In early June of 2012, my family cruised The Last Frontier (aka Alaska). The trip was to celebrate my brother’s 21st birthday, my MBA graduation, and my parents 30th wedding anniversary. This trip was our third cruise to take as a family and was by far the best cruise we have ever taken. We still talk about it to this day.
Our first introduction to the rugged beauty of Alaska’s Inside Passage took place on our first “Fun Day at Sea”. My parents decided to splurge and purchase tickets to take a tour to explore the Tracy Arm Fjord. Hands down, one of the top experiences of my life, and it was the best way to kick-off this trip! I definitely recommend you take this excursion if given the chance!
This tour meanders along the 30-mile fjord with majestic cliffs rising along either side. It was absolutely breath-taking! You see majestic waterfalls, hanging glaciers, bald eagles, sea lions, bears, and more! We spotted our first humpback whale while on this excursion. Shout-out to my mom for spotting it!
The excursion ends with an up-close view of Sawyer Glacier. It definitely makes you feel small standing next to something of this size. We even got to see the glacier calf, which is very rare. Calving is when sections of the glaciers fall off thus forming brand new icebergs. The naturalist on board said the chunk we saw calf was the size of a small house! It looked so tiny compared to the whole glacier, but it definitely put into perspective the size of Sawyer Glacier!
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