Wednesday, June 14, 2006 - During orientation, we learned that the large cruise ships visit the glaciers at "lunch" and at the "cocktail" hour. It was a beautiful sunny morning as we lifted anchor and departed Blue Mouse Cove at 8:00 in hopes of visiting the glaciers before the first cruise ship arrived. We headed up Glacier Bay towards Tarr Inlet which was the home of Margerie Glacier (the most active) and the Grand Pacific Glacier (the largest). We traveled along the east side of Russell Island (whale feeding grounds) in hope of a whale sighting - no wildlife was to be seen. On to Tarr Inlet and the glaciers. We had been to Glacier Bay via a cruise ship 10+ years ago, but nothing can describe the experience of being there in you own boat. The ice flow were minimal compared to what we saw around Tracy Arm and navigable without the use of our "pike" pole. We were the only vessel in the bay when we approached Margerie Glacier and idled our engines to take in the wonders of nature. You would hear the "cracking" sound much like a gunshot and look to see where the glacier was calving. You are advised by the forest service to maintain a distance of 1/2 mile or more as some of the calving (both above and below the water) can create "tidal waves of 30 feet. We have to admit that we did get within a 1/4 mile for some of our pictures. It was difficult choosing the pictures to include, here are a few that we took that morning.