Dawes Glacier and Frederick Sound

We spent the night quietly anchored in quiet little bay called Wood's Spit, just south of Juneau, and woke this this morning to our first adventure. We were motoring up Endicott Arm towards Dawes Glacier. As we got closer the the glacier, we had to move slowly due to all the ice flowing off the glacier. Our captain weaved in and out of the ice and got us about two miles from the glacier. We set off on the skiffs to explore the canyon walls, waterfalls and to get us closer to the glacier. After about half an hour of exploration we noticed that the Quest was still slowly making its way towards the glacier. We got back on and jumped in our kayaks for our first day of paddling. We were able to approach the glacier in the silent kayaks. Well, silent except for the sound of our kayak crashing through chunks of ice, and the occasional massive calving of the Glacier. I have seen glaciers in Patagonia and Antarctica, but Dawes still impressed! It was beautiful blue, and calving like crazy! We even got a visit or two from a curious little seal, popping its head up between the icebergs. Vanessa was an amazing kayak guide, taking us through some of the coolest ice flows I have kayaked in and safely returned us to our boat. We were welcomed on board with a hot drink - with or without a shot of something extra to warm us up - and then we sat down for our amazing three course lunch. Warm soup, delicious gourmet meal, and beautiful desert. And this was only lunch! The afternoon was spent onboard as we motored through Frederick Sound, looking as always for wildlife. The bridge was always open to visitors, and I found I spent quite a lot of time here, conversing with other passengers and the crew. Vanessa gave us a brief lecture on whales so we were prepared for what we would see the rest of the week. We anchored in a quiet little cove near Admiralty Island and indulged in another incredible meal. I could tell already I was going to have to either cut back on some of the food, or start doing laps up and down the stairs so I could enjoy all these amazing meals!