There are many small islands dotted in the Sound, with eagles, sea lions and otters playing on the beaches. We even saw a mother black bear with her two tiny cubs foraging on the beach!
We were glad to be inside the boat when the mist turned to full out rain, but it didn't seem to bother this puffin, swimming happily among the raindrops on the water.
We sailed up the Unakwik Inlet right into the ice chunks surrounding the end of the giant Meares Glacier - 250 feet high and 3/4 of a mile across - and watched as pieces of the glacier broke away and plunged into the sea.
These otters don't seem to even notice that they're swimming among ice bergs!! Their fur insulates them from the cold water, and they play happily in the ice . . .
We were lucky enough to come across a particularly playful gray whale, who entertained us for quite a while with his acrobatic leaps and twirls in the air. He was clearly showing off for us!!
Vivid purple fireweed was everywhere - along the sides of the highways, blooming in huge fields of color on the hillsides, along the shores of rivers and lakes, making every landscape more colorful.
These otters don't seem to even notice that they're swimming among ice bergs!! Their fur insulates them from the cold water, and they play happily in the ice . . .
We were lucky enough to come across a particularly playful gray whale, who entertained us for quite a while with his acrobatic leaps and twirls in the air. He was clearly showing off for us!!
The Valdez harbor is busy with many colorful fishing boats, tug boats, and other assorted watercraft, including colorful kayaks.
Fun is where you find it on a long motorhome trip, especially if you're a furry traveller. Kibo entertains himself with a small stuffed Alaska bear . . .
while Moshi plays house in the cupboard. . . . .
From Valdez we travelled north to Copper Center at the confluence of the Klutina and Copper Rivers, where Bob and Mark planned to fish for the famed Copper River salmon. Along the way we passed this mirror-calm lake ringed with the black spruce so common in Alaska, and reflecting the sky and clouds above. This is the kind of beauty you see everywhere in Alaska!
The mighty fishermen with their catch . . . .
The happy eaters of the giant salmon . . . .
On our drive south to Haines we stopped for a hike to St. Elias Lake in the Kluane National Park. The lake was beautifully clear and cold, surrounded by mountains.
Vivid purple fireweed was everywhere - along the sides of the highways, blooming in huge fields of color on the hillsides, along the shores of rivers and lakes, making every landscape more colorful.
We saw this charming bear in Haines, where she had been fishing at a fish weir along the river. Now she was full and heading for the forest . . .through the fireweed.
More fireweed, along the turquoise glacial lake above Haines.
Haines is a lovely coastal town surrounded by forested hills and glaciated mountains. Our park was right on the water, with a fabulous view of the harbor and the channel leading out to the Inland Passage from nearby Skagway, host to many cruise ships.
Leaving Haines heading north again, toward the Yukon and the Cassiar Highway, there were many small lakes mirroring the mountains and flowers around them. We were high here, on White Pass, and the air was crisp and cool, and the sky bright blue.
On the Cassiar Highway driving toward Hyder we saw this little group (herd?) of Stone sheep - two moms and two babies alongside the road. They were quite brave, and not bothered by the cars passing by. They posed cooperatively for us in between their grazing for lunch.
We stopped for the night at the Red Goat Campground on bucolic Eddontenajin Lake, where we went canoeing in the calm warm evening. This was a somewhat strange campground, with flakey power and some untethered llamas wandering around, but the scenery couldn't be beat!
Fish Creek in Hyder is a favorite spot for both grizzly and black bears to fish for salmon as they work their way upstream to spawn. The Park Service has built a wooden walkway so that people can watch the bears safely, and what a show it is!! The bears seem oblivious to the people as they single-mindedly fish, eat berries, and splash around in the clear water of the stream. We spent hours watching them, and would probably still be there if Bob and Mark hadn't insisted we leave as it got dark!!
One of our last stops on the way home was at Tchesinkut Lake in British Columbia. In the evening we rented a little boat with a 5 horse motor and putted around the lake listening to the loons and enjoying sunset, then watched the moon rise over the lake. A fitting way to end our Excellent Alaskan Adventure!!
