(Map of Endicott Arm/fjord and glacier. The glacier appears on the right, looks like frozen rivers.)
Tuesday, we turned East into the Endicott fjord, on our way to see our first glacier up close. Even before breakfast, we’d noticed increasing amounts of blue ice in the water.
(You can click on pictures to see larger.)
We were finishing breakfast when as we turned a corner, I caught my first glimpse of the glacier in the distance. I ran back to grab the camera and get up on deck (in the rain, natch) to get pictures of our approach.
We kept moving in closer to the glacier, until we were only a few hundred feet away. Then the captain did an amazing thing: for the next two hours he spun our 900 ft. long ship slowly on its axis in the narrow fjord, (three or four complete rotations) so that everyone would have a good view! Those dark stripes you see are not tire tracks, but rather sediment, including large boulders, that have been picked up and dragged by the glacier. I was lucky enough to get to see one big piece toward the left calve off, with a crack and loud boom. Unfortunately, didn’t get the camera on and focused quickly enough to catch it.
The sound near the glacier was like a giant cocktail, or maybe a bowl of Rice Krispies, a constant crackling and popping of ice. Yes, it really is this color!
The local seals like to hang out on the bits of calved glacial ice. BRRRR! (But they seemed quite content and comfortable.)
Magnificent, isn’t it?
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Yes, it looks like a different planet!
AHHH…now that is priceless capture. i can only imagine how breath taking it must be up close and personal.
Stunning photos, Pseu!
Amazing pictures! Thank you so much! I’ve always heard how magnificent the towel animals were, but until now I hadn’t really seen any great pictures. (The glacier is nice too.)
Pseu! OMG – I did not know there was a glacier named ‘Endicott’ — we have a small town here in my county (whose main claim to fame is that it is where IBM got its start) named..Endicott, New York. And it gets pretty darned cold there in the winter time, but we never had glaciers.
Whoa. This earth that God made is magnificent.
We long to replicate these colours in man-made objects, but it’s not quite the same. Awesome in the original sense, thank you!
Oops, that’s me about the colour, I guess my son was logged on Blogger.
Majestic, even. How amazing to see it in person.
I’m sitting here with my eyes and mouth open. What a beautiful site. I can only imagine how much better it was close up like you saw it!
That color in glacial ice is truly haunting. You did a great job of capturing it!
Pictures are lovely but they just don’t do them justice. There is something about seeing them in person that just took my breath away.
Rita – a different planet is a good way to describe it!
Erin – it truly was breathtaking.
Karen – yes it certainly is amazing and awesome.
Materfamilias – thanks!
dollcannotfly – yes, the towel animals were pretty impressive too.
😉
Sal – I’d definitely recommend this as a “must see”. It’s an amazing thing.
Toby Wollin – I wonder if the Endicott’s for whom both are named were related?
Duchesse – Exactly, the color is almost surreal it’s so intense.
Sher – it really is amazing up close. I highly recommend an Alaksa cruise, as it’s a great way to see so much of the beauty of the area.
LBR – so true! It’s absolutely breathtaking in person.
Audi – thanks! I’m going to have some pics up next week of another glacier we visited, and more great shots of that color. I was absolutely entranced by it.