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| View out our Bus Window; Pass Lake |
By bus to Seward for another "boat tour". Although the Kenai Fjiords boat tour out of Seward also includes a viewing of a Tidewater Glacier (Harding Glacier, named after the only President who has visited Alaska), the sea life that one may expect to see is more numerous and decidedly different that what one might see out of Whittier. This day would prove my point.
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| One of the Not-Sickly Seven; Seward in the background |
The boat trip out from Seward to Kenai Fjiords National Park took an hour or more. During this time we enjoyed views of each other as well as views of the mountain scenery. Certain people to pre-emptive Dramamine to prevent any possibility of sea-sickness. They were totally successful in their actions, although how anyone could get
mal a mer on such calm waters was incomprehensible to an old swabbie like Grumpy [he got a mild case!].
Later, further out on the water, a Mountain View somewhat similar to the one from the bus window demanded to be remembered with a photograph. There were many more similar views as we passed along this inlet out of Seward. All of these inlets (some are called "fjiords") are evidence of great glaciers flowing out of the mountains that surround them.
The sighting of a Mountain Goat ewe (mother/Nannie) and her Kid (baby/goatling?) dictated a stop for a few moments so all could crowd to the Starboard side of the boat (a Catamaran hull) to take a hundred photos. Grumpy caught this and three others with the telephoto capability of his little Panasonic video/still camera.
Later, someone spotted this pair of Bald Eagles sitting in a Spruce tree. Their nest is about three "eagle body lengths" below the left-most Eagle. The Bald Eagle is the National Bird of the United States (Benjamin Franklin thought it ought to be the wild turkey). There are actually more Bald Eagles in Canada than in the U.S. Their primary food in this part of North America is fish -- salmon in the late Summer and ealry Fall when the salmon are migrating upstream to spawn (lay and fertilize eggs for the next generation of salmon).
Still later some seals were noticed sunbathing on some rocks. Each sighting of an animal resulted in the boat Captain (a Lady named Laura) to reward her passengers with generous opportunities to photograph the subject.
And so it was that when some Humpback whales were seen breaching [full body leap out of the water and slamming broadside back down to the surface!] a prolonged stop was made. Unfortunately none of the Octogenarian Seven were quick enough with their cameras to capture this two or three times repeated antic.
At last we reached the ultimate destination: the Harding Glacier, so-named because Warren Harding was the first (and so far, the only) President to visit Alaska. The Ice Field which occupies most of the Kenai Peninsula from just North of Seward, all the way to the South-most tip, is also named for President Harding. Many glaciers flow out of the Harding Ice Field; most are Tidewater glaciers, but some, such as Exit Glacier (just North of Seward), are very easily accessible by foot. A road leads to the foot of Exit Glacier [Grumpy was able to walk up and touch the "toe" of Exit when he visited Alaska in 1990 and 1995].
The tour boat remained close to the Harding Glacier for about 15 or 20 minutes. It was hoped that a significant "calving" would take place; Grumpy had his video going, "just in case". He took some "stills" of the face to compare with photos he had taken 18 years ago, to see how much the glacier had receded since then. Grumpy noted that, on his previous visits, the rock outcroppings that can be seen in this later photo, were completely covered by the glacier then.
The Harding Glacier refused to "cooperate" with a big calving -- or even a decent little one while we watched.
Later, someone spotted this pair of Bald Eagles sitting in a Spruce tree. Their nest is about three "eagle body lengths" below the left-most Eagle. The Bald Eagle is the National Bird of the United States (Benjamin Franklin thought it ought to be the wild turkey). There are actually more Bald Eagles in Canada than in the U.S. Their primary food in this part of North America is fish -- salmon in the late Summer and ealry Fall when the salmon are migrating upstream to spawn (lay and fertilize eggs for the next generation of salmon).
The tour boat remained close to the Harding Glacier for about 15 or 20 minutes. It was hoped that a significant "calving" would take place; Grumpy had his video going, "just in case". He took some "stills" of the face to compare with photos he had taken 18 years ago, to see how much the glacier had receded since then. Grumpy noted that, on his previous visits, the rock outcroppings that can be seen in this later photo, were completely covered by the glacier then.
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