Hard to believe but we decided to head back to Alaska to grab our 59th National Park: Glacier Bay. We looked at backpacking or even car camping but you could not really see the glaciers this way. Why go to Glacier Bay and not see the glaciers? The best way to see the park is from the water so we started looking at cruises. The thought of spending time with 3000 other people did not really appeal to us. I thought maybe somebody offered small boat cruises to Glacier Bay. That is what I googled and after a few clicks I found UNCRUISE. I clicked on their web site and this is the first image I saw:
This is our ship for the trip. My dad was in the navy in WW2 and he would call this a boat. I always asked him what is the difference between and boat and a ship? His answer: a boat is a small ship. Kayaks on a cruise? Hiking on a cruise? 58 Passengers? 28 Crew? SOLD
Low tech but I liked it, they used a grease pen to track our route and destination for the day.Accommodations were basic but food and crew were awesomeRed sky at night, weather was great for the entire trip.If you read the Glacier Peak backpack post you might remember my best friend from that trip: NUTSACKMy new best friend and his name is Steve! Happy hour was every day at 5 where they reviewed options for the next day’s activities. We discussed over cocktails and appetizers. Then all you had to do was pick one and sign up, they did a great job accommodating everyone. Added bonus, no bar tab it was all included.The male in the top left is a very big boyHow can you look at a Sea Otter and not smile?Puffins, sorry Jen we did not eat one.We didn’t see any goats but they would like it hereThe Whytes at the top of the goat hike.Heading back to “camp”, our nicest basecamp ever.After dinner we stopped by a glacierThis was our view when we woke up the next morning. This can’t be Alaska, where is the rain, wind and snow? We rode a skiff and they dropped us off left of the glacier for another day hikeWords fail me, sorryWe wanted to keep going up the valley but the guide turned us all aroundGoats and a baby (kid)It’s official, number 59. We celebrated our 36th anniversary while on this trip.Every time I see a Porcupine I think about the night when Sammy tried to eat one, that did not end well.Yellow EyesAlaskan EscargotMario BrotherWho likes kayaking more? They serve wine on Kayak trips? Maybe kayaking isn’t so bad after all.Paddling back to “base camp” after our hike
Most guests were hoping to see Orca’s. One night the captain made an announcement at 2:30 in the morning: You asked for them and we found them just for you: Orca’s off the port side. Everyone ran out to the deck in their PJ’s to see them.
Dall’s Porpoise are bow surfing in front of our boat, I could have watched them for hours.We stopped in Haines and did another day hike, this was last day on the boat. Last night of the cruise and the crew showed pictures from the trip. Fellow guests were teasing us because we were on every adventure, that’s the WHYTES. Just ask our daughters. One more happy hour, nice dinner and then we left the boat after breakfast the next morning.The entire crew lined up to say goodbye.Back in Juneau and we had time to see the sites, this is the Mendenhall GlacierLeann liked the size of these leaves
Our first cruise and turns out this was one of our favorite trips. Fellow guests were very friendly, crew was awesome, great food, lots of animals and beautiful scenery. UNCRUISE has a trip to BAJA, hiking, kayaking, snorkeling and even a donkey ride………………..
