Jeanette examines a piece of glacial ice that is between 80 and 150 years old

before we take a short walk to Steep Creek where the salmon are a vivid shade of red.

In the afternoon, we take a trip by floatplane to Admiralty Island, the pilot (Butch Laughlin) picking us up from our hotel. Just 15-miles to the south of Juneau, Admiralty Island is the second largest in Southeast Alaska. The flight to Pack Creek on the island takes half-an-hour - we land close to the shore and wade ashore in the rubber boots provided by Butch.

Jeanette gets the rear seat of the Cessna 206 (left)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Admiralty Island (right)

During our afternoon on Admiralty Island the weather is the best we have experienced in Alaska so far. However, it is not good weather (except for the bears) - the rain is intermittent, with heavy showers punctuating period of drizzle; there are dry  bright spells and occasional glimpses of a weak sun. The temperature is a cool 59F.

 

The bear viewing area is basically a slight rise in the ground covered with sedge grass. The bears are about 100-yards away and their activity is almost continuous as they chase salmon. We are not close enough for good photo opportunities but are able to to view the activity through our binoculars. Butch points out a variety of birds that include several bald eagles, and we also see some black-tailed Sitka deer.

 

Our flight back gives us a good view of the Mendenhall Glacier (right) and we arrive at our hotel at 8pm after an adventurous afternoon. Grandma's provides us with another excellent meal, although we need to get several errors on the bill corrected.

 

(4) Sunday, July 30th: the fourth day of the trip is the first in which there are no flights, instead we will be cruising - as we will for the next two days also.

The day is spent exploring Tracy Arm Fjord aboard the Keet - a catamaran that departs Juneau at 9am, going south through Stephens Passage. Tracy Arm Fjord has 2,000-feet high, sheer granite sides, that gradually narrow as we approach the North and South Sawyer Glaciers. The Keet stays in the area of the glaciers for some time, silently drifting so that we can see and hear the actions of the glaciers. The grinding and cracking of the glacial ice is accompanied by an occasional 'whoosh' as icebergs and ice floes are calved off the faces of the glaciers.

For most of the cruise  the weather is dry and the visibility good. The temperature is about 58F. The weather deteriorates as we sail north back to Juneau.