British Columbia’s Inside Passage

As skies brightened this morning the National Geographic Sea Bird nosed into the abandoned salmon cannery and herring rendering site of Butedale on Princess Royal Island. Dilapidated buildings juxtaposed a lovely waterfall. The dormitory style building once housed about eighty workers. A lone caretaker still provides such necessities as dock space, fuel, ice, showers, and ice cream for passers-by.

We were in the Great Bear Rainforest, where the unique Kermode bear (a rare white subspecies of black bear) and other precious resources are protected in the vanishing temperate rainforest ecosystem.

This brilliantly sunny day was spent threading our way southward through the many islands of the scenic Inside Passage of British Columbia, Canada. We passed native settlements such as Klemtu and Bella Bella (Waglisla). There were occasional interruptions by humpback whales in our path. We were delighted by a cow and calf pair, soon to start a long migration and go their separate ways. Spectacular breaches (leaps from the water) brought us running with our cameras. Good lighting throughout the day gave us many opportunities to experiment photographically, culminating with the rise of a bright moon.