When people hear “Glacier Bay National Park” the obvious thing that comes to mind is ice, but there’s much more to it than just the glaciers.  If you’ve followed the blog for any length of time you will remember the story about the Huna Tlingit Tribal House that was dedicated last August – a significant landmark for the native people in the region as well as a celebration of the hard-won partnership between the Huna Tlingit and the Park Service. 

Since last year’s dedication the carvers from Hoonah have added two new totem poles outside, to represent more clans from around the region.  Inclusiveness is a major theme in the Tribal House carvings, including a canoe with nondescript people intended to represent all of us who come to visit, as well as the faces of ancestors in key places inside and out.We were lucky enough to be at the Tribal House for the first every-other-Monday special program presented by some of the carvers from Hoonah – Owen and Herb, who we have gotten to know over the past several years on our many visits to Hoonah.Owen was born in Petersburg and is from the Frog Clan, as you can see by his cedar bark hat.  He’s always working on something, with his sketching tools and one of his many adzes.  Note the texture on the wood wall in the photo above – it was created with an adze, and it’s amazing to learn that every board on the Tribal House, inside and out, was adzed to smooth and waterproof the wood.  It took a year and a half just for that part of the work!Owen and Herb gave a wonderful explanation of just some of the symbolism on the Tribal House carvings, showing us that the large face in the center inside panel represents the glacier that came down and pushed the Huna Tlingit out of the bay in the mid 1700s.  The woman in the center below the glacier was the one who is said to have taunted the glacier, encouraging it to come forward.  The abalone shell in her eyes represents the reflection of the glacier as it came bearing down on her.Herb and Owen donned some of their regalia and explained their clan and house symbols, and then they treated us to some drumming and dancing.  Herb danced with one of the amazing masks that he carved, and they generously shared more stories from their rich culture.The park has hired a new interpretive ranger for the Tribal House, a Tlingit lady who grew up in Hoonah, now an anthropologist.  Her stories and explanations came straight from the heart, and we love that we’re learning more things with every visit.  The Tribal House has added a major attraction to Glacier Bay, equal to the abundant wildlife and the amazing glaciers.

Speaking of wildlife, I can’t resist getting out in the kayak whether I venture near or far.  Not far from our anchored boat I noticed a pair of eagles flapping about on a sandbar, and I was lucky enough to catch the moment of mating.The pair stayed together for a long while afterwards, and I later found one of them perched in a nearby tree.Before heading up the bay we did a little hiking, enjoying the signs of spring slowly turning into summer, with flowers like these shooting stars blooming……though the lupine was only just beginning to open up……and the salmon berries have a long way to go before they become a delicious treat for people and bears.There’s just something special about a walk in the woods.

We arrived in Funter Bay at the top of Admiralty Island armed with Jim’s new fishing license, two crab traps, and herring for bait (caught by our friend Knut who kept insisting that Jim didn’t have enough!).  We put the Beastie (our dinghy) in the water and Jim headed out with his traps.While he was carefully checking water depths for the best place to drop his traps, I was watching the bears on the beach.  We saw a pair of younger brown bears, probably siblings, and probably in their third summer when they have recently been cast out on their own by their mother.  They were pretty wary and didn’t stay on the beach very long, but another brown bear hung around and munched on some grass.The lupine was in bloom on shore, but I just photographed it from the kayak, not wanting to disturb the bears.  They’re waiting for berries to ripen in July and for the salmon to start running in later July, so they’re hungry and grumpy since they’re mostly eating grass and foraging on the beach – not their favorite foods.  I think the lupine is just lovely from a distance, don’t you?Our friends Rick and Barb told Jim that it’s best to let his crab pots soak for at least one full tide cycle, so he waited until the next morning to see what he caught.  He had a few undersize and a few females that were all thrown back, but he got four nice big keepers – plenty for a boat where only one of us likes to eat seafood.He steamed them and picked out all the meat – a good bit of work for the afternoon, so now he’s a full-fledged Alaskan since he’s hunted and eaten his food.  He likes his new hobby, and came to understand why Knut kept telling him he didn’t have enough bait.  Those crabs ate everything!

We left Funter Bay and headed west in Icy Strait, bound for Glacier Bay National Park – one of our very favorite places.  Along the way we saw plenty of sea otters – very adorable creatures, but the arch enemy of fisherman since they will wipe out all the crabs and clams in a given area before moving on to devour everything in the next area.Once again we were joined by some Dall’s porpoise riding the pressure wave in front of our bulbous bow – zipping from side to side and zooming along so fast that they leave a rooster tail of spray.We arrived in Glacier Bay, enjoying the fact that spring occurs a bit later up there.  Ferns were just opening, slowly uncoiling their fern fiddles……and the spruce and hemlock were sprouting lots of bright green “tips” that are popular for making beer and as a seasonal ingredient in chef’s creations.If you pick the spruce tips when they’re just emerging from their light brown skin you can eat them – they taste a little lemon-y and a bit bitter, but good.  They’re loaded with vitamin C, but you have to chew them well.  Devil’s club leaves were just unfolding, the lupine was ready to bloom, young bears recently turned out on their own by their mothers were confused and occasionally wandered into areas near people, and the Lodge was relatively quiet in its first few days after opening for the season.  To cap our first day in the bay, we had clear skies so we could see the mountains and a sort-of sunset with some warm light around 10:15pm.