Glacier Bay ~ Margerie Glacier and Calving

Glacier Bay was billed as the 

highlight of our trip, and it almost was.

 I have to show you some more of 

Margerie Glacier though, because 

it was just so beautiful. 

My favorite part of the cruise though,

was the Evening Whale Quest

out of Juneau. 

We came back down to our balcony

for an even better view of the glaciers

as we were lower and closer to the water.

I love the reflection on the water.

From the Glacier Bay Rangers' 

Top Ten Questions

~~~

Why does the ice look blue?

When light hits highly compacted

glacier ice, long wavelength colors 

(reds) are absorbed, while short wavelength

colors (blues) reflect

 back through the ice to your eyes.  

~~~

Scroll down through the next

fourteen photos to watch

a small section of glacier calving.

It's in the center of the photo

next to the bay water.

We saw calving several times

and from our balcony  we could hear

the ice cracking.

Yes, I did have to straighten each 

and everyone of these photos.

~~~

This photo wasn't straightened

to show you what most of the photos

look like without a bit of tweaking.

Our balcony neighbors are out to enjoy 

the views as well.  This was the only

time I saw more than a few other people

out there on their balconies with me.

It was cold, but a sweatshirt underneath

a windbreaker, along with a hat 

and gloves, was enough to cut the chill. 

We didn't need to take our winter coats.

I eventually found the walkway

where you could go upstairs over

the bridge.  It was closed off when 

I found it though so I think it was 

only open while we were stopped

at the glaciers.

The glacier was so wide,

that you could only get parts of it

in a photo.

Rick did do a panorama shot 

from his tablet camera but I'm 

unsure if I could get it to the blog

from there or not.

The next five photos

are another series of calving.

Most of the time 

you can hear the cracking just

before the ice starts hitting the water.

It was time to turn the ship around.

The thrusters stirred up some glacial silt.

More calving and that gorgeous blue.

You can see a bit of the glacier 

further up the mountains

through that break in the clouds.

Next stop

Lamplugh Glacier.