Kayaking

Happy 1st Birthday, Val!!!
This morning at 8 AM Steven and I went on a 10 hour kayaking trip in the Prince William Sound. The Bakers babysat Ava for us and for that I am so very thankful!!!!!!! We took a one hour water taxi to the icebergs surrounding the Columbia glacier. That glacier is the 2nd largest tidewater glacier in Alaska. It has a 3 mile wide face and a 1500 foot height. It is receding at a catastrophic rate of 50 feet per day. If you do the math on how much ice that is, it is enough to bring tears to your eyes. Only my photos can show what that looks like. I could explain all day without getting the point across. Our guide told us that we have a slim chance of seeing Humpback whales and that if we saw an Orca (killer) whale would could consider ourselves really lucky. We were able to see an Orca whale on the water taxi and it was an amazing site! The kayaking through icebergs the size of buildings or trucks was an experience of a lifetime. I loved and cherished every minute that we were there!!!! I can honestly say that today was one of the best days of my entire life! The beauty of the glaciers and the size of the icebergs is some thing that I will never forget paddling through. It is depressing to think that in years to come, the glacier will be recessed into the mountain like many of the other surrounding glaciers. The photos are quite impressive and I can not wait to share them!

This evening we attended the Valdez community bon fire and smores party. It was great to see how the locals celebrate the 4th of July. At 11 PM the fireworks display started underneath the "midnight sun," as they call it here in Alaska. Since it never gets dark here this time of year the fireworks were in sunset lighting. The photos are great because there are mountains with glaciers in the background which are easily visible. We had to laugh when we were watching the fireworks in daylight. It was a wonderful way to end the day!