Capturing the Moment

Quiet nook from a kayak Morning Office View   For the past two weeks I have been leading expedition guiding trips around the San Juan Islands, Deception Pass, and Olympic National Park. The trips are seven days, round trip from Seattle. My base is the beautiful Safari Quest. I like to think of it as the flagship for the UnCruise fleet. She can carry 22 passengers and 10 crew. The crew includes a pastry chef, bartender, steward, hotel manager, executive chef, captain, chief mate, deckhand, engineer, and an expedition leader (that's me). It is an amazing crew and to make things even better we most often have pretty amazing guests.  Rough skinned newt!   We only run the Pacific Northwest trips during the shoulder season. The bulk of the summer sailing season is in Southeast Alaska. Due to the pandemic it had been a couple of years since we've run these PNW trips, but we jumped right back into it. The itinerary is very active, with big hikes almost every day. One comment I of...

Hard Charging Mountain Climb     Near the top of Eagle Cliff   As the expedition leader aboard the Safari Quest one of my many daily challenges is to find destinations that can offer multiple level s of challenge to the guests. This may be a choice between a kayak and a skiff tour, a beach walk or a long hike, or maybe even a climb up a mountain vs driving up. The more options that guests have for activities means it is easier to self select which group to go out with. One of the great things about the Pacific Northwest itinerary is that every spot we go to gives us multiple options of difficulty level so I can easily personalize the activities for the passengers we have on that week. Hard Chargers on the Summit    This week we had a group of hard charging hikers onboard so I searched for a good challenge. It came in the form of a mountain ridge climb on the little known Cypress Island, one of the 172 San Juan Islands. The total hike is only...

 There is just something about lighthouses that I find so photogenic. This tiny lighthouse sits on the western edge of San Juan Island in Lime Kiln State Park and is a favorite of whale watchers and sunset gazers. The island of Vancouver can be seen across the straits and the rugged mountains of the Olympic peninsula can be seen on a clear day as well. The setting sun on my last visit to the lighthouse this season was so pretty that I just had to jump for joy and immortalize it in a picture. Here is to a great 2017 Pacific Northwest fall season on the Safari Quest.

  The San Juan Islands are nestled in between the US. mainland and the southernmost part of Canada, Victoria B.C. Back in 1859 a war almost broke out between England and the U.S. over who these islands belonged to. It was eventually left up to a third party to decide. The arbitrator was the leader of Germany at the time, Kaiser Wilhelm. He sided with the U.S. and from that point on the San Juan islands belonged to us. And if you get a chance to go visit the islands you will be glad the Kaiser voted that way because they are a hidden gem right in Seattle's backyard. Gardens at Roche Harbor   Friday harbor is the main town amongst the islands. Its quirky shops and bookstores keep the tourists and locals entertained, while a storied company town history still shines through on San Juan as shown in the Co. store and historic lime kilns at Roche Harbor. Lime Kiln Lighthouse   Most of the business these days is from tourist, although one farmer has found a way t...

View from the Bridge  The adventure is underway. Our first stop on our Northbound to Alaska is a quick town stop in the San Juan Islands. Friday Harbor is a quaint village nestled on San Juan Island. Even though it is the commercial center of the islands the description of "bustling" would be a bit of an overstatement. Boats of all kinds are tied up in the harbor and big ferries come in every few hours. A statue of a seal named "Popeye" overlooks the harbor at the end of the docks and the actual seal Popeye still haunts the harbor on a daily basis. She awaits food handed to her from the nearby seafood stall. Popeye lost her eye many years ago but hasn't let that stop her from having ten different pups! Popeye Friday Harbor   We had the morning to walk around so I was able to snap a few pictures of the beautiful town. I also picked up some local beer from the Island Hoppin Brewery to do a special beer tasting on our Northbound since we only h...