Kenai Fjords National Park Boat Tour

Today, our boss Gary, took us all on a Kenai Fjords Boat tour of the National Park, it's going to be an 8 hour tour plus dinner on Fox Island.  The weather gods have smiled on us as it is going to be a cool but dry day.

 Going to check in.

 The harbor is a bit fogged in but the water is calm - looks like I might not have needed that Dramamine - we'll see.

 All Aboard!

 and we're off

 We leave Seward and it looks like the fog might just burn off.

 A small cove and fishing boat

 There is a pair of Bald Eagles nesting in a tree.  They are fairly easy to spot as their head looks like a golf ball among the green leaves of the trees.

I want it

 Snow is still melting and there are waterfalls all around

 Our next spotting is this Mountain goat and her baby.

 Before you know it we are going by Bear Glacier.
It marks the beginning of the Kenai Fjords National Park from the East and is 13 miles long. 

 An Iceburg but we're in no danger of hitting it as it ends on land, not water.

 It is hard to see just how big the Glacier is without something else to compare it to

 We wind through some small rock islands

and come across a small band of Orca or Killer Whales which is the largest member of the Dolphin Family

 Some Castaway Seagulls

 and a Humpback whale.  Did not see one Breach but the rock behind it to the left looks like a breaching whale

 The fog has burned off a bit

 Another Glacier ahead

Able to catch a glimpse of a bear on shore in the brush.

 It is Aialik Glacier.  It is the largest glacier in Aialik Bay at around 300 feet tall. 

All the Glaciers are melting from the Harding Ice Field.  The Harding Ice Field The Harding Ice Field is over 300 square miles in its entirety but would be over 1000 square miles if you counted all the glaciers that descend from it.   Over 30 glaciers flow out from the Harding Ice Field.

 I think this small Glacier must have been a part of Ailak Glacier at some point.

 Some Kayakers at the Glacier's edge, how Cool!

 We get to see some Glacier Ice up close and personal

 You can see that it is melting

 The tour boat is dwarfed by the Glacier

The Glacier calves in May and June.  We witnessed a few chunks dropping off.

Sorry this video is sideways

We leave the Glacier and move on

 We find another Mountain Goat and baby or is that babies?

 We find some Tufted Puffin

 and Stellar Sea Lions

 Just caught this Horned Puffin before it went up up and away!  They only come on land to nest so there may be babies on the way

 Bee Hive Island

 Only its buzzing with birds

 We spot some more Stellar Seals

 What's around the bend?

 Fox Island where we'll have dinner of Salmon and Prime Rib

Group shot!

On the way out we spot a nesting Bald Eagle but couldn't see the baby.

 Almost back to Seward

 I was disappointed that we hadn't got to see any Sea Otters and then there one was!

 Back in Dock.
What a fantastic day!

 Heading up the dock to exit there was another Otter doing acrobatics in the water.

It's going to be hard to top this day but we'll give it a try!