Day 57

It was another WOW day! We woke up to clear blue skies after several days of rain. Today was our Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise which we had scheduled a month ago and hoped and prayed for good weather. Well it couldn’t have been better. Soon after leaving the harbor we saw our first of several humpback whales. We also saw Orca (killer) Whales at a distance, Harbor Seals, Sea Otters, Dall’s Porpoise and a variety of birds. The highlight of the day was to see the whales breach and the close up viewing and listening of the Aialik Glacier. As we got close the captain shut down the engines and asked everyone to be quiet and listen to the glacier. You hear the calving process before you see it, in the form of loud creaking and even louder rumbling. Soon a section of the glacier ice that could be as much as 200 feet tall cracks and calves off into the ocean creating a wave that rocked the boat. Not everyone gets to see this but we did and the ranger said it was the largest he has ever seen in 9 years. We had a great all you can eat buffet lunch with silver salmon, prime rib, salad, rice pilaf, sourdough bread and dessert bar. This wonderful cruise was over 100 miles round trip and 6 hours.