The Prince William Sound has rich and abundant wildlife. In addition to the humpback whales (the goal of the tour), we saw sea otters, seals, harbor seals, dall's porpoises, and many birds.

As much as we would have loved to have seen orcas and bear, we didn't on this trip. Still, who could be disappointed??

The dall's porpoises loved to hook up with the boat and "bow ride" in front of us. They would jump a little, but not like their acrobatic cousins who jump and dive in the boat's wake. They are also much more interesting in their colors as they are very black with contrasting white markings. During the course of our 9-hour tour, we have dall's porpoises tag along with us four or five times.

The sea otters could be seen throughout the trip as well, often just swimming on their backs, watching the world float by them. If you got too close or moved too quickly, they would dive under water and not seen again for several minutes.

Not being particularly interested in birds, we didn't spend much time on the rocky ledges as you exited the harbor. It was very interesting, however, seeing these cliff dwellers with their many nests built right into the cracks of the sheer rock.

There were also these interesting black birds that had red markings including their feet. There is a photo of a group of them with this journal.

I cannot express enough, how exciting and fun this trip was. The wildlife in Prince William Sound is unlike any we've ever seen before.

For more information about all of Capt. Gerry's tours, check him out at: http://www.soundecoadventure.com/ .

We did the "add-on" of Icy Bay to our whale watching tour with Capt. Gerry and boy was it a delight! While the whale watching was great and we saw a lot of humpbacks, this was probably the highlight of the trip!!!

As we entered Icy Bay, there were some icebergs of varying sizes floating in the water. Most were 3 to 5 feet across but some were smaller (like bowling balls) and others rather massive. While it is known as "Icy Bay" these early icebergs were no way adequate in preparing us for what we would soon see.

Making the turn around a small point of an island, in front of the boat stood Chenega Glacier. While we were probably a good 4 or 5 miles away yet, you could tell that this was one big piece of ice!

As Capt. Gerry navigated through what would become increasingly challenging waters, we at no time felt at risk or that our safety was in jeopardy. He was first and foremost about assuring our safe journey and return. He delighted us by getting us approximately one-quarter mile from the face of the glacier.

The vivid blues and loud sounds all around were spectacular. You see, as the glacier "calves" (ice sheering off the face of the glacier) it makes a very loud and thunderous noise. Sometimes the noise sounded like a cannon or long rumbling thunder and it would last up to 6 to 10 seconds. Truly, the sound is beyond adequate explanation. The sheets of ice sheering off the glacier and dumping into the water below was difficult to capture in photographs, but hopefully you can see it in the picture included with this journal.

The other rather wonderful sight here were all of the harbor seals basking on the icebergs floating in the water. Literally hundreds of them!! We took pictures one group of four rather close to our boat as well as one little curious guy who swam towards our boat, probably 50 feet away. Photos of both of these are also included in this journal.

We strongly encourage you to take the Icy Bay add-on if you do the whale tour with Capt. Gerry, keeping in mind that ice and water conditions vary daily. We were truly blessed with a great experience!

For more information about all of Capt. Gerry's tours, check him out at: http://www.soundecoadventure.com/ .

The primary purpose of our tour was whale watching and we were not disappointed!! Capt. Gerry's expertise allowed us several opportunities to observe and follow the humpback whales in their home waters around Prince William Sound.

These massive creatures first let their presence be known by "blowing" air, puffing as they surface from underneath the water. They may "blow" several times over the course of many minutes, before arching their backs up, and then diving deep. Just before they take the dive, they often "fluke" their tails which for whale watchers, is the money shot! It is a spectacular thing to see.

Once underwater, they stay down for as much as 5 to 8 minutes, later surfacing perhaps in the very same area where they dove or perhaps in a new location if they were just passing through the area where you observed them. You have to keep a keen lookout for the next "blow" so as to follow them for your next photo op.

In this journal, I have included several photos showing the stages of the "watch"...from the surfacing blow, to swimming along the surface, and then fluking before their deep dive.

If you have never seen these huge mammals in their natural habitat (Prince William Sound in the Summer and around the Hawaii Islands in the winter) you have no idea what you are missing.

For more information about all of Capt. Gerry's tours, check him out at: http://www.soundecoadventure.com/ .

Capt. Gerry Sanger was our host and tour guide. We did the whale watching tour with the Icy Bay add-on. Overall the tour lasted about 9 hours! We were scheduled to go 10 to 12 hours but had a bit of a challenge getting to Whittier due to the tunnel being closed for 3 hours that morning. Not to worry, Capt. Gerry made sure we packed in everything and took plenty of time to make sure we saw all that Prince William Sound had to offer!!

His custom 30' boat was very comfortable and protected us from the cool breezes and occasional rain showers. With a small and intimate group of just the four of us, it was perfect!!

Getting up early for the drive from Anchorage to Whittier was part of the adventure, especially since we arrived in Alaska the evening before. Even with the time zone differences, getting up at 5:00am is still a rude awakening! (See separate travel journal on this part of our adventure!)

One of the best things about this tour is that it was like having your own private boat. He is limited to just six passengers per trip. This allows for a very personal tour. No fighting crowds to get to the edge for that prime photo op!

Pricing was very reasonable given the intimate nature of this tour. It was just under $500 for the two of us. I think that the big tour operators of 6-hour trips get around $150 per person. Our trip also included lunch (very yummy homemade salmon salad spread sandwiches), healthy snacks, trail mix, and plenty of water and juices.

All totaled, we traveled around 180 miles throughout the Prince William Sound. Because there is too much to share in a single travel journal, please see each of the others that specifically discuss the wildlife in Prince William Sound, The Chenega Glacier (Icy Bay), humpback whales and the sights along the way.

I assure you, you cannot go wrong with booking yourself on this tour! It was simply awe inspiring and a pleasure.

For more information about all of Capt. Gerry's tours, check him out at: http://www.soundecoadventure.com/ .