Where in the World?

Early this morning the cruise ship docked at Pier 30 in the Port of Seattle. I only had a few hours of sleep last night due to the fact that we had to pack our bags and leave them outside the room before 1:00 a.m.

After our last breakfast on Deck 9, we said our farewells to a couple of friends and then got in line to disembark. Total time to get off the ship and through customs was around an hour.

We quickly found a taxi and took a short ride to the house of a friend of Erica’s. It was a beautiful home with fantastic views of Puget Sound, the Space Needle and the entire Seattle downtown area.

We were quite exhausted from all the activity over the last week and it was nice to sit on a cushy sofa and do absolutely nothing for a few hours.

So, today was all about getting back to eating healthier, relaxing our tired muscles, watching a movie, visiting with new friends, taking short cat naps and reliving all of the incredible experiences we had over the last seven days.

It’s a funny thing but seeing all of nature in its pristine abundance somehow has made me feel more abundant. I have a better outlook on life and I’m excited about what the future will bring. I can’t really explain why but I’m not complaining. Those things along with the memories of my adventures and experiences have forever changed me. I see some of the effects now in my attitude about life but I suspect that other changes will take a little while longer to manifest. I can’t wait to see what happens.

Michael

The last stop on our return to Seattle was in Victoria, British Columbia on Vancouver Island. We could tell this was an interesting city, but unfortunately we didn’t have any time to tour the city as our last excursion was a boat trip to view orca or killer whales hunting in the evening.

Every summer two or three pods (about 20 – 40 per pod) of orcas feed in the waters between Victoria and the United States. The primary source of food during their brief summer visit is salmon. The boat ride out was about 45 minutes long, so we were several miles off the coast of Victoria and in fact were within the waters of the U.S.A.

Our captain quickly found a group of orcas hunting and feeding. These creatures move incredibly fast and I found it very difficult to photograph them and also deal with a boat that was rocking due to the many waves in the open water. Persistence paid off and I was able to get several decent photos for my first orca portrait shoot.

It was amazing to watch them work the salmon in pairs or in threes. As they were moving constantly our captain guided our boat as best as he could to follow with them. We witnessed several large males breaching; i.e. jumping completely out of the water. It was magic and we all felt like we were part of a National Geographic movie.

One of the naturalists that tour with us told an amazing story of an orca coming right up to the boat and showing a large freshly caught salmon in his mouth. And then, unbelievable as it may sound, the orca then went to two other boats to show off his salmon catch. The guide told us that orcas are very social within their species but sometimes show that behavior outside of their own kind. Quite incredible!

On our way back to the cruise ship, we stopped briefly to see several large harbor seals resting on the rocks around a lighthouse station. These animals were huge.

The cruise ship was all lit up when we returned and it was stunning to see. It’s hard to believe this is our last night on the ship. We are headed to Seattle tonight and disembark early tomorrow morning. Seeing some sights in Seattle is on our agenda tomorrow before flying back to the east coast on Monday.

Michael

While Erica took the skies in a float plane to view the Misty Fjords area surrounding Ketchikan, I started my day off with a view of two eagles hunting for fish near the cruise ship. Shortly after, I boarded a small jet boat to tour the surrounding waters south and east of Ketchikan.

After about a 30 minute ride we came close to an outcropping of rocks covered with seaweed near the shore. Two large groups of harbor seals were basking in the early morning overcast sky. We watched them for about 10 minutes. All of them were very leery of the boat and quite skittish, so we kept our distance. They looked like they were waiting for something, probably the salmon which are about two weeks late this year. We also viewed several eagles flying over the water and saw an eagle nest high in a tree.

We made our way to the next point of our expedition. After unloading on the shore, we donned our rubber boots and water/mud proof pants for a two mile hike into the temperate rain forest. It rains an unbelievable 13 ½ feet of rain after year. Yes, I did say 13 ½ feet or about 165 inches of rain per year. So, it was no surprise that a gentle rain fell almost the entire time we were hiking. There were many sections of this “unimproved” trail that were quite muddy sometimes going up to our knees. Other spots felt like we were walking on sponges because of the moss and roots.

About half way through the hike, we spotted a black bear about 150 yards away. I was able to see it for about 10 seconds, but the tour guide spoke a little too loud and that frightened it away. Later in the day we saw a black bear cub but not their mother. It was exhilarating to see these creatures.

As we hiked alongside the White River, which is a popular fly fishing area because the salmon spawn here, we ate wild blueberries and salmon berries. Very cool and quite tasty!

Only six of us were hiking; two guides and four hikers. It made for a very peaceful experience which enabled us to get in touch with the environment around us. I could not imagine walking through this almost impassable forest without the small bit of trail we had. The animals are completely adapted and get around very easily. We had some rough going at several points.

