Waking to Glaciers, August 24

It was like Christmas this morning!  The Captain said we would be arriving at the Glacier around 6 am.  We set that alarm for 4, peeking out at half hour intervals to see if we had arrived!  I took a million photos!  As we were leaving, we saw seals on a floating ice chunk.

The Margerie Glacier (the pretty one) was 250 feet high. Another 150 feet of that is below water, and it is a mile wide.  In 1966 the dirty Glacier, the Grand Pacific, had retreated almost to the Canadian border, 3-4 miles away.  The Canadians were thrilled, thinking they would have a new port but it has since grown.  Margarie moves FORWARD 6-8 feet per day!  Take THAT, Global Warming fans!

Matt had an excellent post-return idea: he said to wait for hot weather (okay, for us that means 2011!!) and throw a glacier-themed party to show off your photos. You can have little ice cubes shaped like ice bergs or ships!

Tom had found a stone on his mother's grave that he had kept and he left it at the John Hopkins Glacier.  The John Hopkins Glacier is growing and it seemed the appropriate place to show respect for her memory.

There are researchers who live in tents on Johns Hopkins who study the sea otter and harbor seals.  Ships can't come within five miles, because of breeding.  As of July 15, a ship this size or smaller can go into the bay for Johns Hopkins.  Big ships can come in after Sept 1 and it is closed for entry in April.  We were five miles away when we saw the glacier and yet it looked immense!  I can't imagine what it would be like to be at the face. It is 250 feet wide at the base and 12-14 miles long.

We watched a brown bear feeding on a whale carcass that had washed up.  After one bear had his fill, he wandered off a short distance, dug a hole, flopped on his side and went to sleep!

 

Add more eagles, puffin and goat to the critter list!  The Naturalists are listing the birds and animals we've seen and marking it on our travel map. We saw a young eagle.These are a recent addition to the area so for years the eagles here nested on the rocks, and are still seen doing that despite the presence of trees now.  The one we saw, though, was in a tree.  The puffins were floating on the water, and I saw a mountain goat on the hillside.  Most of those are beyond the ability of my lens, but it doesn't matter. I can see them with my eyes and through binoculars and the point is, I saw them.

There was an earthquake in this bay, Tidal Inlet, in 1898 that created a tidal wave and destruction when the side of the mountain came down.  One on the other side created a tidal wave 1700 feet high!  Scientists have studied this area and say it is going to come down again.  I surely don't want to be on a cruise ship in the area when that occurs!

Huna Cultural Interpreter, August 23

The day we explored Icy Strait and Bartlet Cove, a National Park Ranger and a Huna Cultural Interpreter came aboard. The Park Ranger greeted us with "Hut ya aye", which means "I'm doing great in Tlingit. This is the customary greeting as they don't have a word for "hello".  Instead of goodbye, they say "till we meet again." The Ranger was a young woman whose tall, thin exterior housed a wandering soul.  There are 20 Park Ranger/Naturalists in Glacier Bay and she has worked in multiple parks. She has been here three years, seasonally and spends three months of the year working in other National Parks and 3 months traveling abroad. She did mention that the odds in Alaska are 3 men to every woman; however, the odds are good... but the goods are odd!

Consider that only 100 years ago Glacier Bay Park was under ice; it encompasses over 3 million acres in size, roughly the size of the State of Connecticut.  As we made our way into Glacier Bay, we saw sea lions and were joined by otters during dinner.  You could see them floating along on their backs. They are very large!

 

Alice was the Huna interpreter.  She was wonderful. She spoke of their "water way of life".  They had a saying "when the tide is out, the table is set".  The Tlingit did not use surnames; they used descriptive names or the place where something happened.  The Tlingit also had the first tour boats in Alaska!

The white man couldn't put them on a reservation because the villages were too remote to control, so they used a different tactic: assimilation.  Children were sent to boarding schools, and they lost their names. The Huna have lost their home many times.  First they lost their town to the glacier and moved to Huna. In June 14, 1944 they lost the town to fire. This time they put up modular homes so they didn't have to move again. There are 900 people living there now, with 6 churches and a K-6 public school. There is a huge festival in Fairbanks, a reunion and celebration and will next be held in June, 2011.

You are supposed to marry the opposite moiety. There is a moiety such as Raven or Eagle and underneath that are the clans, and the the houses. Young people are still told to marry the opposite clan. If you marry the same moiety, you lose status. You don't know who close the line is.  However, if you marry outside they adopt you in to the opposite clan and you don't lose status!  They haven't used a Shaman for some time.  When the government took singing and dancing, they took the Shaman and the practice has not returned.

The first born goes to live with the mother's brother to take instruction.  Alice went to live with her grandmother for three years. It was quite interesting to listen to Alice talk about a culture that still retains many of the aspects of its history.

Alaska Trivia Quiz

We didn't have anything going on this afternoon, so they handed out a quiz that kept people busy for awhile.  It was pretty funny because groups would work together, hovering secretively over their resources.  I found alot of the answers in my notes and also on the map of Alaska in our booklets. However, there were some I just couldn't find in the resource books. At first I thought this was a rumor, but apparently it was true that the family group from the LaCrosse, Wisconsin area actually took resource books and sat on them and/or hid them so others could not use them.  They won the contest.  I think that is just sad and so contrary to every other experience I had on this trip.  How desperate is that, to cheat on a quiz?  If you ever read this, I hope you know what a pathetic bunch of losers you are. You ruined a fun experience for many people. Grow up . Or at least move to a state that honors your small minded self-centeredness.  You don't belong in Wisconsin.

