Alaska - Glacier Bay National Park

Alaska contains eight of our nations national parks, four of which can only be visited by flying into.  As this is an incredibly expensive proposition, I have chosen to fly into only one, Katmai National Park.  More to come on this as we visit Katmai in July. 

 

Another one of Alaska's national parks, Glacier Bay, can only be visited by sea, most conveniently and inexpensively by way of cruise ship.  Full disclosure:  I am not and have never been a happy cruiser.  My friend Kiora says cruising is her happy place.  I am glad she finds joy in cruising; apparently so do millions of other folk.  But for me, cruising is an exercise in frustration and only provides me the opportunity to truly practice patience as I am not a fan of crowds, lines, or group touring.  As only two cruise lines have access to Glacier Bay, we chose Princess Cruiselines and began our expedition from Seattle.  

First stop; Juneau where I attempted to leave the crowds behind by hiking to the top of Mount Gastineau.  Alas, I was thwarted by the still waist-deep and slushy melting snow.

Next stop; Skagway where once more I attempted an off-the-grid and out-of-the-hordes hike to Laughton Glacier.  Again, the snow this early in the year was too deep to navigate, so we opted to explore the wee town, ride the White Pass and Yukon Route Railway, and even get in a couple of nearby hikes.  

Happily for us, we unknowingly stumbled upon another national park, the most delightful Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park in Skagway, which we found enlightening, entertaining, and quite fun.  It contained one of the better displays we've seen while visiting national park sites. 

                                                 

The last stop of the cruise was in the wee colorful town of Ketchikan where we hiked The Rainbird Trail through the boreal rainforest, visited The Ketchikan Totem Park, and explored the tourist route along the river.  The weather proved unseasonably warm and dry; I'm convinced the cruise gods had simply taken pity on me.

But the highlight of the cruise was our day spent cruising Glacier Bay National Park. 

To most, it would seem that a cruise can hardly be considered a hardship.  But for me, there were more challenges than delights, and I truly had moments of great consternation.  Aaron proves to be much more tolerant of the crowds, mediocre food, disappointing entertainment, and incessant lines, and he actually finds some joy and pleasure in the whole experience.  All I have to say is that I went on this cruise as the only way for me to enjoy Glacier Bay, and thankfully it did not disappoint.  The bay was simply spectacular, and the weather could not have been better.  Because of the sheer size of our ship, there was plenty of deck space for us to spread out and enjoy the scenery.  We pulled a lounge chair up to the railing for the day and basked in the glorious warm sunshine, completely enthralled by the stupendous scenery.  Equipped with good binoculars and a most observant husband, we spotted hundreds of sea otters, several hump-back whales, a pod or two of dolphins, mountain goats clinging precipitously to sheer cliffs, bald eagles in great numbers, and even a grizzly on a distant shore.  Equally mesmerizing were the glaciers we visited inside Glacier Bay:  Marjorie, Johns Hopkins, Lamplugh, and Grand Pacific Glaciers to name the biggest most impressive ones

The impossible blue hues of the glaciers, the icebergs and wildlife in the bay, the glorious warm sunshine, the stupendous and endless snow-capped mountains surrounding us, and the world's best travel companion combined to make this day in Glacier Bay worth all the effort, expense, and frustration of reaching it.  How glorious and incredible the glaciers and the bay are; they simply cannot be described.  I can hardly wait to explore Alaska on my terms and schedule without the crowds later this summer.