We awoke to the views of surrounding mountains that we knew the cloud and fog were hiding the day before. Even before 8:00 loaded tour boats and charter vessels criss crossed the calm waters of Ressurrection Bay, named in 1792 by a Russian fur trader.

Resurrection Bay

Our first stop was the Alaska Sealife Centre. Funded primarily with monies from the Exxon Valdez settlement this modern state of the art facility boasts a great view of Ressurection Bay and is home to some amazing displays. One of the most spectacular is the shore bird display which has an active rookery for seabirds as well as a sea pond where a wide variety of birds from puffins to mirs paddle and fly about. This ‘pond’ is the top of an aquarium that when viewed from the level below has its own family of finned marine sea life swimming about.

The centre also has a bull and cow sea lion. The grace and sleekness of the cow being contrasted by the mass and seemingly unwieldy bulk of the bull. However when feeding time arrived the speed and grace of the bull in the water was a surprise.

Bull sea lion in action

Mother Octupus

After the Sealife Centre it was a quick stop at the local coffee shop for some coffee and wifi where we caught up on email and posted to the blog. As we wanted to get as close to Whittier as possible we headed out, with a stop on the way at the Exit Glacier National Park to hike up to the glacier. A one hour round trip over generally unchallenging terrain brought us to the edge of the glacier. On the highway approaching and on the path to the glacier were markers with dates on them indicating the toe of the glacier at that time. Be it global warming or the natural recession of an Ice Age glacier it was sobering to see the rate of progression. As you approached the glacier the time between the signs decreased while the distance increased, marking the ever increasing rate of melting.

Exit Glacier

We stopped at the Visitors Centre and with the kind help of one of the staff used her cell phone to call the 1-800 number for the Whittier-Valdez ferry which we planned to take the following day.

Based on Jane and Ike’s earlier blog posting we knew to avoid staying directly in Whittier and with the assistance of our Milepost Guide we chose the Williwa Campground. Although it was a Saturday night, this dry camping park really is in the middle of nowhere and we were surprised to find it virtually full. A quick eye on Diane’s part spotted a site that wasn’t reserved and we quickly backed in, in advance of a growing line of vehicles behind us. We later found out this was the second last site available.

The nearby Williwa Creek north and south branches have a well developed trail, walkway and bridge system which we were told provide a great salmon viewing opportunity later in July as the salmon return to spawn. Alas in the absence of the salmon and their eggs that trout feed upon I was told the creeks were fishless. A disappointment as this was the last day for my Alaska fishing license. We walked the trail, working up a bit of an appetite for the chili that Diane prepared for supper.

In anticipation of the ferry ride the following day, where you pay by the foot, I removed the bikes and the rack from the back of the beast to be stored inside as we had done on the BC ferry to Prince Rupert.