When Captain George Vancouver first set eyes on the small five-mile inlet that was Glacier Bay in 1794, he described a “sheet of ice as far as the eye could distinguish”. By the time naturalist John Muir visited in 1879 with a group of the native Tlingit, who call the bay their ancestral homeland, the ice has retreated enough to begin exposing one of the world’s most majestic wilderness areas. His poetic descriptions have been inspiring visitors to Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve ever since.
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is an American national park located in Southeast Alaska, west of Juneau. President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the area around Glacier Bay a national monument under the Antiquities Act on February 26, 1925. Subsequent to an expansion of the monument by President Jimmy Carter in 1978, the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act enlarged the national monument by 523,000 acres (817 sq. miles) on December 2, 1980 and created Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. The national preserve encompasses 58,406 acres (91 sq. miles) of public land to the immediate northwest of the park, protecting a portion of the Alsek River with its fish and wildlife habitats, while allowing sport hunting.
This was a true highlight of our trip! The day was expected to be rainy but it just wasn’t. Rain fell all around the area we were in but the National Park remained dry. Sunshine even came and went at times. There is no place quite like it on earth – over 3.2 million acres of forest, inlet and shore, mountain peaks rising over 15,000 feet, and of course, the namesake glaciers. Tidewater glaciers are great rivers of ice that flow to the sea and calve large chunks of ice into the ocean. The bay boasts three such glaciers, including famous Margerie Glacier – one of Alaska’s most photographed features, and also one of the state’s more active glacial faces. Our day included bald eagles, sea otters, seals and humpback whales. On the shore line we spotted mountain goats high on the mountain and more seabirds than you can imagine.
Park Rangers were onboard our ship to point out landmarks and educate all of us about the history of the area and providing commentary regarding our voyage through this magical place. What a job!! To spend your days in this type of environment must be one of the best places to be a Park Ranger. It was so fun to be a part of the excitement and exchange the very best pictures with all of our friends. You couldn’t possibly be everywhere all at once so many of us captured pictures that others didn’t in the moment. We were sailing at about 1 or 2 knots so that everything could be enjoyed along the way. We remained sedentary for about a half an hour in front of the glacier. Only two cruise ships per day are allowed into the park so you have it all to yourselves. We passed the other cruise ship exiting the glacier area as we entered. That’s it. Not another boat to be found, other than the one that dropped off and picked up the rangers. Late in the day as we were exiting we saw some small sailboats entering the bay.
Joe and I had never experienced anything like this so most of the day we were incredibly engaged in what was going on both on deck and out in the park. The serenity and beauty is something that I can’t begin to describe so I’m not going to even try. Suffice it to say…we loved this day more than I can say. The pictures below don’t even do it justice but, it’s what I have other than the memories which will remain with us forever. If you get a chance to go…take it.
