We went to Whittier on a whirlwind camping trip. The girls were with the grandparents so it was me, my husband, and the son. We were visited by several orcas. I think we kept running into the same pod of whales. There was this big male that had a crooked and bent dorsal fin. You can't really see it well in this photo.
Here are his lady friends. They are much smaller and have shorter dorsal fins. We think they were chasing the sea lions. There were several sea lions that were just acting crazy. They were leaping out of the water and staying close to the boat. Usually they don't like boats.
We dropped some shrimp pots and pulled up a small octopus. He's our dinner tonight. Yum. My son named him Kit. Tonight we'll be eating Kit.
Some of the shrimp we pulled up and a very small yelloweye caught by yours truly.
My son, the shrimp master.
We also pulled up a bizarre sea star. I've never seen one like this. The pots were in about 500 feet of water. I would guess this thing would be a square yard if he spread out all the way.
This the tunnel entrance to Whittier. See that mountain? We're going right under it. It's the longest tunnel in North America. It's only the width of a rail car so everyone comes out of Whittier and then, a half hour later, all the people go into Whittier. They have to suck out all the carbon monoxide and vent it to the top of the mountain otherwise it builds up to unsafe levels. Oh, and a train go through it a few times a day too. It carries the supplies into Whittier. They have a small gravel runway for bush planes but this tunnel is really the only way in or out.
In the tunnel . . .
My son looooves to fish. This night he captured a jellyfish in a bucket and some kelp.
Here's our boat. She's 26' long. And yes, she has a bathroom. Really, that's all I care about.
We leave tomorrow for a week long trip to Homer. We'll go clamming, fishing, camping, and visiting with all the kids.
