Killer Whales
---------------------------------Sea Lions----------------------------------------- Glacier
Birds nesting on cliffs
Friday August 6, 2010. Leslie and Pete left early this morning to hike ;at the Exit Glacier. We had reservations for the glacier boat tour at 11:00am this morning. Larry and I both had showers before the kids came back and we both had VERY cool showers. He checked the water heater but found no problems as the tank was very hot. Leslie wanted to get a shower before the boat trip and the water was so cold she yelled and screamed the entire time. We have no idea why we have no hot water at this point. Just another day in the lovely life of an RV owner I assume!
We boarded the boat at 11:00 and headed out of Resurrection Bay to the open waters of Gulf of Alaska. The weather today was cold and rainy so we found seats inside and sat for a short while before Pete took off to the upper floor of the boat and out on the deck. We did not see much of him for the rest of the day; only when we ventured up to the upper deck did we see him. He was armed with his camera, not wanting to miss anything during the cruise. The boat crew began delivering our lunch. We had a choice of a chicken wrap or a hummus wrap, with carrots and a granola bar. We got a meal for Pete but he never showed up. Leslie finally took his meal to find him but he had already got one when they passed out lunch upstairs.
As we moved on out into the water, the small mountain areas were numerous jutting out of the middle of the ocean. As we cruised on, we spotted several sea otters playing in the water. One of the otters looked so relaxed as he was just floating along on his back without a care in the world. As I mentioned, we have the RV parked on Resurrection Bay so we have been watching the otters from the shore since we arrived. We kept moving on out into the open and the captain pointed out some Harbor Porpoise swimming along near the boat. As we continued out we came upon several very high rocks and they were covered with various birds. The pilot of the boat told us this is where they come to nest and most of them return year after year to the same place to nest. He pointed out many different birds. We saw Horned Puffins, Tufted Puffins, Black Oystercatchers, Common Murres, Cormorants, and of course many many seagulls.There were many other birds, that I don't remember, all nesting without a care that the boat was idling nearby. We circled the huge rocks so we could all see the various birds. While there, we saw many Stellar Sea Lions sunning themselves(on a very cloudy day??) on the flat rocks in the middle of the ocean. I wondered to myself how these huge animals could pull themselves up onto the rocks. The captain pointed out sea stars(starfish) that were clinging all around the bottom of the rocks.These were a lavender color and he also said there are orange colored ones as well. Also there were sea mussels which were very black, clinging farther up on the rocks. The birds and sea life all feed on the starfish and mussels. The captain also said that after the birds start nesting that sometimes the eggs roll off the rock into the ocean and when this happens, the birds just kinda figure 'oh well' and will return the next year to lay their eggs again. They incubate the eggs by holding them between their legs and feet as there is really not a nest as we would imagine. Either the mother or father stay with the eggs while the other hunts for their food and whomever stays makes sure the eggs are kept warm for hatching.
The farther we traveled the larger the marine life became. We started seeing Harbor Seals and then Humpback Whales. The Humpbacks were numerous and would come up out of the water enough that we could get a good view of them. It was really exciting watching them and they too were quite close to the boat.
As we kept moving we came into the glacier area and at first we saw several small glaciers. The farther back we went into the cove the glaciers got larger and there were huge pieces of ice floating in the water. Eventually, we arrived at a very large glacier that went several miles back into the mountain. The captain shut the boat engine off so the glacier could 'talk to us'. As we stood there and it was very quiet, the glacier would shift and make a noise like a hollow drum. There were numerous large streams of water running out at various points on the bottom of the glacier. We stayed in this place for quite awhile and the glacier would shift and big chunks would fall off and roll down into the water. It was amazing to look at as glaciers are a beautiful shade of blue. I think I mentioned before that the water is also either a light shade of turquoise or a very pastel shade of blue, if it is glacier fed.
We left the glacier behind and started heading back to Seward Harbor. We were quite a distance out into the ocean and it took us about 2 hours to get back from the point we were at. Along the way we saw many, many, Killer Whales, also known as Orcas. They gave us quite a show as they would heave up out of the water, sometimes 3 or 4 of them at once. It was hard to get pictures because we would see them 'blow' but when they would breach (thrust) themselves out of the water, we were never quite prepared to snap the picture. They were all huge and really a beautiful sight to see, of course, since I was safely on the boat. I could not imagine being in the water with one of these creatures!!
We arrived back at the boat dock in Seward around 5:30. Pete and Leslie went to get wood for the fire and Larry and I caught the shuttle to take us back to our car. We all met back at RV about the same time. We were getting low on beer so Leslie and I ran to the store while Pete and Larry got the grill going for brats and hot dogs. We had a nice salad and the brats and hot dogs for dinner. After we finished dinner, Pete started a fire in front of our motor home on the beach. We all sat around the fire until we could not keep our eyes open. Our neighbor had a fire going as well so we asked him if he wanted the rest of our wood as we all were ready to call it a day. We had a wonderful time today on our trip even though the weather was nasty.
