May 24, 2009

Glacier Bay






Today: Started the day at the swapmeet where G found a Tonka towtruck and a Tonka car carrier. Bought tickets for the Smithsonian movie, stopped by Restoration Hardware, and found the new headquarters of . I found a stone flooring I was passionate about, but there wasn’t a corner cupboard to be had. I also found a first edition James Beard on Pasta at the swap meet for a buck. Amethyst neck piece too. He says we are spending his bonus.

Himself: Had a lot of fun window shopping.

Herself: Some of these images have been played with in Photoshop Elements. You knew that. I’ve cropped them, used a dodger to highlight, heightened the contrast, and adjusted the sharpness of the images. I did this only to mine and left G’s alone.

Reading: James Beard on Pasta.

Balance: Check out Henry's Obsession as Mr. Hudson channels his thoughts about the new world to friendly bloggers of this time.

The National Park Service writes, “As recently as 1750 a single glacier thousands of feet thick filled what is now a 65-mile long fjord.” Now the glaciers are retreating and, “exposed a resilient land that hosts a succession of marine and terrestrial life. Here is an opportunity to see how the physical world shapes the biological.”







Glacier Bay was first surveyed by George Vancouver. There was a mere indentation in the shoreline. By 1916, the biggest glacier had shrunk up into the fiord 60 miles. John Muir and other conservationists convinced the government to declare this parkland in 1925. By 1992, Glacier Bay and Park were declared a World Heritage Site.



G and I knew only a little of this when we began our trek. We woke this day to find ourselves at the mouth of the fiord, and we hurried breakfast so we could go out onto the bow well cushioned by our winter wrappings.. Slowly as we advanced up between towering snow clad mountains, the way narrowed until the first glacier could be seen.




We spent over five hours out there on the bow glued to the dramatic scenery surrounding us. I rarely moved from the nose of the ship; G wandered side to side. He who hates pea soup even ate a bowl of HAL’s hot Dutch Pea Soup. I assure you that it was delicious. It was chillingly cold above the bow and even by the bridge the cold winds cut through to the bone. Just back from the tip of the bow, there was little wind and our Southern California padding served us well.




I was very tired as we began our departure from Glacier Bay. It truly was a marvelous day to remember. One of the Giant HAL ships was just pulling in as we headed back out to sea. They were faint and far away as we turned south down the coast to Ketchikan and the totems.

2 comments:

  1. beautiful! wonder what it must be like to stand there all alone on under a full moon...? (cold.)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Such beauty in nature. I envy you being able to be there and see it first hand.

    ReplyDelete

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