1.  What is Alaska's largest private sector employer?
      A. FISHING

2.  What day is Alaska Day?
      A.  OCTOBER 18

3.  The U.S. Flag was raised for the first time in what city after the sale of the Alaska territory?
      A.  SITKA

4.  How much of Alaska lies within the Artic Circle?
     A.  1/3

5.  How many of the highest peaks in the U.S. are in Alaska (out of 20)?   
     A.  17

6.  What is the record high temperature in Alaska history?
     A.  100 F in 1915

7.  What is the record low in temperature in Alaska history?
     A.  -80 F in 1971

8.  What is the largest national forest in the U.S.?
     A.  TONGASS NATIONAL FOREST

9.  What would you be eating if you were served "muktuk" for dinner?
     A.  WHALE BLUBBER

10.  How many volcanos are in Alaska?
      A.  MORE THAN 70 ACTIVE

11.  How many national parks in Alaska?
       A.  15

12.  What is the State Motto?
       A.  NORTH TO THE FUTURE
13.  What is the state bird?
       A.  WILLOW PTARMIGAN

14.  What is the state flower?
       A.  FORGET-ME-NOT

15.  What is the state fish?
       A.  KING SALMON

16.  What is the state tree?
      A.  SITKA SPRUCE

17.  What is the state gem?
       A.  JADE

18.  What is the state mineral?
       A.  GOLD

19.  What is the state fossil?
       A.  WOOLY MAMMOTH

20.  What is the state insect?
       A.  FOUR SPOT SKIMMER DRAGON FLY

21.  What is the state sport?
       A.  DOG MUSHING

22.  When was Alaska purchased?
       A.  1867 (March 30)

23.  By whom?
      A.  UNITED STATES

24.  For how much?
      A.  $7,200,000

25.  It was known by America as?
      A.  SEWARD'S FOLLY

26.  There have been four major rushes in Alaska's history; what are they?
      A.  Fur, Gold, Oil, and Timber

27.  On what day did the big 1964 earthquake occur?
      A. March 27, Good Friday

28.  How many times could Rhode Island fit into the State of Alaska?
      A.  479

Whales

Despite the rain, if someone sees a whale, we're running like Pavlov's dogs, with cameras!  There was another joyful breaching over and over, but the whale was too far out by the time I noticed.  I have lens envy.

Roy

We had lunch with Roy, a retired photography teacher and portrait photographer.  He had made the most beautiful slide show of the photos he had taken on this cruise, set to music. His photographs were so lovely that I asked him jokingly if he was on the same trip we were!

I asked what equipment he uses and carries, since obviously he knows what he is doing!  I need to get a stabilizing vest harness, a monopod and a shooting rest.  Roy uses a MacBook Pro with a 13 inch screen for working on his photos and has an Epson portable hard drive for storage.  He carries a macro lens , 11o mm, dedicated; an 18-120 zoom and a 120-400 zoom.  He uses Lightbox and Iphoto, part of the Ilife series.  He told me about something called ice, where he can drag the focus of the histogram to the center and pop the color.  He also said that on a regular TV screen you only see 80% of the colors and he uses an NEC EIZO Hp monitor with 16 mil colors.  NIK software and Sharpener Pro is also good, and he reminded me to work on duplicate images.

Roy was one of many extremely talented photographers on this trip who were willing to teach and share with others.

Deer

from The Tlingit, an introduction to their Culture and History.
by Wallace M. Olson

...there were killings and counter-killings.  If they reached a point where both sides wanted peace, they could organize a "deer ceremony".  Deer were considered the most peaceful of all animals.  A few men on each side were selected as "deer".  In a mock battle, the "deer" were captured by their opposites and held prisoner.  After four days, the "deer" were set free and there was a feast to celebrate the peace treaty.  By holding the men as hostages and not killing them, both sides indicated that they really wanted a truce.

In researching the concept of "deer" as hostages, a Tlingit anthropologist found the practice was observed by other Northwest Coast people as well.  When the first Europeans arrived in the area, they reported that whenever Tlingit approached a ship they put their arms out to the side and called for "deer."  They wanted to exchange hostages to insure peace during the time they were trading.

Rainy Day for a DIB, August 23

We actually discovered we were a day ahead!  I thought we had to pack tonight but found a day reprieve! Today is raining and overcast.  The clouds look like steam rising from the mountains.  I saw more mudslide scars and am recognizing them in the landscape, a trail of light green in the dark around it.

We had another DIB op today.  The "D" stands for the inventor's name and the rest is "inflatable boat".  I referred to them as zodiacs, but I believe that is the name of a particular type, as well. Many people canceled from the earlier list due to the weather.  Tom and I had appropriate rain gear, so it was no problem.  The water was choppy but that was fun! You know, I had purchased dramamine for this trip, unsure if I would have a problem on the water but I never needed it.  In fact, I rather enjoyed it when I felt a little chop! 

The group before us saw a brown bear and Tom's group also saw a brown bear and a sea otter.  We only saw eagles.  It was raining and there was spray, in addition to the instability of the platform, so taking photographs was difficult. I put a baggie around my camera but by the end the lens was too fogged. It was fun, just for the scenery. One group said their guide picked up a starfish and it was eating a mussel! I saw a starfish (red) yesterday when we were kayaking and I wish I could have gotten closer for a photo, but we hurried past.  Tom's little Nikon coolpix has been very handy on this trip.