George Island, Elfin Cove and Icy Strait
Why should you come to Alaska? After the day we have had the obvious answer: If you want to experience beautiful places and spectacular wildlife, why not come here? Our first adventure of the day began in Granite Cove on George Island. This lovely little island was ours to explore. Many of us went for a good leg stretch across the island through the quiet nooks and crannies of the forest. We heard about how the island was used as a lookout base during World War II and discovered old steam boilers used during logging operations. But it was the wonderful wildflowers such as the tiny star-shaped shy maiden and the fantastic mosses that really grabbed our attention.
Since it was low-tide we also had the chance to discover the amazing intertidal life hidden under the rocks at the water’s edge. It was fascinating to discover the crabs crawling in the rock crevices and tiny fish called sculpin chasing each other in the tide pools. There was also a chance to go for a quiet paddle in the kayaks for a seal’s eye view of the island.During lunch we repositioned to the little hamlet of Elfin Cove. One of the local residents came aboard to tell us all about life in this community which has a winter population of about 15 very hardy souls. We had a chance to wander along the boardwalks that connect all the houses, do a little shopping and wonder what it would be like to live here year round.
After saying goodbye to the charming town of Elfin Cove, we cruised through the Inian Islands and marveled at the fast currents swirling around the rocky islands. One of these islands was coated with male Steller sea lions. Captain Kay expertly maneuvered the Sea Bird to within inches of the shoreline, close enough for us to have for a fantastic view of the sea lions. If that wasn’t enough to look at, we discovered sea otters resting in the kelp beds along the opposite shore.
The rest of the day belonged to the whales. As we sailed through Idaho Inlet, we saw several small groups of humpback whales charging at the surface. There were a couple of close approaches, close enough to feel their misty breathes, or “snarge” on your face. We also lowered the hydrophone and heard the eerie grunts and groans of this small group.
It only kept getting better as just after dessert, we heard that a killer whale was sighted. We raced up to the deck to see a single large, black dorsal fin slicing through the water. While we waited for the killer whale to surface, we kept getting distracted by several large groups of humpback whales nearby. It was wonderfully flat and calm and the evening light was just glowing off the whale’s blows. You couldn’t decide where to look because a humpback calf kept throwing it’s tail out of the water and rolling around just off our bow. We spent a delightful hour watching this youngster play about at the surface while the pink and yellow light of the sunset lit up the Fairweather mountain range in the distance.
Why should you come to Alaska? After the day we have had the obvious answer: If you want to experience beautiful places and spectacular wildlife, why not come here? Our first adventure of the day began in Granite Cove on George Island. This lovely little island was ours to explore. Many of us went for a good leg stretch across the island through the quiet nooks and crannies of the forest. We heard about how the island was used as a lookout base during World War II and discovered old steam boilers used during logging operations. But it was the wonderful wildflowers such as the tiny star-shaped shy maiden and the fantastic mosses that really grabbed our attention.
Since it was low-tide we also had the chance to discover the amazing intertidal life hidden under the rocks at the water’s edge. It was fascinating to discover the crabs crawling in the rock crevices and tiny fish called sculpin chasing each other in the tide pools. There was also a chance to go for a quiet paddle in the kayaks for a seal’s eye view of the island.During lunch we repositioned to the little hamlet of Elfin Cove. One of the local residents came aboard to tell us all about life in this community which has a winter population of about 15 very hardy souls. We had a chance to wander along the boardwalks that connect all the houses, do a little shopping and wonder what it would be like to live here year round.
After saying goodbye to the charming town of Elfin Cove, we cruised through the Inian Islands and marveled at the fast currents swirling around the rocky islands. One of these islands was coated with male Steller sea lions. Captain Kay expertly maneuvered the Sea Bird to within inches of the shoreline, close enough for us to have for a fantastic view of the sea lions. If that wasn’t enough to look at, we discovered sea otters resting in the kelp beds along the opposite shore.
The rest of the day belonged to the whales. As we sailed through Idaho Inlet, we saw several small groups of humpback whales charging at the surface. There were a couple of close approaches, close enough to feel their misty breathes, or “snarge” on your face. We also lowered the hydrophone and heard the eerie grunts and groans of this small group.
It only kept getting better as just after dessert, we heard that a killer whale was sighted. We raced up to the deck to see a single large, black dorsal fin slicing through the water. While we waited for the killer whale to surface, we kept getting distracted by several large groups of humpback whales nearby. It was wonderfully flat and calm and the evening light was just glowing off the whale’s blows. You couldn’t decide where to look because a humpback calf kept throwing it’s tail out of the water and rolling around just off our bow. We spent a delightful hour watching this youngster play about at the surface while the pink and yellow light of the sunset lit up the Fairweather mountain range in the distance.
