I was a fishing vessel captain...for a few minutes

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That is goofball Hermione trying out our survival suits, a requirement for anyone heading out to sea this far north. Without a survival suit, you are not supposed to be able to survive for more than 20 minutes tops in the cold Pacific. Most people start losing clarity of mind and feeling in their limbs at about 3 minutes.

I did learn how to drive his boat, the Keet. There were more computers and maps to keep track of than I expected, but I really enjoyed it. Keet is the Tlingit word for Orca.

John Erp, my teacher and friend.

I felt like a Teletubbie.


My teacher and owner of the Keet (our vessel) is John Erp. I met him on the Fairweather, a speedy ferry between Juneau and Sitka. He works the bridge watching for potential obstacles; an extra pair of eyes for the captains. (If only he had been working the Titanic...)

I called him up once I had gotten settled in Sitka and we made a plan to head out; I would drive while he focused on fishing. At the last minute, Hermione, a friend and hosteler from Sydney, Australia got roped into the adventure as well. We headed out to a nearby island, Biorka. The plan was to spend anywhere from 1-3 days at sea, depending on the fish. I brought my motion sickness meds, already had a patch behind my ear, and was super excited to learn to drive his boat, but within an hour I was feeling sick. By two hours, I was making friends with a big, blue bucket. I was totally out of commission.

While I threw up, John drove us across a few choppy channels with good water and settled down in a beautiful, protected cove along with several other boats to wait for the King Salmon fishery to open. As of 12:01am that night, folks would be legally allowed to go after their King limits; kings are a big money maker in these parts and the fishery rules and regulations are taken very seriously. In just this little cove, there were probably 15 boats hanging out at 6pm the night before just waiting to get a 3am start (when the sun begins to rise.)

Once anchored and amidst a gorgeous sunset, I climbed below and crashed out. While they ate salmon and photographed the pinks and yellows surrounding us, I slept hard. I woke up feeling pretty good at about 3:30am the next day. I ate a full breakfast and had high hopes for my second day out at sea.

John told me we would drive around the bend and see how I was feeling. If the nausea came back, we would return to Sitka. If I was good to go, we would head to Biorka and the fishing would commence. I would be in charge at the wheel and mainly, sit and watch the whales, eagles, and marine life all around me. That would have been a dream come true.

Unfortunately, we hit real waves and I immediately started to get sick...again. I climbed back into bed for our channel crossing and woke up at the dock in Sitka. It was a very sad day for me as I don't know how to follow my dream of marine mammal research if I can't handle being out on a small boat in relatively gentle water.

BEARS!!!!

The foreground is my favorite Alaskan landscape so far...muskeg.


This cutie is a coastal Alaskan brown bear. He will be larger than a Grizzly once full grown, but as of today is only 2 1/2 years old and weighs around 600 lbs. At full size, he will be twice that. Grizzlies are an inland brown bear and the brown bears here in Sitka are coastal. The coastal bears are larger due to the longer growing season (more temperate conditions.)

He and his two siblings (all of whom live at the bear center) were born in the Sitka area. Unfortunately, their mom wandered into town too many times and ingested too much garbage. Though scientists never did a necropsy, they suspect that she was internally bound up with plastic garbage and died from complications of organ failure.

Her cubs were too young to survive on their own at that time and had no idea how to be wild bears. They are now educational ambassadors for tourists and locals who come through Fortress of the Bear, a name taken from the native Tlingit term Kootznoowoo which is the Tlingit name for Admiralty Island. Admiralty Island is located between Baranoff (where Sitka is located) and the mainland with Juneau. The island is home to more brown bears per square mile than anywhere else on the planet.

Wildlife from the ferry

Wildlife from the ferry

For those who aren't sure what they're looking at above: (top to bottom)
Humpback whale
Orca whale
Bald eagle
Yes, those are all Bald eagles (including some juveniles)
The Columbia, my ferry transport, from Bellingham to Juneau

Final ferry approach into Sitka

After 3 days of ferryboat sailin' and a very early arrival into Juneau (the state's capital and Sitka's nearest city neighbor), I embarked on the Fairweather to re-inhabit Sitka, my old raptor home; the only Inside Passage town on the outside. The plan this time around was to work with bears; coastal Alaskan brown bears.

