Sawyer Glacier, Juneau and Mendenhall Glacier

0600 we start up Inside Passage. It is 40 degrees and raining with intermittent squalls of ice pellets. Small ice bergs are floating along side the ship, and as we move up the Inside Passage the bergs get larger and there is a lot more of them! The ice is so blue that it is hard to describe.

 



 

 

The Captain decided to back the ship as close to the Sawyer Glacier as he could, and by moving slowly he was sure the ice that collided with the ship would not cause any damage to the hull. The pictures can't demonstrate how blue this glacier is - especially in the haze from the rainy conditions, but I can assure you that it is magnificent sight!

Sawyer Glacier



Sawyer Glacier

From here, we turned around and headed back to Juneau to take in the Mendenhall Glacier. Juneau continued to present rainy weather for us, but there is some hope of clearing some this afternoon.

 

Juneau dockside

We had about an hour ride on a bus to the National Park where the glacier is located, and then spent a couple of hours taking in the sights, taking lots of photos, and mingling with fellow travelers.

 

Mendenhall Glacier

Mendenhall Glacier

 

 

Just before leaving the park, Rol had an encounter with this bear - and worked with the two rangers to help shoo him away so the other tourists could be evacuated to the bus stop! The trusty rangers pushed him ahead of them to keep the bear back from the walkway. Fortunately, I missed this particular opportunity to commune with the wildlife since I was already at the bus stop. Rol was the "hero" for our fellow travelers who were just taking advanage of a waterfront photo-op!