We had a spectacular 8-hour boat tour with Kenai Fjords Tours.  We had attempted to get to Northwestern Fjord and Glacier on June 1, but rough seas turned us around.  It may have been for the best, as we had an incredible day on July 31.

We saw plentiful marine mammals – many Harbor Seals, many Stellar Sea Lions, many Sea Otters, at least 7 Humpback Whales, 2 Fin Whales, and 1 Orca.

The scenery was gorgeous, including mountains,  glaciers, waterfalls, and more.

We saw awesome birds, including puffins.  I have a link to my bird list at the end of the post.

Our excellent captain had been taking tours to Northwestern Fjord for over 30 years.  We learned so much throughout the day.  After arriving at Northwestern Glacier and educating us a bit, he said we would quietly stay there for about 30 minutes, listening to the glacier and watching for calving. 

We had the most amazing luck!  A chunk about the size of the Empire State Building broke off and created an immense icefall. 

The captain said it was the biggest icefall he had ever experienced.   It lasted 4 minutes!  C posted his video on Facebook.

As if we hadn’t been privileged enough already, we then got to watch humpback whales repeatedly bubble-net feeding.  Phenomenal!  C posted videos of this as well.

While it rained all afternoon,  we had such a great day!   On top of everything else, the meals on the tour were very good.  I especially liked the vegetarian burrito they served – it had quinoa, cheese, and lots of vegetables.

My birding list for the trip (including Puffins, Kittlitz’s Murrelets, Rhinoceros Auklets, and Paraket Auklets):   https://ebird.org/checklist/S264103443