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Fake, Made Up and Completely Impossible Virtual Cruise Blog


twangster

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24 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

Did your tour guide happen to explain why the glacier was so much more deeply ridged on the right side of this photo? Really pronounced compared to the rest of the glacier, more than I'd expect from just shot angle or the like.

A glacier is a moving field of snowpack or ice that is being pulled down a valley by gravity.  

As the field of snow pack or ice progresses down the valley it faces turns and curves.  A right hand turn will see the flow field compress on the right and expand on the left.  A left turn will cause the opposite effect.  This plays out in slow motion over many years and it leads to parts of a glacier being full of hidden cracks, crevices and caves.  Some areas of a glacier are not suitable to walk on as you could break through the surface and end up in a crevice or cave hundreds of feet deep.  

The shape of the valley and how twisty it is causes the different surfaces we see.  In some cases the path downhill forks and then rejoins later down stream.  The flow grinding against the sides of the valley causes debris to break off creating the moraine or "dirt streaks".  When the moraine is centered with clean sides you know that is a sign that two flows joined and became a larger flow somewhere "upstream".  

They estimate for Hubbard Glacier it takes 400 years for the journey of the field to flow from the source until it reaches the sea.  Typically many glaciers share the same source, each valley is a path downhill where gravity does the work creating what we see as a glacier.  Each year more snow falls adding to the snow field where it all starts.  

The Juneau Icefield feeds all five of the glaciers I flew over on this excursion plus many more glaciers in the area.  

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Magnificent views and among other things there are hiking trails.

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The trails nearest the tramway are easier compared to some that go to the peak.  On other visits I've hiked some of those and they have even better views but it takes time.

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You can hike up to here from town but it's a serious hike.  Most folks should just pay for the tramway. 

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Keeping the tradition alive using hand tools only.

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Lady Baltimore wasn't in her summer home yet on this visit.

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As instructed we got out of the helicopter with the blades still spinning above us and went to meet the guides waiting for us there.

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There were three helicopters that flew in formation and landed together.  Here are two of them.

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The helicopters rose into the sky to get the next wave of passengers leaving us on the glacier with our guides.

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Our guide showed us her “push up” method of sampling the glacier run off water.  Trust me, that water is COLD!  

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Melt water creates cracks and crevices on the surface of the glacier.

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From a distance when looking at a glacier you can see dirt streaks where it has scraped along the side of a hill or mountain but up close you get see that moraine trail is full of large rocks and even some very large boulders.

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The state flag:

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The familiar thump thump thump of helicopters returning told us our time on the glacier was nearing its end.

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Our guides helped us re-board with the blades spinning above us.

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Taking off we flew towards the front of the glacier and the lake that many people view the glacier from.

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This is not an inexpensive excursion but worth every penny.  I have seen many glaciers in the distance on various cruises and having walked on a glacier and seeing one up close that knowledge and experience came flooding back with every glacier I have seen. 

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I've been learning a new video editing program while at the same time going back to my 2017 videos from the helicopter ride to the Mendenhall Glacier.  This is why I've been delayed posting to this thread.

When I took this excursion I was focused on taking still pictures.  I had a GoPro with me so I strapped it to my head to capture the ride without thinking about ever posting the video publicly, it was just for me use to remember this excursion.   I've learned a lot since then including that a GoPro on your head isn't the best way to capture an experience (I didn't use a GoPro to capture the Five Glacier Float Plane video posted earlier).  Nonetheless the GoPro video of the helicopter excursion is what I had to work with so I've put this video together because I think it does a better job portraying the overall experience compared to looking at some pictures.

This excursion remains one of my top excursions ever and it's something I highly recommend.  Every time I have seen a glacier since the memories of seeing the Mendenhall Glacier up close and walking on a glacier come flooding back.  

I booked this excursion through Celebrity and last year as I monitored pricing of my other Royal Alaska excursions it was priced the same as it was back in 2017.  When it went on sale for several weeks cheaper than what I paid in 2017 I was tempted to do it again but had other plans.  The point is to check your excursions for price drops frequently, you just never know.

With all my excuses out of the way (I'm saving blaming the dog for use later) here is the Mendenhall Glacier by Helicopter video:


 

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This stop in Juneau has been great but exhausting.  I think I need a few sea days to recover.  Let's see what the Royal transporter crew can come up with.  

Until then here are some final visuals of Juneau from various stops there:

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Explorer of the Seas in Juneau.

