Glaciers

 

It is very difficult posting to the blog.  There is very limited internet access. 

We have ventured into the land of glaciers and they are both elusive and stunningly beautiful. From the distance, they are just a 'patch of snow' up in the hills. Getting close isn't easy, and up close, they are monsters, and can be dangerous. The best way for us to view them is to take commercial tours. We spent two full days on glaciers. Day 1 – Knik Glacier (by tour) and Day 2 – Matanuska Glacier (by hike). Due to limited internet – will just post Knik Glacier for now.

We signed up for the Knik Glacier tour. The glacier is 26 miles long and 5 miles wide. It is one of the largest glaciers in southeast Alaska.   There is a small glacial lake in front of the face of the glacier attached to a shallow navigable river.

Along the way, we saw a mother moose and her calf, who wanted soooo much to go into the pond with her, but didn't.

We saw fields upon fields of the high protein grass that hooved animal like to eat.

The tour that we took started in an overland vehicle for about ½ hour to get to the boat we would take to the glacier.

There were no real roads to the boat launch area, and the truck went wherever it wanted, including through the river. The glacial melt rivers are fairly shallow, with rocky bottoms, and the path of them changes often.

 

     The boats to go upriver are flat bottomed.

It was a a beautiful blue sky day. As we approached the glacier, the temperature dropped about 10 degrees.

 

The lake in front of the glacier is filled with 'sheds' of ice chunks. They are so beautiful. Painters often discuss the underlying fundamental 'shapes' in a painting. The organic 'shapes' of the glacier sheds are just wonderful.

 

It's easy to imagine familiar objects in some of them.

 

 

 

 

Note:  The 'eye' of this animal is NOT photoshop. It is the black rock embedded into the ice in the toes of the glacier chunk behind the animal.

I think himself liked glacier day. 

Tomorrow:  Matanuska Glacier