UMTravels

According to the Park Ranger that boarded at the edge of Glacier Bay National Park the average number of sunny days in southeast Alaska is 4 per month. And we got one of them. As you can see from all the photos and videos – it’s a stunningly clear day.

So far our luck is continuing with the weather… just those couple of minutes of sprinkles while we were in the train leaving Denali.

We entered the park about 9, and by 1pm or so the Margerie Glacier came into view. And by 1:30 the battery in my camera started for fail – guess I should have charged it last night. Oh well, a perfect excuse to go back to the cabin and make a cocktail. Too bad the glacier is on the other side of the boat – though the captain did say he was going to spin it around half way through out visit.

The hope is to see a minimum of three glaciers with the possibility of five.

And while we wait for that to happen – here are some words of advice on travelling with people. Going on holiday with someone who decided to quit smoking at the beginning of the trip is a bad idea. By the time they have started up again, the damage is done. Last night I was contemplating getting off the boat in Juneau and flying home on miles. Guess I’d better look into that tomorrow when I’m in Haines.

But now back to our glacier adventure…

A note about the weather. This trip has defied all odds. 30% of the people see McKinley/Denali because of bad weather. 15% of the people who come to Glacier National Park get to see all the mountains. We (and the rest of the tour) have seen both. And I understand it’s raining back home.

Tomorrow is Haines — land, and Internet that works. The satellite system that is on the boat has been pretty much out of action for the whole trip — to the point they have posted signs — signal strength low — if it takes time to load your page, try later — like when you are on land at an internet cafe — forget about the $0.75 a minute you prepaid.

And also on the list of seriously broken items on the ship:

• Back deck pool not working (the saltwater one)
• Two story fountain in the lobby
• Escalators between decks 4 and 5

Reminds me of the Denali Chalet Lodge. Guess that letter to Holland America is going to get a little longer.

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