Kenai Fjords National Park

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Juvenile Bald Eagle as seen from our RV in the morning.

The day was cold and overcast, but we took a chance on the Kenai Fjords tour with Major Marine. This is a view of our campground as we left the boat harbor in Seward.

We dressed for the cold and chance of rain.

Somebody thought it was a great day for sailing in Resurrection Bay.

The fjords have steep rocky walls.

THis one has a hole all the way through.

It was hard to get a good photo of these puffins while the boat was in motion.

Suddenly we were surrounded by a pod of resident orcas. This family was traveling together. The baby is in the middle. The male has the larger fin.

Baby orca tail....we were able to watch them for a long time.

Orca fins.

We passed many rocky islands on our way across the Gulf of Alaska.

We passed a few sea lions, but got a better view on the way back.

I learned some arctic birds. This is a Common Murre.

A pair of Common Murre.

Next we were entertained by some Humpbacked Whales.

Whale spout.

Humpbacked Whale.

Breaching

Again,

and again.

Mother whale kept slapping the water. Baby was swimming just ahead, but not caught in the pic.

Lotta babies out there....otter holding pup

Our first view of Holgate Glacier, a calving tidewater glacier.

Ashley and me with the glacier behind us.

Another tour boat shows how close we will get and how small we are next to the glacier.

Mountain goat on the mountain next to the glacier.

All this excitement sure will wear you out!

They did wake up when we spotted more Humpbacked Whales surface feeding.

Just look where the gulls are circling, hoping for a meal too.

Bald eagle on sentry duty.

We sailed by some rocks and cliffs with a gazillion nesting birds...gulls, kittiwakes, and puffins....I forget what else.

Puffins nest in the crevices of the rocks.

Horned Puffins 

Puffin habitat 

There were mountain goats here too.

Finally we came back to the Stellar Sea Lions. 

They were all resting. 

Doesn't he look comfortable? 

If you're getting sleepy, this will wake you up. Dall's Porpoises, attracted to our fast moving boat, zoomed along the bow for some excitement toward the end of our cruise.

Dall's porpoises are very fast swimmers. 

Want to watch? Click on the video.

We spent another day in Seward today and visited the Sea Life Center. That'll be another post. We will leave here tomorrow and make our way back toward Anchorage to put Jennifer and Ashley on a plane home. We had a great time, but alas, their vacation time is over. Next up for me is the Kenai Peninsula.