Southward Bound

The view from our spot in Auke bay.

We had a hasty crew exchange in Juneau and welcomed aboard my mother, my cousin and his wife.

Thanks for all the fun Olmstead family, it was so great to see you!!!

Welcome aboard Momma!

We motored down to Taku Harbor for our first night out, then back to Tracy Arm Cove.

Seth and Leah are ready to explore the icebergs.

An especially decorative little iceberg.

Captain Rainbow Beard gives me a skeptical look.

Seth's new ice mask. That will be nice for drinks later.

Another dirty berg.

Mom can't get enough kayaking.

We've got glaciers for miles

The Lamplugh Glacier had a cave where the meltwater river flowed out.

Steve and Lisa enjoying the dinghy ride.

Tessa takes in the view.

A distant view of John Hopkins glacier. 

Some dirty bergs.

One of our many feasts. Nobody's losing weight around here.

 We were fishing for Dolly Varden but all we caught were bug bites.

Lisa and Tessa with the wind in their hair.

The end to another beautiful day.

Reid Glacier

Always a smile on that handsome face.

We anchored right in front of Reid Glacier.

A tasty berg bit.

A lovely stroll on the beach.

It was really fun to walk right up to the ice cliffs.

We resisted the urge for impromptu ice climbing, but it wasn't easy.

The silty mud was serious. We had to abandon shoes completely.

We played around in the soft mud, sliding and mucking about.

We were here!

He just can't help himself.

Margerie Glacier

Aquamarine waters. The pool is open!

Alden gets the perfect shot.

On our way to the next attraction.

We're bundled up but the view is worth it.

Alden's ready for action!

It's gorgeous!

We are loving it all.

Jess keeps a lookout at the bow.

The Margerie Glacier was very impressive. We turned the engines off and listened to it crack and rumble.

This calls for celebration!

We all cuddled on the bow bench to watch the show.

Yukon Jack basks in the icy awesomeness.

This tidewater glacier will be hard to beat.

Glacier Bay

Glacier bay: also known as the most difficult park to get into in the whole wide world. We had to pledge our first born child in order to seal the deal.

We're off in the wildcat to explore the icebergs and glaciers.

Tessa makes a great figurehead.

Some of our scenery...

A very impressive glacier hiding around the corner.

"Everyone's favorite job is baiting the crab pots," said Alden with a delicate gag. 

Tessa and Jess watch Alden do the dirty work.

Some father and son fishing time at the end of their first day on the boat together.

Most Awesome Day

The day started with a paddle which included dual grizzly viewing.

Followed by a beautiful cruising day back to Auke Bay.

And then the coolest whale ever.

We watched him blowing bubble circles, herding fish up towards the surface. The gulls would swoop in, grabbing the trapped fish and showing us right where the whale was about to come up.

Then a big gulp at the surface! We watched the performance repeated several times. At one point the whale was right off the front of the boat. We watched a trail of bubbles appear and trace its way in an arc closer and closer to us until we were holding our breath, almost worried that the whale was just below us, wondering how well he understood our position. Then the arc would curve away and complete its circle, the gulls would swoop in and out and a moment later a big, dark, gaping mouth erupted up from the foamy water. Then the mouth closed and the whale sunk back into the water, almost in slow motion, and leaving us all with our mouths hanging open.

Pics from Alden's camera are on the way. 

We watched this single whale performing for over an hour before turning our boat back towards harbor. As we motored off we got one final hurrah, a great big breach to say goodbye.

We arrived in Auke Bay late, barely finding a place to squeeze into and had dinner around 10pm.