Capturing the Moment

   It has been a crazy week. I feel like our guests have experienced more exceptional wildlife encounters than most crew does working all season. Alaska is definitely providing for those willing to step out of their bubbles and hit the deck running.     This week started off with multiple sightings of black bears in the fjord leading up to Dawes Glacier. Then arctic terns and harbor seals lounging about on ice flows. We ran across orcas back out in Stephens Passage, who led us to more orcas that were predating on a dall's porpoise. Then we found the early season motherload of humpback whales with another pod of dall's porpoise. Then after birthday celebrations in front of a huge waterfall at Red Bluff Bay, we entered brown bear territory. Here we had a close encounter with two young bears on the beach at our landing spot! They trotted off into the woods and used our trail (really their trail), to stay well ahead of us until venturing off into the forest. We awok...

A Taste of Alaska in Washington's Olympic National Park    View from Hurricane Ridge Inside the forest at Lake Crescent Port Angeles describes itself as the gateway to Olympic National Park. This is where we dock the Safari Quest on the last day of our Pacific Northwest trips here in Washington. Scenic, 5000+ ft Hurricane Ridge is a 45 minute drive, and the glacially carved Lake Crescent is only 30 minutes away, giving us two great options to choose from.   I have been taking my groups to Hurricane Ridge, to explore the totally different environment that one can find at 5000+ft . Mountain firs and hemlocks abound, grey jays jabber from the limbs, and Mt Olympus pokes up from behind the remaining glaciers deep within the park’s 1,000,000 acres.   During the spring trips we encountered 10ft snowbanks… I’ll be sure to bring snowshoes next Spring. During the fall we found that we could escape the heat from below and exchange it for nice crisp mountain...

The whale action has been intense lately in Southeast Alaska. I've been traveling the waterways of Alaska's Inside Passage   on the luxury adventure cruise ship Safari Quest. I absolutely love getting people out with the humpback whales on our small skiffs. The low vantage point, almost water level, gives a whole new perspective of how big these animals really are. When you are in a small inflatable boat the size of a suburban, and you are surrounded by animals the size of city school buses you can't help but feel in awe of their sheer size and power. Today was one of those lucky days where we had so many close humpback whale encounters from the skiff, and the water conditions were so calm, that I was able to get a bit creative in my whale photography. We were able to position our skiff to view the diving humpback whale in between us and the Safari Quest. I always like to think about the backgrounds in my pictures to see if I can use anything to help tell more of a st...

Brown Bear on Admiralty Island   I'm back in Alaska after almost a year to be expedition leader for UnCruise's newest itinerary: Bears, Bergs, and Bushwhacking . This itinerary is only run by our smallest boat, the 22 passenger Safari Quest. With wilderness management protections in place here in the Tongass National Forest, the Safari Quest is able to take passengers into highly protected areas where only two groups of 12 hikers can step foot onto ground each day. The amazing Admiralty Island, or what the local Tlingit people call the island "Kootznoowoo" or Fortress of the Bear, because it has the highest concentration of brown bears in the world.   The trip ends up doing a round trip back to Petersburg, which means that most of the time out on the water we are in prime humpback whale feeding grounds. Frederick Sound has been a hot spot for humpback whales spending the summer months here in Southeast Alaska. Calm waters of the Inside Passage mixed with snow ...

Ready for more of this $15 Mariners tix   I'm back for round 2 on the Safari Quest and year 4 for an UnCruise summer season. I'll be expedition leader aboard the 22 passengers luxury cruise yacht Safari Quest, doing weeklong trips on the British Columbia coast as well as the Inside Passage of Alaska. But first we need to unpack the boat which has been getting upgrades and maintenance over the winter at Fishermen's Terminal in Seattle. Plus I get to meet the new team! Although by this time I know pretty much everyone I'll be working with and quite a few are returning from working the Quest last season. Still gives us a good reason for bonding over baseball games and mini golf hijinx. Lala, Amie, Kerri, Dirk, Emily, Denee, Anastasia, Mark, and Myself The streets lit up with Spring colors Safari Quest in action   The weather is some of the best I've experienced here in the spring time. The wildflowers are just starting to bloom, as are the cher...

Safari Quest in Fishermens Terminal, Seattle   The Hawaii season is finished, the whales are all headed north back to their feeding grounds in Alaska, so that is where I am headed as well. It was a great winter season leading trips in Hawaii onboard the Safari Explorer, followed by a multi-island private trip for a family that I will only say was... educational for all involved. But now it is on to new adventures, onboard a new boat.   You may even call this one a yatch. The Safari Quest is a beautiful boat inside and out, with all the amenities you could ask for, including a pastry chef. We can take a maximum of 22 passengers with a compliment of 10 crew. We have a shoulder season itinerary of the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia. Then we will spend the greater part of the summer sailing through Alaska's Inside Passage. British Columbia Wildlife   I am still the expedition leader, however now I am also the guide. I'm familiar with this set up in Hawaii...