Valdez: Kayaking in Prince William Sound

You’d think we’d be hesitant to get on a boat again after our recent excursion to Kenai Fjords (a.k.a. the Vomit Voyage).  But that didn’t stop us from climbing aboard a water taxi this morning, which took us out into Prince William Sound for a day of kayaking with Pangaea Tours.  The weather was perfect – sunny and clear, for once – and no one threw up on us (or at all, thank goodness).  The taxi dropped a group of us off near the Columbia Glacier, and off we went.

The Columbia Glacier is one of the most active tidewater glaciers in North America.  This is because it’s in catastrophic retreat, which basically means that the sea ice is melting and breaking off much faster than the glacier is flowing.  From our drop-off point, the glacier was still a good ten miles away – not something we would be able to reach by kayak in an afternoon.  But we were able to kayak around in the sea of small icebergs that were between us and the glacier’s face, which was pretty cool to us, especially since we’d already seen a glacier calving when we went to Tracy Arm Fjord.

The Columbia Glacier is visible in the middle of the photo – it is ten miles away

As we kayaked, curious seals would poke their heads up out of the water to get a look at us, then quickly disappear with a splash as we approached.  We also saw some adorable sea otters but they never came close enough to the kayak while we had the camera out (we need a waterproof GoPro for the next trip).  We did get a good photo of these two otters from the deck of the water taxi, though.  So cute!

The sea lions we saw from the water taxi weren’t shy at all.  They were enjoying a rare day of sunshine and just ignored us as we circled around them.

Paddling near Columbia Glacier in Prince William Sound

Our guide was surprised at how many big icebergs were floating in the water today.  He said usually they break up by the time they get this far out in the bay.  We were lucky to see a couple of big ones roll over and our jaws dropped in awe when a huge one broke up and pieces exploded up out of the water around it.  That was pretty cool.  Of course, because we do not have the aforementioned GoPro, our camera was stuck in a ziploc bag tucked inside a pocket for that big event.

Somehow we still managed to snap over a hundred photos throughout the afternoon.  (Don’t worry, I won’t post them all on here!)  I know I mentioned the other day that we were getting a little “glaciered out”, but we are definitely not “over” icebergs yet.

Grand Canyon Winter Weekend

The Grand Canyon is a place of beauty any time of year, but I especially prefer it in wintertime. The snow dusts the canyon walls, and the air is crisp and invigorating. And the entire park is less crowded than it is in the summer months, so at times you feel like you have the whole canyon to yourself (well, except for that one guy walking up the steps).

Kevin and I headed up north for our anniversary weekend, in our new camper van.  It’s tiny – just 22 feet long – but it’s roomy enough for two and easy to drive (even for me!).
We were able to drive the van out to Hermit’s Rest (they open the road during winter, during summer you have to take a shuttle bus).  It was our first big trip with the van – in many ways it is reminiscent of the boat, but at least when we park it for the night we don’t have to worry about dragging anchor or anything. 
Our campsite provided some interesting photo opportunities, especially one evening just before sunset. An antlered mule deer took a stroll right outside our window. We weren’t the only campers who noticed the deer though. The folks across from us actually came out of their camper and started doing exactly what all the rangers tell you not to do – feed the wildlife. I’m not sure what field guide claims that wonder bread and bananas are a staple of a mule deer’s diet, but that’s what they had on offer. Here’s one of them holding out a peeled banana. I wouldn’t in a million years get that close – take note of the very pointy, sharp antlers.
Of course the sunsets were our favorite part of each day (we are too lazy to drag ourselves out of bed to catch the sunrise).  On our anniversary we spent the evening at the viewpoint in front of the El Tovar hotel and an Italian tourist was kind enough to snap a photo of the two of us.

We plan on taking a few more trips in Arizona while we get used to the van and RV lifestyle.  We are planning to take the van on a big road trip up north this summer, so stay tuned to the blog for more info and photos!