Alaska Roundup with videos of ice, whales and bears.
We left the south end of Vancouver Island on May 3rd and returned Sep 16th, 135 days. We boated at far north as Skagway to the east and Glacier Bay to the west, a total distance of 6,000 nautical miles.
Most of the time it was slow (8 kts) cruising through an environment of trees, rocks and water…..then more trees, rocks and water. The weather was generally in the 50’s at night and 60’s during the day. High was in the 80’s low in the low 40’s. Water temperature ranged from low 40’s to high 60’s.
Coming from Miami, everything about Alaska is a contrast: the weather, the topography, the language, the food and most of all the very self reliant people.
This is the first year we have shot any video on our trips, but many things simply could not be captured with a still picture. Returning home we had a jumble of short segments and Dan had to learn how to edit this stuff. The short clips shown here are our first attempt, enjoy.
The first one covers three visits to Tracy’s Arm, between Petersburg and Juneau on the inside passage. We also visited Le Conte between Wrangle and Petersburg and Sawyer in Glacier Bay….this was the best.
WARNING, THESE VIDEOS WILL NOT PLAY ON AN IPAD.
We have seen whales all over the Northwest, from the San Juan Islands, primarily Orchas, to the many passages in Alaska. Fredrick Sound, just below Admiraly Island, provided the best area for Humpback whales….enjoy some the sights and sounds.
Alaska wes very dry this summer and the berry crop was so good many of the bears stayed up the mountains much later in the season this year. While our sighting along the shores were rare, we did get a chance to visit this Bear Preserve run by the US Forest Service, it is located at the bottom of Wrangle Narrows.
While we had planned on moving the boat to Europe for the summer of 2016, we have decided instead to go back to Alaska for one more season and continue to explore this rugged country.