Alaska glaciers

Alaska, what adventure we had!

 I could go on forever with various images of Alaska

but I'll end this series with two great glaciers we

had the honor of viewing.

Both part of the Harding Icefield which consists of 40 glaciers and covers

1,100 square miles.

We took a 30 minute hike out to Exit Glacier.

Very humbling.

 The other awesome glacier we visited on our boat ride

was to the Aialik Glacier.

It was HUGE ....

... and as we came closer, the temperatures grew chillier

with all the ice that had calved into the sea.

And then, remarkably ...

we spotted some kayakers who had gotten out and walked

right up to the edge of the glacier.

Yikes!

Risk adverse me would NEVER be that close

out of fear of it crashing down upon me!

But that didn't happen to them and they worked their way 

back to their kayaks.

So this is going to wrap up the Alaska series.

Alaska

It was expansive

humbling

and beautiful.

Hope you enjoyed your journey with me.

Now it's time to get back to

the birds!

Have a great weekend, my friends!

Alaska's Kenai Fjords

 Well ... I'm finally back here to continue sharing our Alaska trip.  

Last week was spent with family (18 of us all together!!) 

in Florida, which left little time to visit here.  More on that later.

Now, back to Alaska.

From Seward, we booked a full day glacier and wildlife tour 

(for 16 of us photographers, nonetheless!)

 to Resurrection Bay, Aialik Bay, Northwestern Fjord and the Chiswell Islands.

We were guaranteed to see whales, porpoises, sea lions, sea otters and seabird rookeries.

And we were not disappointed!

 Apparently, 20,000 migrating gray and humpback whales pass by the Kenai Fjords each year.

We also visited the tidewater glaciers in 

Aialik Bay and Holgate Arm in the Kenai Fjords National Park.

But that will be for another post.

I'm including just a very small sampling of the sea critters we came upon.

Whale pods delighted us with their spray, porpoises chased us as we sped along, 

but it was the sea lions that amused me the most as they balanced

above crashing waves.

Hope you enjoyed.

Tomorrow, I'll share some of the awesome glaciers we came upon.

Later, my friends,

Alaska Boat Graveyard

Traveling Alaska by car was pretty awesome as you saw in my last post.

Even more cool is when you happen

upon  a scene

that is a photographer's dream! 

At least this for this girl.

~smile~

 

 I don't think many words are needed today's post.

Enjoy!

Hope your week is off to a great start.

I might be a bit absent this week since we 

are down in Anna Maria

enjoying a week of fun with

kids and grandkids.

Lots of sunshine, sunsets, and laughter.

Later, my friends!

 

There is a beauty ...

Alaska
"There is a beauty,
odd and distant at times, to this place
that is not lost in the darkness.
You yearn for these mountains,
ache to touch the skyline.
And sounding the wind's siren call
into your soul with each breath,
you are drawn to search
for its pulse,
full certain you will never hold it for long ..."
Author Unknown


We have been home for a couple of days and I've been sorting through my overwhelming supply of photos from our trip to Alaska.  Even in our original planning, we were overwhelmed with the choices of what to see.  But since we only had four days and wanted everything within driving distance from Anchorage, we settled upon the Kenai Peninsula which sets south of Anchorage.

And what a good choice that was!  The area was rich with glaciers, whales, hiking, little fishing towns, bears, moose, serious salmon fishing and high mountains.  I provided a map to give you a bit of an idea of the area we were in.  Our first night destination was Homer which sits on the south end of the peninsula and then two nights in Seward on the east side.  But more on those locations later.

As soon as we flew into Anchorage, we hit the road and drove down Highway 1, which some claim to be one of the world's great drives.  It is filled with wetlands, meadows and tundras as far as the eye can see.  Here is a very small sampling of our afternoon drive.

All kinds of transportation is used to get around this expansive state.

Trains, planes, boats, bikes, and automobiles.

With small seaplanes, you can get almost anywhere.

 

But for us, driving was the best choice.  We took in all this beauty and hopefully, here and there, catch a few critters along the way.  Bears are quite common along the roadway but unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, we never came upon any.

Bald eagles were everywhere but do you think I could ever capture a good photo.  Sheesh!

 Hope you enjoyed this drive with me.  

I have several more posts to share.  

Remember?  

I have over 2,000+ photos! 

*snort*

But I'll spare you Alaska overload. 

 It's just that is is a photographer's paradise!

Later my friends,