A long hike to the Franz Josef Glacier took us through several microclimates. By the end we weren't really dressed appropriately for the weather but we were amazed to see something we had only read about in 9th grade Earth Science.
Tiny glacier rock particles mixed in the water creates the blue Gatorade water.
Note tiny Sandy among the massive waterfalls.
The rocky valley leading up the glacier had a Jackson Pollock-y look to it.
You can see the blue ice in the photo above but not very well because unfortunately, the glacier has been rapidly retreating since 2008. Friends recommended we hike on the ice and explore the glacier caves but with the severe melting from global warming the only way you can do that now is to spend $200 for a 20 minute helicopter trip to the very top. Talk about an inconvenient truth.
I suppose if I wanted to be surrounded by mountains of snow I could just return to Boston where they got a solid 18 feet this winter so I'm happy in this hemisphere for the moment, melting glacial ice and all. But man, it's concerning seeing the effects of global warming that up close.
So in case there was any doubt, global warming is real -- and it's impeding on my tourist adventures.