We boarded the boat at 11:00 and headed out of Resurrection Bay to the open waters of Gulf of Alaska. The weather today was cold and rainy so we found seats inside and sat for a short while before Pete took off to the upper floor of the boat and out on the deck. We did not see much of him for the rest of the day; only when we ventured up to the upper deck did we see him. He was armed with his camera, not wanting to miss anything during the cruise. The boat crew began delivering our lunch. We had a choice of a chicken wrap or a hummus wrap, with carrots and a granola bar. We got a meal for Pete but he never showed up. Leslie finally took his meal to find him but he had already got one when they passed out lunch upstairs.
As we moved on out into the water, the small mountain areas were numerous jutting out of the middle of the ocean. As we cruised on, we spotted several sea otters playing in the water. One of the otters looked so relaxed as he was just floating along on his back without a care in the world. As I mentioned, we have the RV parked on Resurrection Bay so we have been watching the otters from the shore since we arrived. We kept moving on out into the open and the captain pointed out some Harbor Porpoise swimming along near the boat. As we continued out we came upon several very high rocks and they were covered with various birds. The pilot of the boat told us this is where they come to nest and most of them return year after year to the same place to nest. He pointed out many different birds. We saw Horned Puffins, Tufted Puffins, Black Oystercatchers, Common Murres, Cormorants, and of course many many seagulls.There were many other birds, that I don't remember, all nesting without a care that the boat was idling nearby. We circled the huge rocks so we could all see the various birds. While there, we saw many Stellar Sea Lions sunning themselves(on a very cloudy day??) on the flat rocks in the middle of the ocean. I wondered to myself how these huge animals could pull themselves up onto the rocks. The captain pointed out sea stars(starfish) that were clinging all around the bottom of the rocks.These were a lavender color and he also said there are orange colored ones as well. Also there were sea mussels which were very black, clinging farther up on the rocks. The birds and sea life all feed on the starfish and mussels. The captain also said that after the birds start nesting that sometimes the eggs roll off the rock into the ocean and when this happens, the birds just kinda figure 'oh well' and will return the next year to lay their eggs again. They incubate the eggs by holding them between their legs and feet as there is really not a nest as we would imagine. Either the mother or father stay with the eggs while the other hunts for their food and whomever stays makes sure the eggs are kept warm for hatching.
The farther we traveled the larger the marine life became. We started seeing Harbor Seals and then Humpback Whales. The Humpbacks were numerous and would come up out of the water enough that we could get a good view of them. It was really exciting watching them and they too were quite close to the boat.
As we kept moving we came into the glacier area and at first we saw several small glaciers. The farther back we went into the cove the glaciers got larger and there were huge pieces of ice floating in the water. Eventually, we arrived at a very large glacier that went several miles back into the mountain. The captain shut the boat engine off so the glacier could 'talk to us'. As we stood there and it was very quiet, the glacier would shift and make a noise like a hollow drum. There were numerous large streams of water running out at various points on the bottom of the glacier. We stayed in this place for quite awhile and the glacier would shift and big chunks would fall off and roll down into the water. It was amazing to look at as glaciers are a beautiful shade of blue. I think I mentioned before that the water is also either a light shade of turquoise or a very pastel shade of blue, if it is glacier fed.
We left the glacier behind and started heading back to Seward Harbor. We were quite a distance out into the ocean and it took us about 2 hours to get back from the point we were at. Along the way we saw many, many, Killer Whales, also known as Orcas. They gave us quite a show as they would heave up out of the water, sometimes 3 or 4 of them at once. It was hard to get pictures because we would see them 'blow' but when they would breach (thrust) themselves out of the water, we were never quite prepared to snap the picture. They were all huge and really a beautiful sight to see, of course, since I was safely on the boat. I could not imagine being in the water with one of these creatures!!
We arrived back at the boat dock in Seward around 5:30. Pete and Leslie went to get wood for the fire and Larry and I caught the shuttle to take us back to our car. We all met back at RV about the same time. We were getting low on beer so Leslie and I ran to the store while Pete and Larry got the grill going for brats and hot dogs. We had a nice salad and the brats and hot dogs for dinner. After we finished dinner, Pete started a fire in front of our motor home on the beach. We all sat around the fire until we could not keep our eyes open. Our neighbor had a fire going as well so we asked him if he wanted the rest of our wood as we all were ready to call it a day. We had a wonderful time today on our trip even though the weather was nasty.
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