Nothing to do and all day to do it in. Tim and I have 24 hours to kill in Valdez, Alaska before embarking on a raft trip of the Copper River. Our plans? We thought we’d relax, take a walk around town, maybe find a good restaurant for dinner. We stroll to the harbor and notice a signboard announcing “Stan Stephens Glacier and Wildlife Cruise”. Two cruises—a 7 hour and a 9 hour—are offered.
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This map shows the tour route for the wildlife and glacier cruises.
Our seven hour tour turned around at the Columbia Glacier.
The nine hour tour continues to the Meares Glacier. |
We inquire at the ticket office. The seven hour cruise has a price tag of $120.00 per ticket and includes lunch. The boat plys the coastline of Prince William Sound and continues to the Columbia Glacier. Should we do it? Seems kind of pricey and Tim and I are not really the “guided tour group” type. “You won’t be sorry,” the ticket booth operator opined: “It’s a beautiful day to be in the bay and you should see plenty of wildlife.” Well, that sounds better than spending the day in the tourist shops. Okay, we’ll do it!
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| Harbor scene in Valdez. |
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| Fishing boats in the waters of Prince William Sound. |
Our boat leaves the dock at noon. We secure seats on the upper deck as the vessel sets sail. Slowly we motor around the sound, past the Alaska pipeline and the scene of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. More than 25,000 gallons of oil remain along parts of Prince William Sound's coastline, but our tour doesn’t venture into those areas. Instead we pass shorelines teeming with sea lions, puffins and eagles. We sluice through waters filled with sea otters, seals and a humpback whale.
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| Sea Otters show their proficiency at the back float. |
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| Mew Gulls rest on small icebergs. |
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| Sea Lions crowd the rocky shores. |
Floating icebergs glitter like diamonds in the sea at the Columbia glacier’s terminus. Our boat’s captain stops the craft near an iceberg flotilla; the crew plucks a couple jewels from the water and passes them around among the passengers.
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| The sea is literally littered with icebergs from the Columbia glacier. |
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| How many shades of blue can you see in this floating jewel? |
It's 7:00 p.m. and we're heading in to port. Thrilled as we were by the wildlife sightings and our close encounters with icebergs, Tim and I agree it was a great decision to have taken a chance on this guided tour of Alaska’s Prince William Sound.
Nothing to do in Valdez? Not as long as Stan Stephens Wildlife and Glacier cruises continue to operate. Read more about the tours here: http://www.stanstephenscruises.com/
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| A bald eagle surveys his kingdom from atop an island of ice. |
Next week's post will begin a six day rafting adventure on the Copper River.
