What a privilege to visit the artists and craftspeople of Haida Gwaii in Old Masset. Today we visited two master carvers, Jim Hart and Christian White. They were amazingly generous in opening their homes and workshops to our guests. Works in progress in various forms of media were all about the workshops, including woodcarvings, drawings, and argillite and bronze statuary. Pictures of the works will not be shown here, as the artists requested that we not post images of their work on social media. This is just one of a multitude of reasons to come to Haida Gwaii and see for yourself what centuries of carving artistry can produce.
5/15/2024
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National Geographic Sea Bird
Inian Islands, AK
The drizzling rain of the early morning cleared off for the start of our Zodiac tours through the dazzling Inian Islands. The Islands are incredibly special due to their geographic location. As the northernmost opening to the Inside Passage, tons of billions of gallons of water funnel in from the Pacific Ocean and cause an oceanic phenomenon called upwelling, where cold, nutrient dense water rises to the surface. Marine animals flock to these waters for the availability of food and resources. We were able to view sea otters, sea lions, and many bird species. The Zodiac tours had some of the most amazing views of the coastal waters, spruce covered islands, and wildlife. We ended the morning with a visit to the Tidelines Institute, a non-profit educational institute founded by Lindblad Naturalist and PhD in climate science, Zach Brown. The afternoon was filled with presentations, briefings, and our guest slideshow to end the evening during our transit up to Sitka. It was a fantastic ending to a great trip.