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Radiance departing Juneau.

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  • 2 months later...
  • 1 month later...

Now that I'm in the region known for Oranges and Pinnacles I'm getting ready for the next update to this virtual cruise. 

I'm thinking somewhere the CDC stole from me for the fall of 2021.  They might be able to ban the cruise lines from talking about such a cruise but they can't stop me from virtually sailing there...

 

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Dawn was slow to break through the cloudy mist on this morning.

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The sizable city of Panama appeared through the mist.

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Then a bridge appeared.

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Not just any bridge.  The Bridge of The Americas connects North and South America.

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A nod towards yesteryear on display.

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A ship ahead of use is jostled into position for it's journey.

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While we may our way towards our path.

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This will begin our day going through the Panama Canal, a marvel of engineering.

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Heading from the Pacific Ocean East towards the Atlantic our first close up experience with the Panama Canal will be the Miraflores Locks.

There are two steps in these locks with a small lake in between them.

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These tugs are an important part of the canal operation. Ships our size are assigned two tugs.

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Two people in a row boat... can you believe these row boats are still used over a hundred years after the canal first opened?

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They bring "messenger" lines over to the ship that will be used to haul the steel cables from the locomotives over to the ship.  Ship lines are not used in the transit.

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The Miraflores locks will lift us two of the three steps required to reach the level of Gatun Lake.

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The locomotives on each side will help guide the ship into the lock channel and keep the ship centered. These have been upgraded over the years but their function remains the same as it was in 1914 when the Panama Canal first opened.

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The locomotives are nicknamed "mules" and operating under guidance from the control room,  the onboard seamen and the pilot they keep the ship moving centered in the lock chamber.  The ship uses its own propulsion to move forward.

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As the ship moves forward we approach the lock door that hold back massive volumes of water.  Behind us a set of lock doors will close creating a chamber for us to ride in.

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Once the doors behind the ship close the lock is flooded with water.  The spray seen here is normal leakage, the chamber is actually filled from below. 

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As the chamber fills we can sense we are gently rising.

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It's a subtle rise that can be hard to notice.  The water line against the lock doors can be used to see how far the water has risen.  

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With our first lift complete the lock doors in front of us open and we advance into the next lock chamber.

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The ship before us is already moving into Miraflores Lake.

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The orange ship in the new locks has already reach the level of Gatun Lake and is starting to move forward to continue the transit.  The Borinquen Dams separate the new Pacific access channel where this ship is from Miraflores Lake.

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These Miraflores locks were originally completed in 1913. 

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One more lift to go to reach the level of Miraflores Lake.

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16 minutes ago, twangster said:

While the overall journey is West to East the instantaneous heading during the transit is not 90°.   

Take a look at the map. Transit is most definitely northwest.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Panama+Canal/@9.143696,-80.8491691,8z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x8fab5f4b31cd492d:0xd9dd11e7a14a0960!8m2!3d9.1438034!4d-79.7285161

 

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I'm slow rollin' this thread because I think we still have a few more months of virtual cruising but our day in the Panama Canal continues...

It's amazing to think that the canal has for over one hundred years been powered by... rain. 

The entire scope of what was accomplished in building the canal includes numerous individual feats of achievement.  It's unlikely modern society could ever duplicate the efforts and accomplishments that went into building this wonder of the world. 

The time and fuel savings for the shipping industry over those 100+ years is hard to fathom and it was all made possible by water falling from the sky.  The original canal system used no power to lift or lower ships, it was all done by using the power of water.  Think of the weight of all the ships that have used the canal over those 100+ years.  Pretty amazing stuff.  

With the Miraflores Locks complete it was time to proceed.  The ship before us is already halfway across Miraflores Lake.

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They begin to let the cables to the locomotives go as we slowly move forward.

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As we make our way across Miraflores Lake that ship ahead of us is nearly through the Pedro Miguel lock that comes next. 

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Tugs at the ready to push us around.

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Two people in a row boat...

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Our narrator over the P.A. system informs us they had studies done to evaluate replacing the people in a row boat with various other ways to accomplish the same goal.  At the conclusion it was determined this remains the most flexible means to get the job done.  It simply works.

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Looking at the countryside you get an idea of just what they had to deal with over one hundred years ago when they started building the canal.

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At this point we could clearly see the Centennial Bridge, the next bridge we would pass under and the channel forward into the Culebra cut.

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As we approach the Pedro Miguel lock the doors begin to open

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