Critters and such...

For some reason, the blogger program we use will not allow us to post our small photos down the righthand side anymore.  Since most of these were saved in small format, we will just share them as a conglomeration on the blog side of the page!  Alice could not resist the urge to pick salmonberries in Tenakee Springs, a small community of 100 on Chichagof Island.  Then she made a cobbler... yum!

This little red squirrel greeted us at the park headquarters when we checked in to Glacier Bay.  We also saw a brown bear from a distance, but did not spot any mountain goats, perhaps because their white coats blend in with the lingering snow.

Blue lupine flourish everywhere this time of year, but the pink variety really fascinated us.  Unfortunately, it is  considered an invasive species not native to Alaska and should be eradicated to prevent taking over where native plants should be... but they are so pretty, we still saw several.

South Marble Rock, Glacier Bay, is home to many Stellar sea lions.  It was humorous to hear the bulls carrying on, bullying each other, and even sliding off for a quick dip.  Getting back up on the rocks is another story!

Bill was able to capture a piece of an iceberg off our back swimstep while we were parked in front of Margerie Glacier.  Thank goodness Alice's lips did not freeze to this sizable chunk!  We melted it and drank a bit of the 200 year old water... how did it taste?   A bit old.... seriously...

The captain was a happy camper once we managed to arrived at our destination!  He had been so impressed with the glaciers on our cruise to Alaska in 2008 that he was determined to give Dorothy the same awesome experience~

We have probably seen more than 50 whales on this trip, but few up close and fewer doing anything more than spouting and rolling their backs above the water.  As we left Glacier Bay we met a pod of four up close and personal!  Still no breeching, but some nice tail action to wave to us on our way out~ we keep seeing humpbacks, but no orcas yet.