Summer Solstice

My difficult, but noteworthy (due to the discover of Berry Blast 5 hour energy shots), ride up to Bellingham ended with a car deserted in the ferry terminal parking lot, keys left in the gas tank door. I pushed my over-packed self and my heavy laden bicycle up the iron grated ramp as fast as I could. I was moving slightly faster than a monk in meditation. A boat full of carefree travelers smiled down upon me from the upper deck and I arrived minutes later alongside them, only to see all of the sleeping spots had been commandeered. This was probably due to the 48 Mennanites from Virginia, high school students traveling across the country on a big red bus.

It was time to switch into Super Traveler! First, I threw my pile down, sat atop it, and took break. Then, I began to do the rounds; making friends, sharing stories, and smiling... a lot. Within the hour, I had a bed and a new friend named Bryan. He got a bed too.

The rest of the ferry trip went as expected. I saw many whales: humpbacks and orcas. There were beautiful views and lots of people to teach about the Inside Passage ecosystem. I stepped off the ship Columbia and back onto land in Juneau at 4:45 yesterday morning and then re-boarded a new ferry a few hours later. Despite the climate it navigates, this ferry is called The Fairweather and it is the newest of all the Alaskan state ferries. The coffeeshop looks like a set bar for The Starship Enterprise.

One of the engineers offered to take me on a tour of the deck and though I wasn't sure what that meant, I said, "Yes please!" I followed him past the "crew only" doors up and up until we had the best seat in the house. Upon entering the sacred control room, the captain turned to me and said, "Welcome to The Starship Enterprise." I felt like a 4 year old in playland. It was sooo cool!!

By the time I left the bridge, I had an offer to captain one of the engineer's boats from Sitka on a 3 day king salmon run in a few week's time. Another of the engineers designated himself my new photography student and I saw two more whales.

Finally, I made it to Sitka and to the hostel. I am now in the process of working up a life. Will I be working at the bear center, the hostel, bike and hike guiding, or selling photographs? Maybe on this foreign planet called Sitka, I will find a way to do it all.

Disney World

I returned from a week in Disney World with Tanya, my personal cast member guide, a couple days ago. The trip was awesome! If you know me well, that should come as a surprise. It did for me.

It was a trip of many things for me. You could call it a trial run for my new telephoto lens or an extended farewell to Tanya who I won't see for many months. It was a chance for me to try and see Disney from her perspective, one full of wonderful memories, fun, and yes, magic. It was a much needed break from my house that I have been ready to move out of for a long time now and the overcast skies of Portland. In the end, it was wonderful. Disney surpassed all my expectations.

Predictably, my photos are mostly of wildlife despite spending six full days in Disney parks. We went to Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Typhoon Lagoon. There are so many stories to tell, but for now, I will only be posting the photos.

By the way, I leave for Sitka, Alaska by ferry in five days. More posts will be coming soon.

Disney World

Disney World

Disney World

Disney World

Animal Kingdom, wildlife safari. The truck we rode in looked eerily similar to the overlander I safaried from within back in 1998 for real. The tour guide pretended to be in the Kilimanjaro vicinity. They called it the Harambe Wildlife Preserve and the shtick included chasing poachers, saving a baby elephant, and learning some Swahili. It was very weird and very accurate. The shops, the architecture, and the food in the whole East Africa section of Animal Kingdom were totally accurate to the real world. After being in Kenya and Tanzania, experiencing the same setting (sights, sounds, and smells), but now full of white people was a bewildering experience.

Tanya has spent the last couple of months working The Muppets 3D movie and this is part of the sculpture that stands out front. It's a great fountain! Ms. Piggy, unfortunately, demanded all of my telephoto but around her are many other silly Muppet characters.

Doesn't he look amazing?

We stayed at the Disney All Star Resort, Jazz. The house-keepers leave animal shaped towel sculptures in your window each day. We got baby bunnies...I think ;-)

Want to go for a helicopter ride?

...over waterfalls and lava?

Keep your eyes on the right half of the screen.

lava!

Middle of the night, after a hike through the wind of Volcano National Park, alone. We were camped just 1/2 of a mile away and the view was breathtaking. (Note: Tanya was the tripod here which is pretty incredible being that my shutter was open to the Kilauea Crater for 10 whole seconds.)