8.19.2012

Juneau: Day o' Glaciers

While we did not see Russia from our house balcony upon arriving in Juneau like Sarah Palin said we would, we did see several amazing glaciers.  Our second day in Alaska started at 5:30am when we cruised through the Tracy Arm fjord up to the Sawyer glacier.  It was gorgeous at every turn of the corner, totally worth getting out of bed for.  We spent the morning wrapped in blankets sipping cocoa and coffee, reading on our balcony and watching the world pass by.



Glacial ice loses its bright blue color several days after breaking off; this ice block is approx. 5 days old
The Sawyer Glacier - the cruise ship got SO close! 
Bundled up with a book and beautiful vistas
When we finally arrived in Juneau we helicoptered up to the Mendenhall glacier where we spent the afternoon hiking the glacier with guides for several hours. Our ride to the glacier was unbelievably beautiful; we saw waterfalls, mountain goats, a suicide glacier. We even had good enough visibility to fly over the ice field that feeds the glacier (apparently that almost never happens.) Flying over the ice field was like seeing the surface of the moon, I literally gasped at its size and splendor. Once we landed and were outfitted with cramp-ons for our boots, ice picks, helmets and harnesses we set off to explore the glacier.
Thums up, aka before I thought I might lose my lunch on the helicopter
There's a glacial stream flowing below us, hence why we are walking on the sides of the ice - not easy for shorties like me!
Cold, delicious glacier water
Everything really is bigger in Texas Alaska
The start of an ice cave/canyon
At the edge of a 1,000 ft. deep crevice...I was terrified.
I hope you enjoyed our pictures, we took literally a hundred that day.  I'll share pictures from Skagway and Victoria, B.C. this week, rounding out our trip.  I hope you all had wonderful weekends!


12 comments:

Natalie said...

this is on my bucket list!! looks really cool to do!!

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Unknown said...

Wow, this is amazing!! So stunning pics! ;)

With love, Egle Ge {HideInSugar}

Kate @ Daffodils said...

O my gosh, how amazing!

Unknown said...

wow what amazing pictures! the views look incredible! so glad you had a great trip :)
tiffany
www.hydrangeasandhandbags.com

two birds said...

i am in awe of your trip! such beautiful scenery! and it looks like you truly enjoyed yourselves!

Elana said...

These photos are beautiful! Glad to see you had a wonderful trip :)

welldressedmaker said...

Cara, I MISS Alaska sooooo bad. You don't even know! I laughed so hard at the Palin reference! hahahahaha.

And look out manana for a veggie recipe. I've been photographing them to share in the future!

♥ laura
the blog of worldly delights
the shop of worldly delights

Bonnie said...

Glaciers are gorgeous. I can't believe that you witnessed them in person!

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The Everything List said...

oh my god! these pictures are amazing!

also, your first sentence made me laugh.

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Dawn said...

Omg Cara this is my dream vacation...wonderful for you! I am in love with these photos, especially the one where you are bundled up and relaxing. Love cold vacations. dawn suitcase vignettes xo

silvergirl said...

impressive picture, impressive views, but those fashionable orange suits win my vote lol
brett

Jayme @ Her Late Night Cravings said...

Somehow I missed these! Just gorgeous!! Looks like you had an awesome adventure!

Jayme @ Her Late Night Cravings

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