VALDEZ JUNE 14 ABOARD THE LULUBELLE

Friday morning and we are about to board The LULU BELLE, a 75 foot charter boat, own and operated by Captain Fred since 1979.  We are going to the Columbia Glacier. Our day that started out overcast and dreary, turned out to be one of our most memorable. 

                                                         LULU BELLE

                                                         Valdez Small Boat Harbor

                                                         Bigger fishing Boats

                             This is where the fish are literally vacuumed out of the boats

Going out into Valdez Harbor

The waters are quite calm because the mountains block the winds

         Across the harbor is the Alyeska Pipeline Terminal where the big oil tankers are loaded

                                             Sea Otters lying on their backs

                                    Almost killed to extinction, the Government put a ban
                  on killing Sea Otters in 1911; and, still protected, making a nice comeback

                                                                   Real Cute!

Out to Prince William Sound

                                                                Dall porpoise

                                                        Too Quick for good snap

                          This is where the EXXON VALDEZ  struck Bligh Reef.

                                                           Humpback Whale

                                                           "Thar she blows!"

Perfect!

                                                    Getting into some icebergs

                                                        Awesome blue color

                                                               What's that?

                                                            Orca Whales

A pod of Orca Whales

Happy at sea

Especially Buzzy

                                                          Stellar Sea Lions

                                                        Making quite a racket

                                                        Lookin' for Puffins

Oh my golly gee-captains taking the boat right up in there

                                                                No one home

Think Karens' lovin it

                                                   On to the Columbia Glacier

Only 10% of the iceberg is above the waterline

We're going right up into all those bergs 

calving from the Columbia Glacier

                                              Air Temperature 38, water temp. 31

                                                 WOW! and this is only 10% showing

                                      The Columbia Glacier, nine miles to the face.
                When Captain Fred started his tour in 1979, the glacier face was about here.          

                              Capt. Fred maneuvered the boat in and out of the icebergs

                                                      Only 3 miles to the face

AND getting colder-notice we're inside

                                      The face of the glacier, calving large chunks of ice

                                 

                                                           Close up of the face            

NOW THIS IS ALASKA

                                                                  Chilly

Honey--we made it!                                                 

                                                          Look at the blue color

                                            Does this remind you of the Titanic?

We were completely surrounded by moving ice 

cracking and clunking the hull....

a very eerie feeling !

                                      Mountain Goats grazing way up the mountain,
                                            just white specks from the boat!

                                  Going back where we started ..Our vessel moved the ice ..

INCREDIBLE

                                               

                                                       Valdez Harbor in sight

Can you see the silhouette on the rock?

                                                             Lady in the rock

                                            Pipeline terminal with a ship being filled up

                                            Nice view from our campsite

                                            Absolutely Fantastic Day!!!