Alaskan Adventure: Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska

Our fourth stop on our Alaskan adventure was Glacier Bay National Park, something we had been looking forward to since booking our cruise.

 

We spent the entire day in Glacier Bay National Park, picking up a team of rangers at the entrance to the park, and proceeding up the bay to stop at the Johns Hopkins Glacier and the Margerie Glacier.

The morning mists veiled distant icy peaks as we sailed into the heart of 3.3 million acres of pristine wilderness. 

The sun soon burned off the fog and mist, uncloaking jagged, snow-covered peaks and icy blue water.

For the first time on the trip, passengers were allowed out on observation decks 4 & 5, which are crew spaces. 

The views were spectacular.

Approaching the glaciers, you could see chunks of ice floating on the bay.  

Harbor Seals  took refuge with their pups on these "bergy bits," and Sea Otters floated with their babies on their tummies.

The Margerie Glacier, a river of ice flowing from Canada to the US, was stunning.

We spotted a Grizzly Bear not far from the glacier.  All around us was pristine wilderness, unimaginably beautiful.

Smaller vessels carried tourists to the foot of the Johns Hopkins Glacier, giving a sense of scale to the massive stacks of ice.

You can see how the glacier flows like a river, just much more slowly.

Do you feel inspired by the landscape?  I hope you'll draw or paint using these photos as your reference.

Many thanks to David of Long Story Short Photography for use of these photos.

Happy Creating!

Alaskan Adventure: Icy Strait Point, Alaska

My favorite day of the whole trip was spent in the coastal temperate rainforest of Icy Strait Point, our third port.

Our ship docked right next to a beautiful forest with an easy-to-walk nature trail that ran through the woods.

The rocky coast was rich with a variety of colors, shapes and textures.

Earthy yellow kelp along the shore caught my eye.

I spent most of my time in the woods, along the nature trail, sitting on a bench painting or walking slowly through the forest.  

I asked an employee about bears, and he said that they hadn't seen any in the last 2 weeks.  The trail was well traveled by tourists while I spent time there, so I felt safe.  Still, I made noise and kept a sense of awareness about my surroundings.

Entering the woods, you could see towering hemlocks and spruces, rich vegetation, and moss everywhere.

Western Columbine was blooming.  June is the best time to go for wildflower watching.

The earth underfoot was soft and spongy with decaying wood.

Bunchberries bloomed on the forest floor.

Fallen trees hosted new life springing up from their roots and surfaces

Blueberry bushes grew much larger than eastern varieties.

Deer heart's glossy heart-shaped leaves seem to call out to be drawn.

You can see the ocean out beyond the forest.

The crooked tree with the craggy limbs in the background of this scene above drew my eye in, and I sketched it at the bottom right of my page.

Sometimes the tiny things in a larger scene tell a story of their own.

Hours spent sitting in a forest, forest bathing, was more relaxing than a spa day for me, and gave me a chance to fill several pages with sketches and paintings.

I hope you'll take inspiration from some of these photos and create artworks of your own.

Happy Creating! 

Alaskan Adventure Video

Here's a 5-minute video highlight reel of our cruise on the Queen Elizabeth.

Departing from Vancouver, British Columbia, we sailed to Glacier Bay, Alaska with port stops along the way.

Alaskan Adventure: Skagway, Alaska

Leaving Sitka, our ship cruised overnight to Skagway.  

When we awoke, we were traveling up a gorgeous, misty fjord.

Mountains with snowy tops, green forested slopes and rocky shores felt close enough to touch.

We turned a corner to find civilization -- a dock tucked between mountains.  

I started the day sketching this scene of white-topped peaks right off our balcony.

Midday, we boarded the White Pass & Yukon Scenic Railway for a 3-hour climb to summit White Pass.

The charming old cars had platforms fore and aft, and we were allowed to stand on them to take photos of the amazing scenery.

We rose up through the lower forests,

passing countless waterfalls of rushing snowmelt,

and rising up 3,000 feet to witness spectacular vistas.

Topping out above the treeline, the air felt cold & crisp, 

and the train looped back to return to town and the port.

 

I feel like I could paint these scenes forever.  The beauty of Alaska is breathtaking!

If you find inspiration in these scenes of the Alaskan wilderness, I hope you'll use them as reference photos to draw and paint from.

Happy Creating!