what a fantastic ride it was!
It was about 100 miles (Seward at the top) and we just really enjoyed the trip.
Well, it was cold.
partly because we chose to be at the front of the boat during the whole outgoing trip. We wanted to have the best view:
and we did. We were also the first to see the Dall Porpoises
that look sort of like little Orcas, or Killer Whales.
We rode by some wonderful bird nesting islands (one called The Beehive, as the birds look like bees circling above)
where we saw Puffins (both Horned and tufted), Kittiwakes (only Black-Legged), Murres (common), Sooty Petrals, Pigeon Guillemots, and more.
And as we got farther along, we also saw Orcas:
which the skipper said were from the resident, not the transient pods. I am not sure how they could tell, but they did say that the resident pods feed mainly on fish, the transient on sea mammals. And the two pods never mix.
At one point you could almost reach out to touch them.
We also saw Harbor Seals sleeping on rocks in the bay:
and Steller Sea Lions as well:
All these tours stop by the Holgate Glacier as about the half way point. (The boat provided sandwiches, per se, for lunch)
The Holgate Glacier is fed from the Harding Ice Field, the largest remaining ice mass in North America.
If you look in the water, you see little chunks of the glacier. The crew would fish them out and use them to cool down drinks:
And what a fantastic ride it was!
Well, it was cold.
partly because we chose to be at the front of the boat during the whole outgoing trip. We wanted to have the best view:
and we did. We were also the first to see the Dall Porpoises
(from the Hooper Museum. The only image not my own)
We rode by some wonderful bird nesting islands (one called The Beehive, as the birds look like bees circling above)
And as we got farther along, we also saw Orcas:
We also saw Harbor Seals sleeping on rocks in the bay:
and Steller Sea Lions as well:
All these tours stop by the Holgate Glacier as about the half way point. (The boat provided sandwiches, per se, for lunch)
The Holgate Glacier is fed from the Harding Ice Field, the largest remaining ice mass in North America.
If you look in the water, you see little chunks of the glacier. The crew would fish them out and use them to cool down drinks:
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