Traveling Down Tracy Arm

Tracy Arm is a fjord in Alaska.  We traveled down a narrow straight, with very steep, almost sheer rock walls on either side of us.  However, cut into the rock walls were waterfalls, with melted run-off of the snow atop the mountains feeding them.  And, it’s amazing the amount of green there is on rock walls – small trees and lichen primarily.

I really liked the flow of this image – the way the fog sort of wraps and flows around the contours of the mountain. They reminded me of ribbons and created a very peaceful flow. 

Here’s a close up of the rock walls lining Tracy Arm. I thought this close up looked somewhat prehistoric, with “steam” rising from the heated earth. However, this is definitely not steam! It’s fog, and it was actually very damp, windy and rather cold out on deck. I’m no longer used to damp weather, and it really cut right through and into me. Still, worth getting this shot!

Here’s a fairly close shot of the end of our travels down Tracy Arm – the South Sawyer Glacier.And, yes, there is a North Sawyer Glacier; however, we couldn’t see it as a huge piece of ice is blocking the entrance to it!I thought the ship in the far lower left corner added some good perspective to the size of the glacier.Oh, and the blue color you see throughout the glacier is ice that has just about all of the air, etc., compressed out of it.It’s so compressed, the only color visible is blue.After this, the ice will become what is frequently referred to as “black ice” when you see it floating as bits of iceberg (called Bergy Bits).The ice is not really black, tho, it’s clear and simply reflects the darkness of the sea below it.Ok, end of ice berg lesson for today!

And, it only seems right to end with another waterfall shot, this one taken on the way out of Tracy Arm!I just loved how this one seemed to wind its way thru the rock wall in a sort of lazy, relaxed manner, choosing the least amount of incline, at least here toward the bottom!

Enjoy!