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July 07th, 2014 | Author:

Today we are stopping at Taku Harbor – we have a short run. This small harbor was the site of a fish processing business; when we enter there are some fishing boats tied to one of the docks, but we opt for the single floating dock that is empty (although late in the afternoon 3 fishing boats came and tied up.
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We saw a black bear walking along the water (never got a picture), but that didn’t stop Kelley from jumping into the dingy and going for a walk.
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A quiet afternoon –

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July 07th, 2014 | Author:

A calm night on the hook! Eager to see glaciers, we leave to make our way up the channel. A quick stop to get some fresh water:
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Behind us is the water fall, brave Lauren lends over
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and success:
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There are ice bergs all around, large ones and small ones, crystal clear, white and dark Caribbean blue.
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I can’t believe that we are moving forward.

We pass the entrance to the S.Sawyer Glaciers and continue north. Here is the North Sawyer Glacier.
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It did calve; we needed to be attentive but there was success.

The South Sawyer Glacier is larger than the North one so we were looking forward to seeing it. A gentleman whom Tim had met said that the glacier was calving nicely and we wouldn’t be disappointed. Entering the channel that leads to it I was surprised that there were so many ice bergs. DSCN2659
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Chuck skillfully made his way through them, pushing them out of the way, and finally we stopped, with the glacier right in front of us.

Kelley looked behind us and found a small iceberg and captured it!
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We watched for at least an hour and we were well-rewarded. As the boat turned to leave, Karlyn and I watched as one large piece fell into the water. Watching the icebergs behind us glide up and then down as the swell came towards us, made us realized how big the chunk must have been.

The tide was coming in and it brought back many of the icebergs that we had passed earlier. Manipulating the boat around these made me think that we were an icebreaker.

We returned to the same cove as the night before! Toasting the 4th of July and a successful glacier viewing, we enjoyed our drinks with

Glacier ice!

Glacier ice!

Happy Days!DSCN2680

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July 07th, 2014 | Author:

Although we have seen glaciers from the sky while flying, DSCN2584we are going to Tracy Arm and will be visiting the North and South Sawyer Glaciers tomorrow.

As we were leaving Frederick Sound and making a right into Stephens Passage we encountered a large pod of humpback whales. They were so close, and although we stopped, some came right to the boat and then blew! One whale was entertaining us with flapping his fins from side to side, slapping his tail and RSCN2605.
This flying out of the water was not a one time event…we must have watched the show for about 20 minutes.

Alas, time to move on. We anchored in a small cove at the beginning of the Tracy Arm, I believe it is called Holkham. When we arrived, we were greeted by
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but not one, but
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A great cruising day, a quiet harbor, perfect.

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July 07th, 2014 | Author:

On to Petersburg. A 7.5 hour run; a long day but the scenery was unbeatable. I liked it best when we were entering the Wrangell Narrows, also called Christmas Tree Lane (because these huge trees line both sides of the strait). As the strait winds around we saw a few fishing lodges and some homes on the water. It is pretty barren…………
We got a slip in Petersburg – around 6.
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Mexican train tonight – He who doesn’t like games (Chuck) won 4 games in a row! Yikes!

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