As we end our season here in Seward the wildlife is putting on one last show.  Orca whales were seen on Friday and Saturday with great viewing of black bear on the shore.  Five total black bear were seen yesterday on the Kenai Star.  Also lots of Dall’s Porpoise and Harbor Seals graced us with their presence.  Aialik Glacier had some amazing caving with numerous chunks falling off everywhere!  What a fitting end to a wonderful 2007 season! 

How do you berry pick on a boat?  Well, the passengers didn’t pick any berries, that would be impossible, but today we got an excellent view of a black bear picking berries.    As termination dust (snow) appears on the tops of the mountains and people start heading south for the winter, the wildlife sightings still abound.  Orca today swam right under the Half-Day boat the Star of the Northwest, giving the passengers the opportunity to see just how large those animals are!  Also a few puffins are still to be seen.  Where as the resident animal to the Resurrection Bay area are still out in force with great sightings of eagles, sea otters, stellar sea lions, and mountain goats.

What a terrific day we had on the Kenai Star on September 10th!  The seas decided to calm down for us out in the open Gulf of Alaska and the skies were clear and blue.  The animals must have appreciated the reprieve from the more turbulent conditions as they were out in abundance.  The very enthusiastic crowd got the pleasure of viewing three separate black bears near Aialik Glacier, the glacier was calving like crazy, and a very accomodating humpback put on a nice show.  With an abundance of sea lions, sea otters, puffins, bald eagles and mountain goats along the way, we ended the full day trip by being swarmed by Orcas.  The Kenai Fjords never ceases to amaze the senses!

What a phenomenal day to travel into Kenai Fjords National Park!  Yesterday, a storm was brewing and heading right for us as we were out on the full day trip.  This storm threatened to throw high waves and strong winds our way.  Luckily, Captain Dave improvised and we traveled to the Chiswell Islands first.  While there, we had amazing views of sea lions and there were even two harbor seals laying dry on the rocks.  As we approached Holgate Galcier, there was an amazing show from the humpbacks with pec slapping, tail splashing and breaching!!!  Holgate Glacier didn’t decide to cooperate with our tour until we were pulling away when nearly half the glacier burst from its base and sent a crashing wave our way!  On the beach nearby, a black bear gave us plenty of time to view him while he munched on some tender grasses.  Finally, once back in Resurrection Bay we ran into two pods of resident orcas!  Yesterday was certainly a day to remember, Happy Birthday April!