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Friday, June 06, 2008

Tracey Arm Fjord

You have waited patiently. It is time to show you the next stage of our trip - a cruise up Tracey Arm Fjord to Sawyer Glacier. A fjord is pass made as a glacier melts; as it moves back, the rocks and mountains reveal themselves. It was COLD outside... luckily we didn't have to get off the boat. It was amazing.

I hope you enjoy all of these landscape pics!!

Mom and my step-dad bundled up against the cold weather. The coffee got cold FAST.


This looks like an avalanche came sliding down the mountain and took out most of the trees.


I was sitting in our cabin warming up... I took this picture of Carl while he was outside. Can you believe how close we were to the cliffs?

We got word from our captain that our sister ship - the Star Princess - was up at the glacier and heading back. We were going to pull over and wait for her to pass. She is the exact replica of our ship, so to see her is like looking in a mirror at ourselves.


While waiting on her to appear I took some pictures from the top of the ship. We only stayed out there long enough to see the ship pass.

This looks like another avalanche site...

I called this Boob Mountain. Can you see why?

Here she comes out of the mist. Look how tiny she is compared to the mountains surrounding her!


Closer...

Again, she is so small... and there are thousands of people on her. Makes you feel a little insignificant doesn't it?



What was fun was as she passed by, we saw camera flashes going off like crazy. They were taking pictures of us and we were taking pictures of them. We were all yelling "hey!!!" at each other and could hear hundreds of voices.

One of the coolest experiences I have ever had. Another one I will never forget.


After the Star Princess passed us, we headed on up to the glacier. The entire trip up took about 4 hours.




Our first look at the ice field in front of the glacier. The Star only went this far. Our captain decided to be more bold and headed INTO the ice field. They don't call him "Ice Man" for nuttin'.




I loved this waterfall next to our ship. It came down the mountain and then spread out over this rock formation. We were told that if you were to stick your hand in the waterfall, your hand would be flash frozen. Now THAT is cold.


Up we go into the ice field. If you look to the left of the picture you will see the cracks our ship is making in the field. It kept getting larger and larger. Mom - who doesn't swim - was trying hard not to freak out.


This is a look behind the ship. You can see just how far we have gone into the ice field. Remember, our cabins were on the back of the ship!


And the glacier... it looks like a huge waterfall. It is a mile and a half wide and 250 miles long. It goes into Canada.


Me and my hubby. I had on a t-shirt, sweatshirt, and TWO coats. I don't think I have ever been so cold in my life.


And one last story. At dinner one night, Carl and I were talking to a couple from Australia. We were discussing Tracey Arm and John (the man of the couple - duh) got all excited. He told us that as we were leaving the area, he and a bunch of folks were in the dining room eating dinner. All of a sudden they saw movement on the cliffs. It was a bear chasing a mountain goat down the side of the mountain!

Can you imagine? I would have loved to have seen that, but our cabin was on the other side of the ship. Bummer.
I took so many more pictures, but I don't want to bore you too much. I thought these were the best of the bunch. Next? Ketchican.

6 comments:

Teri said...

God, how beautiful and awesome these pictures are.

I'm glad you had such a good time.

CindyDianne said...

Thanks Marni. They are great pictures. I am so glad you got to experience this!

Biddie said...

Those photos are fabu. I am not into cold destinations, but with this heat and that landscape?
Looks good to me!

Joe said...

Not boring at all! Those pictures are wonderful. My bride has said that the only cruise she'd ever be interested in going on would be one up in Alaska. I'll have to show here these pictures.

Canadian flake said...

wowzers these are simply amazing...I can't even imagine being there. Thanks so much for sharing.

Valerie said...

It's crazy to see how small the ships are next to the mountains/glaciers.

I love all the amazing scenery.