luluGlacier Bay…..a land reborn, a world returning to life, a living lesson in resilience.
I’m not sure what I most wanted to experience on this trip, but each new thing provided a special thrill, none more so than the glaciers. It is said there are more than 1,000 in Alaska continually retreating and advancing, often creating changes to their environment.
Whatever is seen at sea level is only a portion of the glacier which is likely to have originated some distance away and higher on the mountain.
The visible portion may not look large from a distance, but do not be deceived. It is likely to be hundreds of feet tall and more than a half mile wide.
Much of a glacier appears to be some shade of icy blue which I learned is a function of density and the way light is reflected.
The more color the denser the ice meaning that it contains very little air.
Sometimes a glacier has dirty looking areas resulting from mudslides that leave behind dirt that gets locked in the ice.
On occasion there is a loud crack followed by a chunk of ice breaking off and becoming an iceberg only 10% of which is visible above the water. These lovely pieces of floating ice can be very dangerous as the Titanic sadly experienced.
Though spotted in other areas, Glacier Bay is glacier heaven. There are hundreds of glaciers here most of which form in the Fairweather Mountains where snow builds up over the years and becomes ice. This one, that from a distance looks like a cloud, is Grand Pacific Glacier and stretches some 24 miles from the Canadian border to Glacier Bay.
Even with climate change being a concern, as long as snow keeps falling on the mountains it will be a long time before the glaciers disappear.
i so appreciate your visit and the comments you leave behind
Some things you’ve thought about doing for a long time aren’t always what you’d hoped they’d be, but that isn’t what we found to be true of an Alaskan cruise. Our seven days on Admiralty Dream exceeded expectations and took us to places full of wonder.
As with other places we would visit, much of Sitka’s economy depends on fishing for halibut, salmon and rockfish.
The days of wonder began when Admiralty Dream left the dock at Sitka and headed to open water and sights startlingly beautiful. 
As lovely as snow capped mountains were clouds hanging low splitting the mountains in half.
Though it doesn’t seem so, most of the mountains are higher than 5,000 feet which explains the snow. At that height, precipitation is snow and ice whereas at lower levels it becomes rain.
Because of those rocky surfaces rain cannot be absorbed so it is not unusual to see water cascading down the mountain creating some pretty impressive waterfalls. Should there be a few days without rain, rare I’m told, the waterfalls disappear.
Along the coast we stopped in places where we were exposed to new opportunity for discovery whether it be beachcombing
or learning about the Tlingit culture that has existed in southeast Alaska for hundreds of years. 
Theirs is a complex, socially organized matrilineal society whose stories and tradition are communicated in many ways. Tlingit stories that have been passed down through generations enhance knowledge of the physical changes that have occurred in southeast Alaska over the years.
It is impossible to capture the experience of seven days in one post, so you will have to come back for more about the days of wonder.