Final Approach – Endicott Arm Fjord

“Shut in by subline Yosemite cliffs, nobly sculptured, and adorned with waterfall and fringes of tree, bushes, and patches of flowers, but amid so crowded a display of novel beauty it was not easy to concentrate the attention long enough on any portion of it without giving more days and years than our lives can afford.” – John Muir’s description of the Tracy and Endicott Arm Fjords during his visit in 1879

As The Explorer of the Seas passed along the opening of Endicott Arm Fjord, I was nudged awake at 4:00 am by the subtle vibration of the ship’s engine. Stepping out onto our stateroom’s balcony I found a veiled cloak of whimsical fog playing with the shoreline and magically hovering above the water. And it was cold, witch tit cold. But more than that, it was surreal.

It took a half hour for the fog to lift and for our ship to make the final approach into end of the Fjord. I felt like Mother Nature was slowly pulling back the curtain to reveal the scene we had all been waiting for. And I was fascinated by the shroud of fog playing peekaboo with the shoreline, cliffs, and glacial green water we were traveling along. Between stepping out onto the balcony and the ship making her final turn into the end of the arm I clicked off 25 frames. The three images below were taken at 4:37 am, 4:46 am, and 4:56 am respectively.

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