A Whale Watching Morning

A few nights ago I did an internet search of events in Juneau, and came across a Audubon Society fund-raiser this weekend - a whale watching 4-hour cruise leaving from Auke Bay.  Two cruises were scheduled for today - one in the morning and one in the afternoon. 

I called the book store that was selling the tickets, and learned that there was only 1 ticket (ONE ticket) left.  I excitedly asked if the store could hold it for me, and learned that they could not.  I then found out that the bookstore didn't open until 10am. 

So.......finished up my meeting as quickly as I could and rushed like a crazy woman to the store hoping that the sole ticket remaining for whale watching this weekend was still available.  It was. 

And I walked out of the store with my ticket in hand, feeling like I had just won the lottery.  $45 for a 4 hour whale watching cruise.  I was incredibly excited to have a chance to take part, and at the same time was disappointed that my Mountain Boy would not be joining me. 

The above picture is the boat that we took for this event.  The boat contained two stories, very large glass windows for extraordinary viewing, and an outdoor deck which was windy and noisy, but allowed you to watch up close, as opposed to viewing through the series of windows.  I wandered through all three areas during the trip. 

I took almost 100 pictures this morning.  And I can honestly say that these pictures do not do the the trip justice.  The scenery was unbelievably beautiful, wild, untamed, open............

We passed three glaciers this morning - Mendenhall, Herbert and Eagle.  I think this one is Eagle Glacier

Within the first hour of our sailing we found what we were searching for, and we saw them fairly frequently from that point on.  I took quite a few pictures of whales, but just couldn't capture them well enough with my camera. 

Often they were too far away for my camera to be able to do them justice.  And sometimes I was just too slow off the mark.

I cannot really describe the excitement I felt when I saw the first one.  I was on my cell phone with LC and all of a sudden this guy appeared in the water.

The very first time I heard a whale was out at the Aboretum, just a few miles from my house about a month ago.  I had been mountain biking Out the Road and stopped at the Aboretum to see what was beginning to grow.  As I was putting my helmet back on I heard a high pitched sound in the cove, and even though I had never heard a whale before I knew instantly what it was. 

I stopped what I was doing, scanning the water and hoping that I would hear him again.  I didn't.  But that one brief and exciting moment is seared into my brain.

That same feeling happened again today.  I was talking on the phone, telling my Mountain Boy what I was seeing - the mountains, the water, the many islands, the birds - and all of a sudden this whale appeared.

At first it was just a dark spot on the water.  And then he arched and I saw the entire length of this creature, and then he was gone.  Only to reappear again a few minutes later.

Further into our journey we found sealions.  Whenever we came across either whales or sealions the fast moving boat would slow down considerably so we could take in, photograph and enjoy what we were seeing. 

The boat had many sets of binoculars laying on seats for people to use, and I spent a long time watching these sealions.  Even though they were a long way from us, through the binoculars they were very clear, and hugely interesting to view.

Some things about them surprised me.  They were much bigger than I expected and one of the volunteers on board told us that the females usually weigh between 700 and 1000 pounds each.  The males can weigh anywhere from 1500-3000 pounds.  I had no idea they grew so big.

On the rocks it was obvious which were male and which were female.  The females all congregated closely together in a very large group.  The males (so much bigger) lay apart from the females.

What amazed me the most was how they all lay on the rocks.  There were many cracks and crevices in the rock faces, and these sealions molded their bodies to conform with the shape of the rocks.  They all lay extremely close to each other, some laying their heads on the bodies of the others - obviously very social creatures.

As with whales, I have never seen sealions in the wild (except for a couple here and there in the water in coves at Auke Bay) before today.

I am disappointed in the pictures - too far away, and me zooming in as far as I could.  But they were awesome to see - my favorite part of the trip.

A few more pictures of whales.  I learned quickly that the blow (water spray) was the first sign that whales were close.

Seeing huge numbers of islands (both big and small) on maps, and actually seeing so many islands in person are two different things.  I have seen Shelter Island on maps hundreds of times (as well as seeing real estate advertised there), but just did not realized how very large of a land mass it was.  This is only one small part of it....

 

The very cute face of another whale-watching enthusiast.

The cruise staff and volunteers told us the names of many coves and bays throughout our cruise, but I honestly don't remember the names of many of them.

But this cove was one more very interesting and wonderful part of the cruise.  What you are seeing is a herring spawning area - and the multitude of different species of birds that are drawn here during this time.

At one point I counted over 20 eagles in this area - resting in trees, perched on rocks, flying in the air.  Hundreds, maybe thousands, of birds constantly in motion.

At one point during our stop, the herring had drawn not only birds, but also whales and sealions.

At this stop I saw two whales swimming side by side.  One surfaced, arched, disappeared.  And immediately afterwards, the second whale did the same thing.

We spent the first three hours of our trip taking our time, speeding to different areas, stopping whenever we saw whales or sealions or large groups of birds, turning the boat to follow whales as they would surface and then dive - just wandering through the channel and among the islands and coves.

The last hour was a speedy trip back, so that we could stay on schedule, and be back at Auke Bay by 12:30pm.

To their extraordinary credit, we pulled into the harbor at 12:32pm.  Well done. 

I had an extraordinary trip, and an extraordinary morning.  I saw things that I had never seen before.  It reminded me yet again that Alaska is a state that is unlike any other.  

And I was watching the people on the boat today - very old, very young, and all ages in between.  And mostly locals. 

They are hardy, love nature, and willingly and joyfully embrace the outdoors.

It was very good day.

Alaska

There is a beauty,

odd and distant at times,

to this place

that is not lost in the darkness.

You yearn for these mountains,

ache to touch the skyline.

And sounding the wind's siren call

into your soul with each breath,

you are drawn to search

for its pulse,

full certain you will never hold it for long

but sure that it is what beats

in your veins.

You are held

in this unforgiving prison

by your own inability

to want to leave

and the desire

to keep its mountain walls

like this always.

....Amanda Brandenberg