It's been a few years since I visited southeast Alaska and I had almost forgotten just how green it is! This was a trip on the Lindblad/National Geographic
Sea Lion, one of the ships I used to work on. I was lecturing as a Study Leader for Smithsonian Journeys. There were 23 wonderful and gracious Smithsonian travelers but the entire ship manifest listed 54 passengers. It was great to come back to this part of the world.
Our first stop was at the Eagle Recovery Center in Sitka, where injured eagles are rehabilitated for release into the wild
A look at one of the twelve totem poles at Sitka National Historic Park
Sunset at 10:30 PM near the Pacific Ocean entrance to the Sitka area
The beauty of George Island, another section of southeast Alaska very close to the open waters of the Pacific Ocean
Mossy tree branches. Everything is so green!
We saw many brown bears on this trip. Their populations seem to be doing quite well here.
A colorful garage with fishing gear in Petersburg
Reflections in the harbor at Petersburg. Sons of Norway Hall
Trails in southeast Alaska are built of planks and are quite pleasant to walk on
The Marguerite Glacier in Glacier Bay National Park!
After entering the Endicott Arm, we began seeing blue icebergs!
In the not too distant past, this U-shaped valley contained a glacier
This is the Dawes Glacier in Endicott Arm
We saw a calving of the glacier and here you can see the big splash from the ice fall. The height of the ice is almost 180 feet!
Here's a picture of one of our zodiacs cruising in the icebergs
And a look at the Sea Lion in Endicott Arm
In Juneau, the capital of Alaska, we arrived at the end of our trip during the famous "Celebration", when the Native people parade downtown. This man was way into it!
And a close-up of his face
It's been a wonderful day. We drove right up the edge of the Grand Canyon in the train, and took a tour with Wayne Ranney, a geologist who had been traveling with us and lecturing since we left Albuquerque. He is very knowledgeable, so it was a real treat to tour some of the highlights of the South Rim with him. We purchased his book, Carving Grand Canyon, and I look forward to reading it as he was such a delightful tour guide.
