Tag: Glaciers

Going Home

On By rrainefioreIn Beautiful Things, Travel2 Comments

What a wonderful trip, but I am extremely ready to go home.   I have a theory that no matter how long I travel, I am done and ready to go home 1 to 2 days before actually going home.  Once again, this theory has turned out to be true.  This is great because it also means I live in the right place, a place I look forward to going home to.  I have a husband and furry kids I look forward to going home to.  I had help packing this morning from Hannah’s furry kids, but I miss mine.  Now, I also have a new career to go home to.  I left an engineer and I go home an artist.

There is only one commercial airline that flies to and from Valdez.  Yesterday, my tour guide said there is one flight a day and a 50/50 chance it flies.  Mild panic.  I tried not to think about it.  It will fly because I’m on it.  Her comment did ruin my sleep last night.  As much as I knew I could manifest a timely flight, my dreams were frantic with me losing things or getting lost.

I learned you could buy salmon in a jar in a vending machine.

The flight took off fine.  Only one person on the incoming flight and 6 of us on the outgoing flight.  They gave us a drink and cookies.  The attendant was so cheerful and all the staff at the airport was delightful. 

I was not on the harbor side of the plane.  I would have liked to see the harbor, Prince William Sound, and whatever else could be seen in that direction.  But, I did get to see a glacier, then another and another.  Glacier after glacier and steep white capped mountains.  It was breathtaking.  I got my glacier flight after all.  The view was through the distorted tiny window while peering under the wing, but it was still amazing.  I sat for half the flight with my head pressed up against the window, crying at the wild beauty of it while shoving cookies in my mouth.  Then we flew into a cloud, and all the mountains disappeared in the blanket of white.

Got to Anchorage, had some lunch, and borded a less delightful but good enough flight to Seattle.

Froze but butt off from Anchorage to Seattle.  Got to Seattle and exhaustion set in, but multiple gate changes helped me pass the time before my next flight.

Got into Denver around midnight.  So good to see my husband!  After one more hotel room tonight, I’ll be home tomorrow.

Antarctica Scenery

On By rrainefioreIn Beautiful Things, UncategorizedLeave a comment

I have always been fascinated by ice.  I remember the first time I was able to see a glacier.  I came home with hundreds of pictures.  I love how it’s sometimes clear or white or blue, and every shade of color in between.  But of course, the blue is the best.  How wonderful to float by giant icebergs of so many sizes and textures silently knowing there is even more beneath the surface that you cannot see.  Although seeing thousands of penguins and hundreds of whales might seem like the highlight of going to Antarctica, I’d have to say the icebergs and the winter wonderland scenery was actually the highlight for me.

It was so amazing see glaciers or snow fields so thick that the snow on the island appears thicker than the land mass below it.  To realize that some of that snow and ice has been there for 15 million years and that some of that land mass hasn’t seen the light of day in that long – it’s hard to fathom.  The ice, snow, wind and waves produce an innumerable amount of shapes, sizes and patterns in the snow and ice.  You never tire of looking at the next iceberg or snow field.  Even though we didn’t see any glaciers calving, we could hear them moving.  Any time you sat quiet you could hear the low random rumbles of snow and ice shifting and moving.  You’d look off in the distance and expect to see the side of the mountain drop into the sea, but we didn’t get to see that.  It was still amazing to hear the movement.  You could see evidence of the movement in the avalanche debris on almost every steep slope and the icebergs small and large floating in every bay.