Alaska!!! #4

Friday and Saturday of our trip we stayed on the ship and the ship took us to some wonderful places.  On Friday we went into Glacier Bay, a national park that has beautiful glaciers and used to be the home of the Native Americans who now live on Huna.  (I think they are called the Tlingit).  We had a national park ranger narrate our passage through the park, letting us know when he spotted animals, glaciers, or whatever.  There are only 5 growing glaciers in Alaska and we got to see 2 of them.  They are constantly moving and progressing and they pop or crack, which sounds like a gun, and moan which sounds like thunder.  We were also able to witness the glacier calving, which means large pieces of ice crack and fall into the ocean.  It makes a very loud sound when this happens that you can only experience by being there.  It was very cold, but very interesting.  It was amazing to know that a whole population of people lived there at one time. 

The glacier looks small from here, but it is three times the height of our ship! 

Six seal lions were resting on their backs and floated passed the ship on a large piece
of ice.  They were really fun to watch.

The glacier from a little closer.  It is unreal to hear the sounds it made as it moved towards the
ocean.  The pops sounded like gun shots and thunder.  When it calved, even the slightest
breaks off the ice, made huge waves in the very still water.

Doug and I in front of the glacier.  Why do I always close my eyes when I have a picture
taken?  There wasn't even a flash this time.  lol

This is a picture of a growing glacier.  The ship wasn't allowed to go up into the channel, but it was
neat to see it from the binoculars.  The water was so still and peaceful.

Our cute little cabin stewards left us this cute monkey hanging from the lamp.
Everyday we got something different that was fun.  They  were really good to us!!

Twenty minutes before this shot this was a huge block of ice.  Now it is a standing fish.  It
was really fun to watch him carve it with chisels and files.

Finally I got to go dancing!!  Doug and I went up to the "Crows nest" and this is me doing
the Macarana with a group of other lady's.  This cruise was mostly elderly people so the men were
watching from the surrounding chairs and the women were line dancing.  At ten o'clock when the real dancing began
the room cleared except for only a few of us because it was bedtime for the elderly.  Doug and I had a great time anyway! 

Sunday morning we disembarked the ship in Seward and headed on a bus to Anchorage. 

It was sad to leave the ship and all the new friends we had made, and the fact that I never had to make my bed, clean my room, or cook for myself.  The bus stopped several times along the way to stretch and the scenery was amazing.  We have lots of pictures to share, but I narrowed it down to just a few. 

Jeremy and Bobette being cozy on the bus.  Jeremy was more than ready to get home. 

Finally on the plane.  Five hours later we will be in Las Vegas!! (We flew into Vegas at 11:00 Sunday night).

Our parting shot of Alaska from the window of the airplane was of the glaciers of College Fjord.  They
are beautiful from any angle. 

What an amazing trip we had.  I find myself daydreaming about it frequently and having a hard time getting back into the swing of things again.  We didn't get our land legs back for a few days, so we were swaying or loosing our balance everywhere we went.  It was worth it though.  Definitely the vacation of a lifetime!