Saturday afternoon, July 16, we boarded the Wilderness Explorer for a one week trip exploring the inside passage of Alaska as well as Glacier Bay National Park. This cruise is offered by Un-Cruise Adventures. For us, the attraction to Un-Cruise was the small ship size (72 passengers) as well as the active adventures and wildlife viewing, with no stop in cities. The Un-Cruise brochures stated: Unrushed, Uncrowded, Unbelievable. They delivered on their promise. Activities offered were kayaking, paddle boarding, shore walking, bushwhacking, skiff tours, snorkeling and just plain sight seeing.
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| Our Seven Day - 500 Mile Itinerary |
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| Our room, 310, was on the top deck near the bridge. |
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Small Boat - Small Cabin
Enough Said |
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| On our way to an unbelievable week. |
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| Getting trained on kayak safety. |
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Neah Bay.
Kayaks and skiff are ready to go. |
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| Relaxing after a day of adventure. |
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Sunset over the Fairweather Mountains.
10:30 p.m. |
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Captain woke us up at 6:30 a.m. for our first view
of Margerie Glacier at Glacier Bay National Park. |
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Margerie Glacier with Mount Fairweather (15,300 feet)
in the background. |
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| Polar Plunge (Brrrrr) |
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| Enroute to another tidewater glacier |
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Glacier Bay became part of a binational
UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. |
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| Johns Hopkins Glacier |
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| We had exceptional weather for our "Glacier Bay Day". |
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| Approaching Marble Island in the National Park. |
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We were very lucky to see these three birds together
on Marble Island.
Common Murre, Horned Puffin and Tufted Puffin |
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Marble Island is a favorite hangout for
Stellar Sea Lions. |
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Still plenty of daylight at 7:30 p.m. for a stop
and hike at the visitor center. |
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A skiff ride to shore for bushwhacking with
our guide Michele. |
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This is a wilderness area, there are
no established trails |
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We got a lot of use out of our rubber boots and rain
pants during wet shore landings and crossing streams. |
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| Preparing for our afternoon skiff ride. |
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| Kayaking was one of our favorite activities. |
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| Ok, lunch was good, but when is the next adventure. |
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| Preparing for a shore walk. |
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We saw brown bears on multiple occasions.
Humpback and orca were an everyday occurrence. |
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| Cushion Sea Star |
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| Sea Cucumber |
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| We must have kayaked 30 miles |
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The Fantail made it easy to launch/return our kayaks.
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2 comments:
Now THAT looks like an Alaskan cruise that I might enjoy! Those giant cruise ships don't appeal to me at all.
What a nice adventure.,.one I would like...love to kayak!!!
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