FRI 9/3: We get up around 6:30 and go to the entrance to the Army resort, where we meet a shuttle bus that takes us to Seward's harbor area. Seward is much larger than Whittier, and has lots of permanent residences. The harbor is on Resurrection Bay, and has lots of fishing boats, a dock for cruise ships, and a little shopping district on the shore. We get our boarding passes and board our ship, the Coastal Explorer. We're taking a glacier cruise with Kenai Fjords Tours into the Kenai Fjords National Park, which is mostly a marine park. There is a good possibility of seeing whales (both killer and humpback), although we're a little late in the season. Nikki and Tom have both seen whales on previous tours with this company, but Tom says he has never seen both types on one trip. I keep my fingers crossed for orcas (killer whales). I always loved Shamu.
We set out into Resurrection Bay, keeping near to one shoreline. We see several bald eagles, as well as some puffins. They're cool, but birds are not what I'm here for. We head out into more open water. I'm a little nervous because I know my dad gets seasick, and I've never been out on the ocean like this before, but once I adjust to the rolling of the boat, I'm fine. It also helps that I spend a lot of time out on the deck breathing the cold fresh air. We head out towards a small group of rocky islands, the Chiswells. On the sides of the islands there are some birds roosting: more puffins and things called common murres. They look like penguins but aren't.
Our captain, who is also the tour guide and has a bad habit of promising too much, tells us to watch around the far side of the island as he sometimes sees a whale out here. Unfortunately, there are only about thirty Stellar's sea lions sunning themselves on the rocks. Normally, they would be pretty exciting, but after being promised a whale, they're a bit of a let down. Luckily, we head around the back side of the island and hit the jackpot. We're in an area between three islands when someone spots a humpback blowing air at the surface. Off to one side is a group of birds "working a bait ball" as our guide describes it, which means they fly in a circle around a school of fish to trap them in one area, then dive in to eat them. We're told to keep an eye on this spot because the whale is likely headed there to feed. Then we see another whale blow in a different area, so now there are two humpbacks in our vicinity. We pull up near the bait ball to sit and wait, and finally the whales appear. They begin to surface near the food, and suddenly two of them surface together, breathing in tandem. According to our guide this is very rare, and probably means those two are a mother and calf. So now we've got four humpbacks around us. Unfortunately, it's hard to photograph them, because by the time we spot them, they're already back under the water. None of them do a "fluke dive", where they raise their tails straight up before diving, so eventually we move off. I'm a little bummed, because based on Tom's previous experience, this likely means no killer whales.
We head up Aialik Bay to get a close look at Holgate Glacier. Just before reaching it, we pass a rocky cliff, and there is a mountain goat near the bottom. He looks like a large shaggy white dog, and hops up the cliff for the benefit of many cameras on the boat. The glacier is huge, and a river of melt comes rushing out at the bottom. We get to see it calve, but it's not as impressive as when we were kayaking, probably because the sound of the engine drowns out some of the thunder. We get a few pictures and then head back out of the bay. On the way out, we pass another boat from Kenai Fjords Tours. Their captain must have been in radio contact with our captain, because he announces that he's changing course and that we're in for something very special. Based on his previous track record, I don't get my hopes up.
We head for an island and pull into a horseshoe shaped cove, idling in the water. After a few minutes, we begin to see large black dorsal fins carving out of the water off the one side of the horseshoe. Orcas are headed our way. As they enter the cove, our guide tells us there are seven to nine whales, most of whom are part of the same pod. There are a couple of males he doesn't recognize, and they appear to be along to mate with the young females in the pod. There is also a mother and a baby, and which is amusing itself by skidding over the top of her when she surfaces for air. The whales are curious about our boat, and come nearer and nearer, finishing with the mother and baby passing right beneath the boat for a "hull inspection". It's kind of scary to see something that large just beneath the surface of the water passing under your boat. Meanwhile, the young females, trying to attract the attention of the young males, are doing something very curious. They surface on their backs with their white bellies pointed towards the sky and flap their tails against the surface of the water. I assume this is some sort of breeding signal, but it also makes for an amazing picture. I shoot an entire roll of film in about two minutes. The whales continue to play around the boat, and their dorsal fins, some as tall as five feet, surface all around us. Finally, our guide has to take us back since we're already running late, and the boat has to make another trip that day. It's hard to leave that cove.
Heading back into Resurrection Bay, we have the wind at our back and are "surfing" the waves, meaning we're going in the same direction as the breaks. Less bouncing and faster speeds. I sit right at the front of the boat with the wind in my face, happy as a clam. No thoughts of seasickness are crossing my mind now. Just before we dock, we pass a couple of sea otters who are struggling with the choppiness of the water. Normally, they like to lay on their backs, but it's difficult to do because of the size of the waves. Once we disembark, we do a little shopping in Seward, then head back to Anchorage.
In Anchorage, we stop at the REI store. Tom and I walk through the kayak section and discuss what exactly I would need to get started. All the kayaks are on sale for Labor Day, and it's very tempting to buy one. Might be kind of tough to get it on the plane, though. We head back to Tom and Nikki's and while I pack up my stuff, Tom grills steaks and Nikki and P.I. make a delicious salad. I stuff myself, and then it's time to head to the airport. Todd and Cynthia are there for one more day, and P.I. for two, so I'm the first to leave. It's very difficult to go. I'm hoping that they will ask for volunteers to get bumped from my flight, but no such luck. I spend six hours on the way to Dallas getting kicked in the leg by a sleeping two-year-old, then spend my entire two hour flight from Dallas to Chicago in an unconscious state. I'm so tired, I barely register the hot girl in the seat behind me. I drive back to Indy in a daze, force myself to stay up until 10 pm, and then pass out for close to fifteen hours. Back to real life.
I am 99.9% positive I will go back to Alaska. I had an incredible experience there, and I'm so happy I got to share it with friends. We owe Tom and Nikki so much for all the planning, guidance, and preparation. But even with everything we did, we barely scratched the surface. I'm overwhelmed by the wild beauty of the place, and living in a state where it seems like every available inch of farmland is being turned into a subdivision, it nice to know there's still so much land that has never been touched by human feet. I can't wait to see it again.
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