On Tuesday, we we headed out to see the beauty of Alaska up close and I mean close. As we entered Endicott Arm Fjord to approach the Dawes Glacier the gorgeous Disney Wonder slowly came to a stop to let a few lucky passengers on to a smaller vessel to see the amazing beauty of Alaska.  We got see seals, eagles and lots of ice up close.  As our vessel navigated close to Dawes Glacier, the glacier showed us all of its majesty at once…”white thunder” roared as a large piece of ice calved off and splashed into the water, which was then echoed by the sound of a bald eagle soaring in and swooping down to get his prey.  We then looked up to see several white mountain goats hanging out by a waterfall, including two that through the binoculars appeared to be babies playing with one another.  At other points in our day, we were also lucky enough to see a small pod of humpback whales coming up for air, some dolphins playing in the wake of our ship, numerous seals lounging on ice floes, and even a bear looking for its dinner.

The day was quite cold and a bit rainy as we entered the fjord, and we were quite bundled up for most of the day…something that we most certainly are not used to!  All of us were wearing 2 coats and 3 pairs of pants!  But all that bundling and being cold was worth every minute spent enjoying a sight that is not easily seen.

The kids also had a great educational experience as they learned about how glaciers carved the valleys as they have receded, and even how to tell how long it’s been since the glaciers covered a particular area.  They come back with such a treasure trove of knowledge about the glacier and the animals that live within the fjord (and as a bonus, so do we)!