Year 4 Day 142 “Living the Dream”. Thursday, 9/19/2024. Day 9 of 25-day Alaska to Las Vegas trip. Day 5 of 13-night cruise Alaska and Los Angeles cruise on Brilliance of the Seas. At sea cruising the Hubbard glacier (11am – 2pm). The ship is really rocking and swaying at 8am. Not sure if maybe they have to pull in their stabilizers for this part of the sea. We are near the Hubbard glacier. We ran to the upper decks, but the view is actually better from our room. Everyone gathered on the open decks to try and get that perfect shot of the amazing spectacle, so it was crowded, cold, and windy. In the 20’s and nice and sunny. The atmosphere is filled with excitement. This tidewater glacier is a bit of a sleeping giant. First mapped in 1895, The Hubbard Glacier is considered the largest tidewater glacier in North America. Tidewater glaciers are glaciers which extend out and terminate into the sea. We are located off the coast of Yakutat—200 miles NW of Juneau in Disenchantment Bay and Russel Fiord. Hubbard is certainly gigantic. It’s more than six miles wide where it meets the ocean. It has been very active in the past, having had two major surges in the past 30 years. Those surges were big enough to cross the bay, turning the fjord into a lake and threatening to flood the coastal town of Yakutat. Currently, the glacier isn’t surging. The face is up to 400 feet tall, and icebergs 3 to 4 stories in height aren’t uncommon. Most of the ice is below water. We were about one mile from the face. Unlike many glaciers in Alaska and around the world, Hubbard Glacier is thickening and advancing. Hubbard Glacier has a large accumulation area, like a river with a large watershed. This large area of snow in the mountains upstream either melts or flows down to the end of the glacier, and Hubbard steadily grows. In fact, Hubbard Glacier has advanced 1.5 miles, or about 2.4 kilometers, since 1895. It’s even possible that the glacier could one day permanently block the fjord. A guest speaker read information about the Glacier over the P.A. system for all to hear. It was very interesting. The Hubbard Glacier starts at Mt. Logan (19,850 ft) in the Yukon Territory of Canada and ends within Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve. After leaving the glacier viewing, we started the trip to Ketchikan, Alaska which is our next port. All day long we could see Mount Fairweather rising high above the clouds in the distance from our room. Mount Fairweather rises 15,266 feet above sea level.
While we are in Alaska Julianna is getting pointe shoes.
Cruise Compass:
Things to ponder today! Have to leave you thinking.
Womens Fashion Orthotic Flip Flops: https://amzn.to/4efeh5w These are the most comfortable flip flops I have ever owned. You can wear them all day and your feet and legs feel great. They come in lots of different colors. Currently, I own one pair. I plan to buy a few more after vacation. They also work great as slippers.
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To view the complete daily diary, click here – This starts at Year 1 Day 1: Living the Dream – Deestimes – Make every step of the journey count