Valdez: Fishing and Lu-Lu Belle Wildlife/Glacier Tour

Note: I'm getting very far behind and closing in on the tail end of the trip, so I'll do abbreviated entries heavier on pictures!

June 26 was the first day fishing on the ocean for Dan and Al. They were fishing for halibut and rockfish out in Prince William Sound. This was on a smaller boat, and it was a little bumpy, especially on the ride home, but they had an awesome day fishing.

 

We had an amazing trip on the Lu-Lu Belle Scenic Wildlife/Glacier cruise June 27. It was 10 hours long but so worth it! We saw lots of sea otters and Stellar sea lions, humpback whales, horned puffins in their roosting caves, harbor seals on the icebergs, and a huge glacier, the Columbia Glacier. Its leading edge is over 200 feet tall. Captain Fred is an experienced skipper, having been doing this for 40-plus years. He slowly maneuvered through the ice field to get within a mile and a half of the edge. It was pretty cold up there too! We had a great time.

The Lu-Lu Belle

View of our rig in the campground as we sailed out of Valdez Harbor

Sea otters

Waterfalls everywhere along the coastline

Leaving the harbor in search of wildlife

Humpback whale going down for a dive

Sea lion colony

Puffin

Puffins roosted in caves along the coast

The first big iceberg we saw on the way to Columbia Glacier

Eagle perched atop a huge iceberg.

More sea otters floating on icebergs

Getting closer to the glacier

Harbor seals relaxing on icebergs

The ice is starting to get thick and the boat is very carefully making it's way through the ice.

Harbor seals

The face of Columbia Glacier with part of it calving. The chunk creates a huge splash and waves causing the icebergs to bob up and down.

Harbor seals hanging out on the buoy on the way in.