Pictures of Whale

Here is the proof. A large humpback and a smaller calve came very close to our boat. What a wonderful experience to see and hear and experience.

Last pictures for now. Here is the view from our last anchorage before we got into Auke Harbor near Juneau. Rainbows and Sunsets both pictures show what a treat the sky is putting on for our eyes.

Whales

June 28th
I have been on the boat for over a week and Mike has been on for over 5 weeks, everyday brings beauty beyond words. We are having such fun. Little things that we laugh about - like a little hummingbird that came to us in the middle of this huge channel and circled around my flower hat and was only inches away from it...maybe thinking it was a colorful flower. Mike's amazement at seeing Sawyer glacier and then today....WHALES! We were heading up near Juneau and all of sudden there was a big burst of air and water and a humpback whale, maybe with a calf. We stopped the boat and watched and listened. The water was calm and we just took it all in and now as I am finishing this...I look at and see porpoises playing around the boat - amazing. Hope all is well with our family and friends. We are heading North to pick Evan up next Friday and then on to Glacier Bay! More pictures to come as we get them downloaded.

Taku Harbor

June 26th
Taku Harbor is our home for two nights. We are on a dock and it is nice to be able to get off the boat and look around. This is the sight of a Hudson Bay fort in the 1840's and then more recently a cannery that lasted until 1923. Lots of fun ruins to explore. Over the years people have made sculptures on the old pilings with some of the iron and steal left from the cannery. We also took the dingy around to the most incredible rock formations. I managed to fill my pockets with rocks - until Mike notice a squall coming our way and we hurried to the dingy to motor back in the soaking rain and wind! We have been on the look out of a Grizzly bear mother and cub that have been in the area - no sign of them, though I am driving Mike crazy singing and jingling my bear bells whenever we step away from the boat!

Sawyer Glacier

Next morning, unbelievable day - we started at 5:00 AM as the sun was coming over the towering snowcapped mountains. The water was calm and around every corner there were majestic waterfalls cascading down shear rock walls. It looks like we are driving a boat through Yosemite Park. We were also zigzagging through ice bergs - some as little as ice cubes and others as big as three story houses. We finally worked our way past the mother and baby seals and as close to the glacier as we could get. We could hear it thunder when huge chunks would calve off and the air was crystal clear - so fresh. We stopped the boat and had a picnic on the boat. Then Mike noticed the tide was coming in and with it were all of icebergs floating back towards the boat...time to go! I climbed onto the boom and pointed as we made our way out of the maze of bergs! We made it back to our lovely little cove and had a nice relaxing drink - We called it Sawyer Iceberg Margarita - the best Margarita we have ever had!

Icebergs

June 24-25
Wow! We are in the Tracy Arm that leads to the Sawyer Glacier. Our first evening we took the dingy out to the channel to see the icebergs floating down from the glacier 25 miles away. They are breathtaking...take a look.

Sandborn Channel

June 23rd - Happy Golden Birthday to my daughter Megan. 23 on the 23rd!! We cruised into a lovely little channel called Sandborn Channel. We saw lots of sea life today; a huge stellar sea lion swallowing a big salmon, a Minkie Whale, the flipper of an Orca (my first Orca sighting) and a little black bear nibbling on the grass near the shoreline. This channel is so still we can see these lovely reflections during low tide. The trees, moss, rocks, kelp and water just become one lovely mirror.

June 22nd
After we left Wrangell we headed North to Petersburg, a small fishing town with a Norwegian Flair. We had fabulous halibut and chips and explored the quaint little town. I had to do a little shopping I brought 8 pair of shorts and 4 swimsuits - but just one pair of jeans!! I have always been optimistic, but Alaska and shorts? (Mike has now discovered he has more shorts than me!) I think we may have to fly to Hawaii from Alaska to use our shorts.

Wrangell

June 19th-21st Wrangell -We met up with Nona and Dick and had a fun boat trip up the Stikine River. The Stikine is the largest river in S.E. Alaska and we spent 5 hours on the river enjoying the scenery (glacier, flowers, waterfalls and a little bear dung) and near the end we saw about 10 eagles eyeing something in the water. We have eagles in Washington, but these eagles are huge - plenty to eat up here!

Changing of the 1st Mates

Hello Again, Since you last heard from us...we have made some 1st mate changes. Good bye Bill - we will miss you and hello Julie.

The last week, we have been out of cell service and internet service most of the time - so no blogging, but lots of adventures. Here are some of the highlights... (Sorry if things get out of order - I am still trying to get used to doing this from the boat and not from home.)

She's here!

I survived! Yup, after three long and eventful weeks, my adventure is over and Julie's has just barely begun.