The Great Alaska Adventure

Re-entered the "lower 48"....

At sea...

Ketchikan sits on the Alaska Marine Highways Inside Passage. It is only accessible by air and ferry. It was a very rainy day when we arrived here. We started the day with a tour of the shops downtown. Then off to the Totem Bight State Park and the Lumberjack show. Ketchikan's economy is based upon tourism and fishing. Ketchikan used to be home to Ketchikan Pulp Company (KPC) a subsidiary of Louisiana-Pacific Corp. In 1995 the EPA closed them down with a $3,000,000 fine for polluting the shores of Ward Cove, they were denied ever operating again in Ketchikan. Not alot of pictures from today with all the rain, time to head back out to sea and then on home in a few days.

Juneau has been the capital of Alaska since 1906 when it was moved to Juneau from Sitka, AK. Juneau is accessible only by sea or air. Cars and trucks are transported to and from Juneau by barge or ferry. On this port of call, Leigh and I went on the Mendenhall Glacier and Whale Watching Photo Safari. The hike around the Mendenhall Glacier was awesome, but our trip out to to see the whales was by far the highlight. We got to see 15 humpback whales, bubble net feeding from 100 feet away on our boat that only seated 16.

Bubble net feeding is type of behavior known as social foraging. It is unique to humpback whales. Even though humpbacks are found throughout the world, this type of group feeding is not practiced by all humpbacks. It has been observed and documented in Alaska, the Northeast Coast of North America, and the west coast of South America. Of all of the bubble net feeding groups, the population in Southeast Alaska is the best characterized.

The process begins with the whales at the surface, diving as a group. Once the group is under water one whale within the group initiates a series of vocalizations known as feeding calls. The herring move away from the source of the feeding calls toward the wall of bubbles. It is unknown if the feeding calls also serve as a communication among the whales. As the prey come close to the bubble wall, the bubble blowing whale encloses the wall of bubbles around them, creating a cylinder with the fish trapped inside. The whales position themselves at the bottom of the cylinder as the herring are fleeing upward toward the surface. While the bubble net is being deployed, the other whales in the group position themselves so that the school of captured fish will be between them and the bubble blowing whale. This was an incredible experience.

Leigh will have to post the pictures she took on her awesome new camera of the bubble net feeding, since I didn't capture them on my little Canon. Stay tuned, last port of call tomorrow in Skagway, AK.

We pulled into port at 6:00AM. We were all ready for our Glacier Wilderness Safari at Glacier Point Alaska which began at 7:30AM. We met our guide Sam at the pier where we boarded a catamaran for the 1 hour and 20 minute ride to a private island on Glacier Point. On the ride out we saw at least 10 bald eagles. There is the largest Bald Eagle refuge, right near Haines, AK. In fact it is the largest Bald Eagle sanctuary in North America. We were met there by 4 more guides where we boarded an old school bus for a 6 mile journey to a camp at the base of the Davidson Glacier. We were given boots and some were given clothing that were not dressed correctly. It seemed like 65 degrees out, but we were told as we approached the glacier by canoe that it would feel like we were entering a freezer and it did. We had 10 to canoe where we all paddled at the direction that Sam told us toward the glacier. When you look at the glaciers from a 1 - 3 mile distance you feel their enormity. When you approach one in a canoe and sit at 500 feet from it's base you feel insignficant. After the glacier tour we picked wild strawberries and ate them. They were the size of a blueberry, some people were lucky and found them the size of a raspberry, they were sweet as can be. We were given lunch on the Catamaran back to the ship. After returning to the pier we hiked into the Town of Skagway. This town is only open during the summer. Up until the 1980's Skagway's main economy was its rail, today it is 100 % tourism. Many of the towns summer residents return to their other residences in Florida, Takoma, Seattle, San Diego, and many many other locations....etc...for the winter. We purchased a few "Made in Alaska" items, NOT "Made in China" items, then headed to the Skagway Brewing Company for some home made local micro brew. Leigh had a Blue Spruce Ale, I had a Chilatook IPA, and Debbie had an Alaskan Summer Ale. Honestly I am not a beer drinker but the beer in Alaska is phenomenal!!! Tomorrow off to Juneau, the state capital of Alaska. A little bit of Trivia, there are no highways that lead into Juneau. The only way to get there is by aircraft and boat....interesting.....Tomorrows excursion is to the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, stay tuned for those photos. Enjoy todays photo's from Glacier Point and Skagway!