This map is from the Forest Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It shows where we were the day before (Ketchikan) and where we sailed to -- Tracy Arm Fjord. Since a fjord is a narrow inlet surrounded by mountains, you can see that we sailed between the two pieces of forest.Tracy Arm is in the Tongass National Forest, which is the largest in the United States at 17 million acres. Nothing small about Alaska!
The next day we would be heading to Juneau, but this day, we were in for our first glimpse of Alaska's wild beauty.
Within the fjords, there are island everywhere.
Beautiful waterfalls stream from the top of the mountains in the Tongass National Forest.
Our first view of the blue ice. According to Wikipedia, "blue ice occurs when snow falls on the glacier, is compressed, and becomes a part of the glacier. Air bubbles are squeezed out and ice crystals enlarge, making the ice appear blue." We would be seeing much more blue ice in all forms and shapes.
I could not get over the clouds that formed in the mountains. I really could not keep my eyes from these sights.
Sea otters lounge on the broken ice as small ships wade through the ice going closer to the glacier.
I believe this is a picture of Sawyer glacier. Some of them are named, but not many. This is one of them. What looks like tire tracks is sediment on the glacier.
What a glacier looks like. Now you have a really good view of the "tire tracks". Now imagine how big this is -- nearly 23 miles long and 248 miles in area. Also, the closer you get to a glacier the colder it is. One narrator said a glacier is mother nature's air conditioner. How true! But this is only the beginning...
I do hope you enjoy the tour. Tomorrow we are off to Juneau, Alaska's capital.
Until then...have a great day.
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