We crossed the bar at the mouth of Endicott Arm in the company of a cow-calf pair of humpback whales, a retinue of marbled murrelets, a belted kingfisher, and a calling greater yellowlegs. All eyes were on the whales, as one might imagine. It was the beginning of a beautiful, calm, and mostly sunny and dry day. What brief rain we had was well timed, and our Zodiac rides at the face of the Dawes Glacier were the highlight of the day, if not the trip.