On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
PAM Dirac
Continuation of Alaska Cruise from August 2023
Overall we had exceptional weather for our trip. We packed many layers and all kinds of rain gear, but I don’t think it ever got below 50F and the whole trip we probably got 3 or 4 drops of rain. We were hoping our luck held for the trip to the Hubbard Glacier. The ship sails into a bay (Disenchanment Bay) and gets as close to the glacier as conditions allow. The previous cruise for our ship didn’t even go into the bay because the weather was so bad. We were worried on the morning of our Hubbard trip because there was lots of fog. As we got closer, we sailed out of the fog bank and into beautiful, clear, sunny weather. I bit later I looked back and saw the ship in back of us, just getting out of the fog. A ghost ship!
The glacier was incredible and we got closer than this ship had gotten in 4-5 years. The picture is a stitch of about 7 individual pictures. The colors are wild, the bluish green area are newly exposed ice. We didn’t see any big calving events, but we did see a number of small ones. And the sound was wild; constant groans, rumbles, and thunder. Definitely a bucket list visit.
A close up with more detail. The height from the water to the dark bits on the top is about 300-350 feet. There is about 350 feet more ice below the water line.
As I said the weather was great, but with the wind blowing, it was a bit cold on the head and ears. Problem solved by MomSense. This is one of the Jaspers she made for the Ukraine auction last year. Soft and warm and just what was needed. Thanks MomSense!
more mountains, forest, and water, this time with the moon up. HIgh quality wine sipping time.
Our last actual excursion was on a sightseeing boat out of Sitka. Again we got great weather and hit the jackpot with wildlife. Here are some sea otters lounging near the kelp beds.
Sea lions lounging on a buoy. We did see a lot of lazy wildlife.
A momma bear and her cub along the water
Momma bear posing. The guides made sure to point out that these are officially “Coastal Brown Bears” and only colloquially know as “grizzly bears”. Even after some googling the distinction looks way too much into subtle details for what I want to know about bears which is just keep a lot of distance/water/other barriers between you and them.
Lastly, more mountains, forests, and water, but this time with WHALES! We saw 3 or 4 humpback whales on this excursion, mostly blowing, but a few dived so we could see their flukes. None of them breached. Apparently this time of year they are eating like crazy and diving, but not playing around too much. They save the playing around for the winter time when the go back to Hawaii.
Mustang Bobby
I’m so thankful for these great photos. Those are images we need to savor and cherish.
It’s still chilly in Valdez in June. This year it never got over 55F even with the 22+ hours of daylight, but coming from South Florida, it was a nice refreshing change.
raven
Great pictures! I was kayaking off Orcas Island many years ago and the guide told us the sea otters would stay on the surface if you looked at them out of the corner of your eye but if you looked directly at them they would dive underwater! It was true!!
Rachel Bakes
Gorgeous! Thanks for the mini vacation
munira
Great photos. I loved my trips to Alaska. I went four times on the Alaska Ferry from Bellingham. I had a cabin, but you can camp on the top deck if you like. The first time I just went up and back. The second time I got off for a week in Skagway, the second time in Sitka and the third time in Juneau. Beautiful state.
EarthWindFire
Beautiful! Seeing these is a great start to the day.
KSinMA
Thanks for the photos. Beautiful!
AM in NC
Perfect day to be greeted by a ghost ship! And those glacier photos are amazing.
randy khan
In Sitka we saw the most exotic wildlife we found on our entire Alaska trip – a big fat yellow banana slug.
And those Hubbard Glacier photos bring back wonderful memories. That was one of the highlights of our trip, too.
mvr
Thank you for day 2 of the trip story! More reason to try and go.
Dagaetch
Wonderful photos, thank you!
stinger
Great photos, to be treasured by future generations.
hotshoe
Hey, who cares about the scenery — want more photos of the handknit hats :)
Glad you had a sunny and warm-enough voyage!
way2blue
Love the sense of motion embedded in your sea otter photo. Cute rascals.
Miss Bianca
So cool!
BigJimSlade
Great shots! The water in the sea otters picture is beautiful :-)
Dan B
@munira: My partner’s charter boat the Schooner Zodiac docks next to the Alaska ferry terminal in Bellingham. It’s an one hundred sixty foot wooden ship that can take twenty five passengers overnight. I’ve not ever been on it under sail ;(