"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood... And sorry I could not travel both. I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference." --Robert Frost

Saturday, June 15, 2024

Breaching Whales, Icebergs & Calving Glaciers on the Lu-Lu Belle Alaskan Cruise!

Valdez, Alaska
Bear Paw 2 RV Park



Glacier Bay has jaw-dropping gorgeous views!
The Lu-Lu-Belle
In Valdez, we chartered the Lu-Lu Belle for a 7+ hour cruise out in the Prince William Sound.  We had researched many different cruises from different ports and liked the location and this particular cruise the best.  With this cruise we get to see plenty of wildlife including: sea otters, sea lions, puffins, eagles, and whales.  We also have several glaciers calving into the ocean, including the Columbia Glacier, among thousands of icebergs.  This beautiful 75 foot ship was built by Captain Fred himself.  It's full of beautiful teak, mahogany, gleaming brass and Oriental Rugs.  It was built in 1977 and you can tell how clean and polished he keeps his ship.  It looks brand new.  $300 for both of us.  You can bring your own cooler with drinks and food.  They also sell some snack and drinks including some delicious blueberry muffins and brownies which were homemade on the boat.
As we pull out of the harbor we pass our campground.  We are the two campers in the middle.
A picture of the oil tanker on the opposite side of the bay which is the end of the pipeline.
Sea Otters playing as we pass by.
 
Waterfalls are spilling out of the cliffs into the ocean below.
You can comfortably sit inside or walk around and sit outside.  You can go up to the upper deck as well.


It was amazing how Captain Fred can maneuver his boat into the tightest spaces.  We got up close to waterfalls and caves.  We did see one Puffin, but she was way up high and not very visible.  Puffins were high on my Wish List to see.  Unfortunately, it was still early for them to be here so this turned out to be the only one we saw. 
Bald Eagle up above us.

Sea Lions
These guys are loud!!
 
We were so lucky to get a calm, sunny day with nice temperatures and calm seas.

Longer video with many whales surfacing and spouting water.
We were also rewarded with many tail-flips.


Short video of a whale breaching and flipping its tail.  Spectacular!
One we motored back into the Columbia Bay.  Columbia Glacier is the fastest retreating glacier 
 in the world.  It is 32 miles long and 1800 feet thick.  Not only did we get to see this glacier but we also saw Mendenhall, Taku, Shoup and Valdez Glaciers.
First you pass through the ice bergs towards the middle and back of the bay.
Getting super close to the icebergs.
Only 1/10th of the iceberg sits above the water.  We were lucky to see a few of them flip over and roll.  Very cool!
This one looked like a giant wave.

The black marks are from the glacial ice rubbing on the sides of the mountain as it moves down towards the ocean picking up rocks and debris.  Just think how long it takes to get from the top of the glacier to the ocean!

It was much colder in the bay.  You could feel the cold coming down from the surrounding glaciers.

Harbor Seals


When snow falls on a glacier, it becomes part of the glacier and is compressed, squeezing out air bubbles and enlarging ice crystals.  These larger ice crystals scatter short-wavelength blue light resulting in the bright blue color.

One of the glaciers.  I don't know which one.
Another one.
And another.





10 second video of a calving glacier.


Big Chunk of Glacier Splashing!





Heading back.
One of the oil tankers heading out to sea.  It is mandatory to have 2 boats escort them out to open sea to make sure there are no problems.

Love the scenery.
My Alaskan Guy!

The cruise was absolutely fantastic!  So glad we went.
A funny side story.  Our friends, Rick & Angie, developed a strange problem with their generator randomly starting while they were driving.  Seems the bumpy roads somehow switched it on.  Gumby to the rescue!  With his hand wedged behind the switch it couldn't come back on.  They ordered a new part and it was fixed in a few days.  :-)

6 comments:

  1. Looks like you guys had a spectacular tour and great weather. We remember that sudden drop in temperature as you near the glaciers.
    Safe travels!

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    1. I’m glad the waters were calm! I was worried about sea sickness. It was a perfect day to be out. I absolutely love glaciers.

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  2. Such an epic adventure ❤️

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    1. It really was! I love looking back at the pictures. Seems so long ago already.

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  3. I bet it is fun looking back at your Alaskan memories as you write these posts. I think I could sit and watch otters and whales all day long and never get tired of it.

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    Replies
    1. We really lived the icebergs and glaciers. Captain would take the boat right up close.

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