Saturday, July 18, 2009 – Seward, AK
Today we took a boat tour into Kenai Fjords National Park. The young ones (yes, that included Chrissy and me!) took the full day tour of Resurrection Bay and Aialik Bay. The older folks took a half day tour that stayed in Resurrection Bay.
We departed Seward early in the morning and were treated to beautiful morning views of the bay and the mountains all around. It rained most of the day but it didn’t diminish the experience at all. In fact, after 90-degree weather in Denali the cool, wet day felt good.
On the way out of Resurrection Bay we saw a few puffins, bald eagles, and Dall porpoise. And also some kayakers. Even though we were warm and dry on our tour boat, I was still jealous of the kayakers.
As we cruised through Aialik Bay and approached Aialik Glacier, the captain cut the motor so we could hear the sounds of the glacier calving. It was amazing to see and hear the incredible wall of ice as it creaked and groaned its way to the sea. As we watched, a section calved off of the glacier face. They say everything’s bigger in Texas, but Texas has nothing on Alaska. The sheer size of the glacier was evident in the long delay from when we saw the ice fall until when we heard the noise. It was the opposite of a car’s rearview mirror – objects in view were farther than they appeared.
Lunch on the boat was a buffet with prime rib, salmon, and various sides. It was all very good, and my jealousy of the kayakers waned a little further.
As we moved through the open water from Aialik Bay back to Resurrection Bay we came upon a super-pod of Orca. Once again the captain stopped so we could enjoy the sight of them swimming and diving about. As we moved on from the Orca we came upon a humpback whale. Then, on rock outcroppings as we entered Resurrection Bay there were many sea lions. They were not there when we departed, but definitely arrived in large numbers while we were gone. Also many seagulls and several more puffins than we saw on the way out. The boat tour was a great idea and a great way to spend our last full day in Seward.
Where Are We Going Now? 
Looks like you were able to see all the highlights people generally hope for on an Alaskan cruise. Nice pictures. Thanks.
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