The list of wildlife I saw today was long:

• 17 eagles (one was immature; i.e. less than five years old)
• 2 black bears
• 2 or 3 dozen harbor seals
• 2 fire belly newts
• 3 very large banana slugs
• 1 kingfisher

I also was able to see two more eagle nests and the tracks of a mature black bear, a black bear cub, a wolf, a pine martin and some Sitka black deer tracks.

It was an incredible day experiencing and connecting with the immense wilderness that Ketchikan is but a small part.

Tomorrow we arrive in Victoria, Canada on Vancouver Island. Our mission is to see orca or killer whales feeding off the coast of the city.

Here’s to creating and finding adventure!

Michael

We arrived in Sitka, Alaska early in the morning. Sitka is home to about 9,000 people, 14 miles of state highway and some of the most pristine natural areas you can visit in the world. Believe it or not the main industry or source of employment in Sitka is health care. You would think it was tourism or fishing, but it’s not.

Sitka is situated 1/3 of the way down Baranof Island on the side facing the Gulf of Alaska. Erica and I loved this sleepy village. The scenery consisted of old and second growth trees of the Tongass National Forest, multiple islands dotting Sitka sound and abundant wildlife of all types.

The area is smack in the middle of the largest national forest in the United States which happens to be temperate rain forest, so it usually rains about 100 inches per year. One local told me that the weather can be summarized like this: 75 days of some sun, 75 days which are overcast and the remainder of the days it rains. Snowy peaks contrast with the rich green hues of the abundant evergreen forest which is growing in every available niche.

We started our day on a powered catamaran touring the islands near the city in Sitka Sound. Our first objective was to find some sea otters. Once we hit Black Island we were awarded with a large group resting on their backs on top of a kelp forest. We continued touring for awhile observing the otters in their natural habitat. They live in shallow water due to the fact that they can’t hold their breath for very long; about three minutes.

A bonus during this trip was that we saw 16 fully mature bald eagles and two very large eagle nests. We saw them sitting in trees, fishing in the ocean and flying. You would think that after seeing so many that it would become tiresome. But, I have to say that it was as exciting to see the last one as it was to see the first. Note: Southeast Alaska is home to 25,000 bald eagles which represents ¼ of the total population throughout the United States.

Next we went on search for humpback whales out in the middle of Sitka Sound. It was quite rough as the ocean swells were high due to an approaching storm. But, the ride was worth it as we were able to watch three humpbacks feeding in the deep waters. One came within in about 30 yards of our boat and startled several of us. Apparently they can be quite curious but not dangerous at all.

After the incredible boat journey, Erica and I took a bus to the Alaska Raptor Center which is one of the largest hospitals for raptors in the country. They work very hard to rehabilitate these magnificent birds and release them back into the wild. Volta, who is the eagle shown in the photo to the right, has a wing bone problem that could never be fixed. So, for the past 16 years, this eagle has been used to teach others about eagles all around the country.

The rest of the day consisted of walking around Sitka and just exploring the town before we had to return to the ship.

Tomorrow is a short stopover in Ketchikan. Erica takes to the skies in a float plane around the misty fjords and I take a long hike in some old growth rainforest looking for bears and other wildlife.

Michael

Today was quite special for me. I had nine bald eagle sightings. I’m fairly certain that four of the nine were the same bird, but that’s not really an issue. I’ve seen more bald eagles in two days than I have in my entire lifetime, which until yesterday was only one and that was in Maine’s Acadia National Park.

Alaska is a special place. I’ve only been here for two full days and I’ve fallen in love with its natural beauty. Nature seems purer, cleaner, wilder and closer to the way things once were and how they can be again.

Erica and I toured the city of Juneau for a few hours, stopping at the shops and visiting the Juneau-Douglas City Museum. Our main shore excursion for the day was a helicopter trip to Mendenhall Glacier. The glacier is about one and half miles wide where we landed. It is an intricate mixture of white and blue ice, boulders, moraine material and running water called mill streams.

We toured the area for about 15 minutes before landing and then we went on a short guided walk across the glacial ice. The 12 mile long Mendenhall Glacier is fed by the Rhode Island size Juneau Ice Field. It was like walking on another planet.

The ice photo is a cascading section of the glacier called an ice fall. The Mendenhall is one of the glaciers that are receding year after year; partly due to natural cycles and partly by global warming.

After our fantastic ride up and back down again, we had a coffee at the end of the day. I sat out on the cruise ship observation deck and watched two eagles in a tree up the side of a mountain about ½ mile away.

I ended my day watching the ship leave the Juneau port, salmon jumping out of the water (being chased by harbor seals), clouds hanging low and kissing the mountains surrounding us while drops of rain spread thousands of ripples on the water between Juneau and Douglas Island. Ahhhhhhh!

