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Patty and Bill's Excellent Alaska Adventure

(Or What We Did On Our Summer Vacation)

Petersburg

After a wonderful day in Hyder, we cruised up to Petersburg. Along the way, we saw some amazing wildlife and scenery in Wrangell Narrows.

We saw our first whales of the trip - a pod of humpback whales.

Humback Whale Tail  Copyright 2006. William Lawrence.

And we saw a pod of orcas!!!

Orca Whale Alaska Copyright 2006. Patty Hankins.

We saw some Stellar Sea Lions. This little guy poked his head up out of the water to check out our ship as we cruised by.

Stellar Sea Lion Copyright 2006. William Lawrence

This image is available for purchase.

And this group took turns pushing the others off the channel marker.

Stellar Sea Lions on Channel Marker, Alaska Copyright 2006. William Lawrence.

And of course - we saw bald eagles, both flying overhead and sitting atop the channel markers.

Bald Eagle, Alaska Copyright 2006. William Lawrence.

The bald eagle on top is showing the coloring of a mature eagle, with the typical white head and dark body - if you look closely, you can see an immature eagle on the lower portion of the pipe frame.  The immature eagles have a brown and white mottled appearance - they gain their mature coloring at about 5-6 years old. 

Bald Eagles on Channel Marker Photo Copyright 2006. William Lawrence.

The scenery between Hyder and Petersburg was amazing - narrow waterways, mountains, and remote islands - all shadowed in the mist.

Here is the start of Wolf Pass. The weather made for great cloudscapes to add to landscape photos.

Wolf Pass, Wrangell Narrows, Alaska Copyright 2006. William Lawrence

This image is available for purchase.

And this is one of the many islands we passed surrounded by fog.

Island in the Fog, Wrangell Narrows, Alaska Copyright 2006. William Lawrence.

When we arrived in Petersburg, we went on one of the shore excursions we had signed up for - a jet boat tour of the LeConte Glacier. We knew there was a good chance we would see harbor seals at the glacier. Our jet boat tour was run by Breakaway Adventures. If you're ever in Petersburg looking for a tour - this is a great one to go on. Our tour took up the entire time we were in Petersburg, so we actually never made it into town.

On our Jet boat tour, we saw some amazing scenery on the way to the glacier. We saw lots of icebergs. We even learned that the small chunks of ice are called growlers (if they're less than 3 ft. high and less than 16 ft long), and the next size up are called bergy bits.  And yes, the ice from the glaciers is really blue.

Blue iceberg Photo Petersburg AK Copyright 2006. Patty Hankins

Iceberg, Petersburg AK Photo  Copyright 2006. Patty Hankins

Some of the icebergs had seagulls perched on them.

Seagulls on iceberg Photo Copyright 2006. William Lawrence.

Iceberg with seagulls photo Copyright 2006. William Lawrence

One even had a bald eagle perched on it.

Bald Eagle on Iceberg Photo Copyright 2006. William Lawrence.

This image is available for purchase.

In addition to the icebergs, we saw some amazing waterfalls. This one is probably the most spectacular waterfall we've ever seen.  Apparently, with the water flowing off the glaciers down the steep sides of the fjords, waterfalls are quite common in the areas we were. According to our guide, no one has even named this waterfall.  As photographers from the east coast, where you don't get terrain like this, we'd love to have falls like this in the area, and apparently they are all over the place in this area of Alaska.

Waterfall near LeConte Glacier, Alaska Photo Copyright 2006. Patty Hankins.

This image is available for purchase.

And then, we reached the LeConte Glacier - and there were hundreds of harbor seals on the icebergs near the glacier.

Harbor Seal Photo Copyright 2006. William Lawrence.

This image is available for purchase.

According to our wildlife experts, we arrived at the right time- the seals were molting.  Apparently, the seals spend most of their time in the water, and come up on land (or ice in this case) to give birth (earlier in the year) and to molt.

Harbor Seal on Iceberg Photo Copyright 2006. William Lawrence.

Harbor Seal on Iceberg Photo Copyright 2006. William Lawrence.

Harbor Seals on Iceberg Photo Copyright 2006. William Lawrence.

This image is available for purchase.

Harbor Seals on Icebergs Photo Copyright 2006. William Lawrence.

This is our favorite seal photo from the trip (ok, at least Bill's favorite).

Harbor Seals on Iceberg Photo Copyright 2006. William Lawrence.

This image is available for purchase

Harbor Seals on Iceberg Photo Copyright 2006. William Lawrence.

This image is available for purchase

Here is a group of seals on the ice in front of LaConte Glacier - the ice really is blue (apparently due to being really dense).

Harbor Seals on Iceberg Photo Copyright 2006. William Lawrence.

This image is available for purchase.

As we headed back towards Petersburg, we were able to photograph the Spirit of Endeavor at the dock, showing part of the town of Petersburg.

Spirit of Endeavor Photo   Copyright 2006 William Lawrence.

After leaving Petersburg, we headed towards Tracy Arm and Frederick Sound - for an entire day of looking at glaciers and wildlife.

Other Pages of Photos from our Cruise

Ketchikan, Hyder, Tracy Arm, Frederick Sound, Sitka, Glacier Bay, Skagway and Haines

 

 

 

 

 

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