A guide told us it takes 80 years for water from the highest point in the Juneau Ice Fields to reach the the waterfall at sea level at the Mendenhall glacier. That would indicate some of the water we see today came from 1939, around World War 2, and at a time when many of the glaciers in the fields were still advancing.
Greetings from the Tracy Arm Fjord, in the Inside Passage of Alaska & Canada.
In front of a moulin (crater/ice cave) on the Meade Glacier.
We spent some time abroad over the past few years and were looking to do a more affordable US-based trip this year. My phone must have been listening, because I got an email for a 7 day cruise through Alaska for only $650 base price.
Route
aboard the Norwegian Cruise Line ship, Joy
Hiking in Ketchikan, Alaska.
They are proud of salmon, hiking, tourism, the totem poles of the Native American Tlingit tribe, and the large number of historical buildings that used to be brothels.
Rained out in Juneau, Alaska.
Our planned trip to helicoptor in to dog sled on top of a glacier was canceled but we were able to make the best of it by visiting a Dog Sled camp where they train the dogs.
The Meade Glacier.
Since we got rained out in Juneau, we canceled our plan to kayak in the glacier water. We were intent on spending time on a glacier and I put aside my vertigo and anxiety of flying via helicoptor.
Glacier water is filtered through sand and stone and is super clean on the surface. The good news is that the glacier water you buy at the store tastes like it does on top of the glacier!
Silky chocolate-like, blue water
These photos do no justice for how immense the glaciers are, how full of life and nature the forests are, and how amazing the crisp air and water look and feel.
More from the small town of Skagway, Alaska.
A tour bus drives you one part of Skagway, through forests where eagles chill out on fields. The trees and mountains clear and the road turns to a large pass which reveals a receding hanging glacier pouring into a lake. Nearby the glacier itself is a large waterfall run off of the Juneau ice field. It looks so small in photos, but the visible part of the massive Mendenhall Glacier was probably higher than our ship, than the mountains around us.
Victoria, British Columbia. Canada.
Quick Funko Detour
Everett, Washington
Norwegian Cruise Lines
We’re not cruising people. I can’t handle being stuck on a boat for so-long. The low price with the “you don’t have to do anything” food and drink package were appealing.
NCL service was nice (80% of the ship’s crew were Filipino). You would think cruising in a cold climate would be off putting but that didn’t stop us. We used the ship’s hot tub and the waterslides that hung off the edge. The ship also had a laser tag, a mini golf, a virtual reality center, and go karts!
Sadly, we probably wouldn’t sail the Joy again. The other ships in this class via Norwegian all have a Thermal Spa Suite. The Joy has a small spa. The Thermal Suite was sorely missing here.