We wake up tomorrow morning in Sitka, Alaska about 90 miles south and slightly west of Juneau.

Michael

We arrived at Glacier Bay National Park around 11:00 a.m. ADT (Alaska Daylight Time), which is one hour behind Pacific Time. Glacier Bay National Park is 3.3 million acres and is bordered by the Tongass National Forest in Alaska and the Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park in Canada. The combined protected area is over 24 million acres; second in size only to Antarctica. Glacier Bay is now a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and is also a World Heritage Site with the other adjoining parks.

The entire area is breathtaking in both its natural beauty and in the sheer size of everything you see. In the first photo on the left you can see at the bottom center a torrent of water coming out of the Lamplugh Glacier. The height of the ice you see in this photo is approximately 75 – 100 feet; i.e. almost 10 stories.

The photo on the right with the almost Z like dark area is a small part of the Margerie Glacier which is about 1 mile wide. The last photo is a wide angle shot of the Margerie Glacier; about 2/3 mile. We were about ½ mile away from this glacier which is 25 stories tall. Wow! If you look really close on the bottom right portion of the glacier in the last photo you can see the Z shape there. That will give you an approximate scale. For about an hour we sat in front of the glacier and were blessed with multiple calvings (parts of the leading edge of the glacier cracks off and falls in the ocean). The last calving was huge and formed an immense wave that actually rocked the large cruise ship. It was quite exciting.

During the entire day I was fortunate to see multiple wildlife sightings:

• Two bald eagles; one flying low over the water and another sitting on a large rock out in the bay.
• Many sea lions – I’m estimating several dozen.
• Four minke whales or maybe one four times. It was hard to tell but it was still incredible to see them blow out air and then dive again with their tail in the air.
• Many birds; puffins, different types of gulls and a duck.

Some people near me also saw some porpoises and a brown bear on the shore. Overall we saw the Reid, Lamplugh, Johns Hopkins, Margerie and Grand Pacific glaciers which is over two miles wide and 25 miles long.

Tomorrow we arrive in Juneau to spend the entire day. Erica and I will be taking a helicopter ride, weather permitting, to the Mendenhall Glacier. We will have the opportunity to walk around on the top of the glacier before flying back down. The rest of the day is one of finding what adventures await us.

It was a day out of a dream. I’ll never forget it and hope to return to see everything again.

Michael

It was a long day of open ocean cruising. We skirted the western edge of Vancouver Island, Canada heading north. The first part of the day was overcast but as the day wore on the sun peeked out more and more while we traversed the Hecate Strait between the Queen Charlotte Islands and British Columbia, Canada.

Since early in the morning, the ship has been rolling left and right while swaying up and down. Many people have had a minor upset stomach but surprisingly I haven’t. I’ve been light headed but not nauseated. I guess I’m getting my sea legs. It’s has been humorous walking around the ship as everyone looks like they are drunk.

The coast line of British Columbia opposite the Queen Charlotte Islands was incredibly rugged. The forests are almost impassable and the mountains come right down to the ocean. For many hours, no sign of human life or habitation could be seen from our vantage point five miles west of the coastline.

Watching the primal beauty of the area was strangely relaxing. I spend a lot of time watching the ocean waves and looking for signs of whales. None yet, but I’m very hopeful.

Around 11:00 a.m. tomorrow we arrive at Glacier Bay National Park where we will stay for the day. I’m quite excited by what we may see.

Have a great day!

Michael

It’s shortly after 9:00 p.m. PDT and we are in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Vancouver Island is to our right and the rugged Olympic Peninsula is to our left. Around 11:30 p.m PDT we enter the North Pacific Ocean on the way to our first “stop” in the waters off of Glacier Bay National Park on Tuesday morning.

I boarded the Holland America cruise ship around noon today. While I waited for Erica to arrive, I walked around familiarizing myself with the lay of the boat. The Westerdam is huge with a capacity of about 1900 passengers plus a large crew.

The start of the trip through Puget Sound past Seattle, WA was breathtaking. Mt. Rainer dominated the horizon to the south towering over 14,000 feet in elevation. The sky was without clouds and a deep azure blue. We were on our way.

Two massive ocean going container ships were in the port. I was fascinated by their size and the sheer number of containers that they could carry.

Dinner was semi-formal and quite good with moderate sized portions and a lot of choices. Both Erica and I were tired as neither one of us got a lot sleep the night before, so we retired to our cabin early.

By this time tomorrow night, we will be about a half day of sailing away before we arrive at Glacier Bay National Park.  Translation: about 50 or 60 miles due west of Ketchikan, Alaska.

More as the cruise unfolds.

Michael