Endicott Arm, Day 5

(This is from July 24. Still catching up...) Today's stop - actually a cruise-by - was Endicott Arm, 

 

part of the Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness.(Tracy Arm is here) (see Fords Terror* below... I had to look it up)

 

Endicott and Tracy are two deep, narrow fjords, both over 30 miles long, just south of Juneau. 

 

We had a naturalist onboard for the entire cruise, giving talks most days on a variety of topics in the Royal Theater, 

 'Shore' excursion tour boat had the closest views of the ice

and she also narrated via the ship's PA system almost the entire time we were in the fjord. She was excellent and entertaining.

  

Pop got the last 2 wool blankets Cunard put out for guests - 

 

and we were very glad to have them 

 

since it was windy and cold out on deck.

 

The area where we were, on Decks 5 and 6, is usually closed off and used only by the crew for leisure,

but they open it to guests a few days each trip since the pointy end of the ship has the best views.  

  

Our ultimate goal was Dawes Glacier, 

 

a 1-mile long, 600 foot tall block of gorgeous blue ice at the far end of Endicott Arm. 

 

See that little red dot? That's the tour boat from above for size comparison. The glacier was huge! 

 Balcony view

The captain was very good about 'spinning' the ship so all sides got equal time at the glacier... 

  More balcony views. Curved rocks are fascinating. How much pressure did it take to bend granite???

which also meant we could sit on our balcony and have 360 views of the glacier and fjord. 

 

Definitely a highlight. 

 

Once the tour boat docked and 

 

unloaded passengers

 

(fascinating to watch!)

 

we headed back up Tracy Arm on our way to Juneau.

 

How to celebrate such a great day? 

 

A visit to the pub for Guinness (can you tell Rachel's reaction??), soda and chips.    

 

*  "Ford's Terror is named after the naval crew member who, in 1889, rowed a dinghy into the narrow entrance of the fjord at slack tide. The tide began to rise, forcing its way through the bottleneck entrance into the fjord, and Ford was trapped in the turbulent currents for the next "terrifying" six hours."