Meares Glacier

Dinner last night to discuss our plans for today

Heading out today

In front of the Meares Glacier

Two Icebergs: one really artic blue!

Mountain Goat

Sunning on a Buoy

Sunbaking on the rocks

Frolicking in the gulf

Pioneer Cemetery view

Today dawned fine & sunny. Thank you Lord! We decided to make the most of the stunning day and take a 9 hr cruise out to the Meares Glacier, passing the rapidly retreating Columbia Glacier on the way. Meares Glacier is a tidewater glacier, so it terminates abruptly (as the photos show) where it meets the sea. Large pieces of the glacier break off (calve) from the front and become icebergs. When the piece of glacier turns upside down, it becomes an iceberg of a real arctic blue colour. They aren't all that colour as you can see by the two icebergs side by side - one is really blue and the other one isn't. The boat pulled up alongside the glacier for about an hour, and you could hear sounds like thunder, rifle fire and pops - all sounds from the glacier breaking up. Amazing experience. The glacier was pretty inactive during our visit, as you can tell by the lack of icebergs floating between our boat and the glacier.

During the day we saw numerous wildlife including Orca & humpback whales, Dall's porpoises, seals, mountain goats, sea otters, sea lions and various birds including the Tufted Puffin and several Bald Eagles. The Captain cruised past several islands hoping we could catch a glimpse of bear fishing for salmon, but no luck today. He pointed out where the oil tanker Exxon Valdez struck a reef in March 1989 and polluted this pristine area. The wildlife including the crab population are still recovering, and many species have not reached pre-oil spill numbers. What a beautiful place. Even the deadly departed in the Pioneer Cemetery have a stunning view.