Glacier Bay National Park.

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is a highlight of this cruise and one of the main reasons we chose it.

We experience the park from the ship without docking. A permit is required for cruise ships to enter Glacier Bay. They are limited, but we chose this cruise specifically because it has a permit to enter the bay. Our ship headed up the fjord last night.

The sun was rising but hidden by fog, making the morning crisp despite our three layers of clothing - otherwise, I'd say it was coooold.

The fog was THICK. Every 2 minutes the fog horn would blow (video attached). 30 seconds later an answering blast from another ship somewhere off our starboard side. And if we listened very carefully, another one much further away.

The early highlights were the small breaks in the fog: a gap would expose a ray of sunlight, igniting a bit of color over the water or upon a mountainside. But then the wildlife began to entertain us. It started with an otter sighting - at least we thought it was an otter. Another sighting confirmed it, and soon otters were so plentiful that we stopped pointing them out.

The whale sighting that followed began with My Lovely pointing out the spray. A dark spot under the surface and a few tail flaps were all we got, but it was the first whale we've seen together.

The morning was still young - we had gotten up at 5:30am to be on deck by 6, and it wasn't yet 7. The treats were rolling in now. As the sun rose higher, the fog became scarcer, leaving patches that highlighted the mountainscapes. The views were in a constant state of change.

Shortly after rangers boarded the ship, we were alerted to a bear sighting on shore. Far in the distance, we spotted a mother and two cubs. We continued up the fjord as it narrowed, our goal being the Marjorie glacier. We began to see more ice in the water - what they call 'berg bits.' These are pieces broken off the glacier, not full icebergs.

Roughly four hours after our early start, we reached the glacier. The captain put the ship in 360° mode, rotating it several times so everyone on board could take it in. After a full half hour of "sit 'n spin", we began our reverse trek, possibly 500 photos richer.

The glacier was awesome. The view was great but for me, understanding what a glacier is, how it moves and what it leaves behind is powerful.

The photos of the glacier were great. The trip to the glacier was the bigger treat.

As usual, the photos are fabulous, but they don't truly capture the beauty, and nothing conveys what we shared. But as always, we have footprints to remind us.

43 National Parks for My Lovely. More to come.

More pics of the fabulous Glacier Bay in post 2...

Edit:

Hours after I wrote this footprint, My Lovely opened drapes in our room and began to ooh and aah again. She said that she had seen many beautiful views and mountainscapes but that nothing compares to grandeur like this. Nothing compares this.Read more