The town of Hoonah
Our friend on his way at last
One of our friends at Retreat PointWhoopee, I have an internet connection again in Sitka so I will attempt to get caught up on what has been a really entertaining week.
We left Juneau this morning and proceeded around Point Retreat at the head of Mansfield Peninsula. We noticed several boats in a holding pattern proceeding slowly and realized that they were following a pod of humpback whales bubble feeding on krill. It was an incredible sight to see all 6 or 7 of these huge whales break the surface at the same time to stun their prey. Then they all dove and ingested great amounts of water with the krill in it. Next they surfaced again and blew all the water out their spout and retained all that was not water. I had heard of this bubble feeding before but had never seen it up close. The whales were only about a couple of hundred yards away and we could here all their calls and communication with each other. They sounded like very new trumpet players, not much melody but lots of enthusiasm.
We eventually arrived at Hoonah which is the nearest main centre to Glacier Bay. Hoonah is a native community which has really got its act together. It is now visited by cruise ships and has constructed one of the longest and highest trip lines in the world. Apparently riders approach 60 miles per hour running from the top of the mountain to the beach. Unfortunately they only run it when a cruise ship is in town so on the Sunday we arrived it was not happening. You may well imagine Nancy's disappointment in not being able to jump on and go for it.
As we were intending to head in to Glacier Bay first thing in the morning so we turned in early with visions of glaciers dancing in our dreams.
We left Juneau this morning and proceeded around Point Retreat at the head of Mansfield Peninsula. We noticed several boats in a holding pattern proceeding slowly and realized that they were following a pod of humpback whales bubble feeding on krill. It was an incredible sight to see all 6 or 7 of these huge whales break the surface at the same time to stun their prey. Then they all dove and ingested great amounts of water with the krill in it. Next they surfaced again and blew all the water out their spout and retained all that was not water. I had heard of this bubble feeding before but had never seen it up close. The whales were only about a couple of hundred yards away and we could here all their calls and communication with each other. They sounded like very new trumpet players, not much melody but lots of enthusiasm.
We eventually arrived at Hoonah which is the nearest main centre to Glacier Bay. Hoonah is a native community which has really got its act together. It is now visited by cruise ships and has constructed one of the longest and highest trip lines in the world. Apparently riders approach 60 miles per hour running from the top of the mountain to the beach. Unfortunately they only run it when a cruise ship is in town so on the Sunday we arrived it was not happening. You may well imagine Nancy's disappointment in not being able to jump on and go for it.
As we were intending to head in to Glacier Bay first thing in the morning so we turned in early with visions of glaciers dancing in our dreams.
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