Alaska -- Leaving Glacier Bay

Back to the travel journal from Alaska.

On day 6, as we left Glacier Bay, we were treated to views of wonderful wildlife -- or should I say more wildlife -- we had been watching it all week.

At the mouth of Glacier Bay at the time we were there, there were lots of humpback wales. You can spot them when they blow. As they dive, they blow air out of their "blowhole." It's a marker that makes them visible from the ship. If you watch the plume of water, the next thing to be visible will be the back of the whale and then the tale as it comes above the water line. They often travel in groups, so once you see one, you may see others. The process and the whales are hard to photograph.

The area is the home of many bald eagles. They are beautiful flyers, swooping along. I never got tired of taking their pictures. Gorgeous birds.

We saw -- and I don't remember their names -- birds that run across the water. Very interesting.

Sometimes the naturalist would tell us we were passing a group of dolphins -- never saw them when he said to look. Early one morning, I did see one. It was beautiful, leaping out of the water and curving back in. I saw it while I was on the phone, no camera. I just gawked at it. I'm not sure Steve believed I even saw it.

As we left the bay, we cruised up the coast a little, and then into the open sea, headed for College Fjord. As we pulled away from the shore, the mountains that give birth to the glaciers -- Fairview Mountains -- were visible. The weather was perfect for us to see them.