Exterous' vacation: Back to Alaska

[Exterous]

We had an opportunity to head back to Alaska and spend more time here than we had been able to on our last trip. We went with some friends which allowed us to rent out a small private wildlife boat tour giving us more flexibility on departure time and what to do for the day. We were one of the first sightseeing boats out that day and raced away from shore. It was quite bouncy but man was it worth it. We'd quickly scoot to an area in advance of where the whales seemed to be heading and then just sit and wait. Our Captain knew his stuff and this was the closest we've ever gotten to whales. Blurrier than I'd like but I struggled a bit with settings given the heavy white clouds reducing the overall light, making raising the ISO a no-go plus the bouncing of the boat to properly focus. Plus the lack of warning the whales gave me in terms of where they'd emerge.

As we drifted over to this kelp (?) patch we spotted some otters as well

Mom swimming past us giving us the evil eye

 

[BoomerD]

Nice shots…as always.

 

[Exterous]

We also did a bus tour out past the border with Yukon and back

We liked stopping by the Alaskan Wildlife Conservation center so we stopped by again this time

 

[Exterous]

Nice shots…as always.

Thanks!

 

[Exterous]

Then it was on to Denali. The road was closed part way in so we didn't have an opportunity to do everything we might have wanted but still very much worth it. It was cloudy and a tad dreary in the morning but really cleared up

 

[Exterous]

The best thing we did all trip was a glacier hike on the Matanuska glacier. And apparently there had been bears in the area

We had a chance for those interested to try real glacier water. Unsurprisingly it was cold and refreshing

The ice formations underfoot were very unique and interesting and the pictures don't do these justice

If anyone has the opportunity to do a glacier hike I would very much recommend it. It was an incredible experience

 

[highland145]

Post #3...forest in the desert?

 

[Geekbabe]

Wow! What a beautiful vacation! Btw, I loved the otter holding her baby ❤️

 

[skyking]

Thank you for the great photos.

 

[Exterous]

Post #3...forest in the desert?

Yep! It's called the Carcross Desert - it was pretty wild especially that far north

Wow! What a beautiful vacation! Btw, I loved the otter holding her baby ❤️

It was pretty great to have her swim so close to us on her way by - despite how much she stared us down

Thank you for the great photos.

Thanks!

 

[rh71]

We did Alaska on a cruise over a decade ago and it was a top 3 trip for us. One excursion was kayaking in front of a glacier. Pic doesn't do it justice - the whole atmosphere was one of a kind. Would love to take my kids for the next one.




Here's another pic to show you scale of these things.

 

[skyking]

I flew up there a couple of times, long before GoPro. Taking pictures through the plexiglas is quite disappointing, so I don't have many pictures to share.