Capturing the Moment

    This is the Alaska that I see in my mind when I close my eyes and daydream about being back there. Water, so calm that it reflects the mountains and sky. Ice filled glaciers that can be the purest form of blue I know. And rugged landscapes, totally devoid of the touch of humans. No boardwalks, no cars, no ticket booths, just wilderness. It was a picture perfect day at Northwestern Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park. Like most of Alaska, there was not another person around for miles. It was just our little expedition cruise ship and our thirty passengers. The water was calm, almost like a mirror, reflecting the jaw-dropping scenery of the fjord. There was much less ice floating in the water than last time, but I still had high hopes that the guests would be able to see a calving, where chunks of ice as big as buildings fall off the glacier face and crash into the water. My plan was to get everyone on either kayaks or small boats, to give them a more intimate look at the ...

  I thought the clouds, the meadow, and the mountains all camme together for a great view in this photo. In true expedition fashion, we anchored the Safari Explorer off a bay that we had only explored in satellite photos and dreams. It was located in the Northeast corner of Wide Bay. It had a very shallow entrance, which meant we couldn't get the big boat into the bay. But this afternoon was high tide, and we planned to send out a kayaking group and a skiff tour, so I made the decision to move activities to this unnamed bay, and do a little exploring with the guests. I led the kayaking group, which was quite large. I had about 20 guests, in ten double kayaks with me. The bay is about 2 miles long, so I knew we were in for a workout, but we had all afternoon and were not in a big rush. We did have some waves outside the bay, where we anchored. Luckily the waves and breeze pushed all the kayakers towards the bay and towards a beautiful waterfall that would serve as our first gatherin...

  All this ice is not going to be easy to get through, but we've gotta get closer to the glacier, so here we go! Stuck in the ice, and loving it, at Chenega Glacier. Chenega Glacier is located in Nassau Fjord, towards the southwest corner of Prince William Sound in Alaska. The closest port is Whittier, but we arrived from Seward after driving through the night. Because of its remote location, we don't usually see any other boats while we are here. Today was the same, as we had the whole fjord to ourselves. We also had perfect kayaking conditions, with not a drop of wind. We even had sun shining down, which made up for the otherwise frigid temperature outside. Today I led a guided kayak, from the back deck of the Safari Explorer towards the glacier face. Along the way we stopped for beautiful harlequin ducks, waterfalls, and mountains goats. But the real draw was a massive tidewater glacier. Chenega Glacier is one of the most active glaciers we go to here in Prince William Sound...