Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Back in town!

Sunrise on our first morning at sea!
Beautiful and we had waited so long for this trip!

Just a peek at our stateroom.

This was the first glacier that we saw.
It is in Juneau Alaska.
Glaciers are rivers of Ice.  They begin high in the Mountains.
It is so cold there that they make their own weather.
The snow falls and compacts, forming a prism.
The light enters the prism and is refracted and makes a "rainbow"
but, the glacier is so deep and dense that the yellow and red
wave lengths are lost in the glacier.  Only the blue waves of light
are long enough to bounce back and be seen.


The rivers of ice are flowing down with gravity.
As they flow, they get to a warmer place and melt.
They are always being replenished high in the mountains.
We were told that now global warming is beginning to melt the
glaciers faster than they can form.
So they are getting smaller.

Busy city street in Juneau.

This a few days later at a different port.
Skagway.  We were on the same trail that the "gold rushers"
were on seeking their fame and fortune in the 1890's.

 A few more days at sea and we entered Glacier Bay.
Then things began to get interesting!

Blue Ice all around and really cold!

This photo is taken from the balcony of our room.
It is five stories up from the main deck.
It is taller than our ship.

A wall of compacted permafrost. 
So tall & so cold and really this blue.
This is another view of our room and the perspective of
how large these glaciers are.
Remember, we are on the 5th floor of the ship.

This is a photo of the glacier caving.  It sounds like
thunder when part breaks off and then the splash into the sea.

We have had many other adventures on our vacation and I will
probably give you a few more photos and tell ya about
Soapy Smith and also about the Klinkit Native Americans.

So, until next post, I'll be looking at all your blogs and seeing
what I missed while exploring the frozen lands of the North.

5 comments:

  1. Having seen a few documentaries, I can imagine the sound of the falling sections. I'm sure seeing it person was a magnificent experience!

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  2. How fun! It sounds like a wonderful trip and the pictures are beautiful.

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  3. beautiful pictures! So glad you had a fun vacation. thank you for sharing your photos.

    but no cruise for me, I would be seasick the whole time.

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  4. What beautiful pictures! Your room looks spacey. I've never been on a cruise ship, but I've always imagined the cabins to be tiny and cramped. That sunrise is amazing! Your camera really captured its beautiful colors, but I'm certain it was even more beautiful in person!

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