Capturing the Moment

Kayakers starting their trip   I recently returned to Alaska after some quality family time back East to lead the last few UnCruise expeditions of the season onboard the Safari Quest. I was excited to be in Alaska at this time of year because wildlife in August can really put on a show. The whales are here in mass, their food being at peak bloom, and the salmon are returning to their streams, which means the bears are gorging on an all you can eat buffet. What I quickly realized was that all of the wildlife is really just icing on the cake.   Just being in Alaska, and getting out into the wilderness is enough to satisfy any adventurer's soul. And today's kayak around the Keku Islands was about as good as it gets...and this was our guests first excursion of the week. Incredible kayak conditions   We woke to an all encompassing fog. Standing on the bow in the middle of a cloud it has a way of deadening all noise around you. You are forced to be in the present,...

Alone at the Skookumchuk Rapids Mist hugging the forest   It turns out Fall is a pretty amazing time to cruise through islands and fjords of British Columbia. Early morning clouds hang low enough to touch the mist rising from the water. It has a way of hiding thousand foot cliffs only to reveal them a few seconds later. The fog also hugs the forest, often moving in and around the huge old growth trees like some ethereal river. Paddle Boarding the Fjord    It is a rare opportunity for photography, as mist can often be a landscape photographers best friend. It add a mysterious effect, and always reminds me of ancient Chinese paintings where layers of mist would separate the foreground, middle, and background adding depth to a two dimensional scene. Ready to Deploy   The fog became so thick at one point during a kayak excursion this week that all sound was snuffed out except a ship's foghorn that would cut through the mist from far away every few...

Cute BnB's are the way to stay in Tadoussac    Tadoussac is a small town about three hours drive north from Quebec City deep in the heart of French Canada. Nestled in the hills where the St Lawrence waterway meets the only fjord on the east coast of North America, the Saguenay. Because of this ideal location Tadoussac was the first trading outpost set up by French explorers in New France. Nowadays tourists flock to the rugged village for its quaint beauty, easy hiking trails, and its facilities for whale watching. The main draw for me of course is the whales. Even though I get to see whales all the time in Alaska and Hawaii through my work I love experiences different whales in different parts of the world. Here in Tadoussac you can see not just humpbacks, but also blue, fin, minke, and beluga whales. Most are here in the height of summer for feeding on the upwelling just offshore, although the belugas live here year round. You can see the whales from shore but the ...

Forest in the Mist Welcome to the Maui cloud forest   Hiking through a cloud with soaring trees slowly fading away into the mist makes you feel like you are no longer on a tropical island. The temperature can plummet below freezing overnight and the wind makes the cloud come to life like a slow moving white river flowing through the forest. Enter the cloud belt, 7,000ft up on the slope of Haleakala volcano. Endemic birds like the I'iwi or scarlet honeycreeper chase each other from tree top to tree top bringing a stark red contrast to the misty green of the cloud forest. Juvenile I'iwi (Scarlet honeycreeper) A bright red flash hails the coming of an I'iwi bird Hossmer's Grove is a beautiful campground and nature trail through a one hundred year old experimental forest. Pine, spruce, cedar, and eucalyptus still stand and wage war against the native fauna in the delicate ecosystem. It borders the Haleakala national park where rangers fight hard to hold the...