An Alaskan Adventure Minus a Camera

Frequent visitors to this blog know that one way I kick back is through travel, whether it's a casual flower walk in my hometown of Saratoga Springs or hiking in Mount Rainier National Park. I also get a thrill out of spotting an animal in its natural habitat. This week I'm sharing a humorous experience guest blogger, Delinda McCann, had on a recent Alaskan vacation (at the top of my dream vacation list) where she sees lots wildlife:

Delinda McCann
Author of
Lies That Bind

             If you like viewing wildlife, Alaska is the place to go.  We took a cruise to Alaska in June and the wildlife kept us entertained.  The bars on the ship had bands and were really lively until about ten P.M. when all my fellow passengers went to bed.  When they weren’t sleeping, the crowd of tourists wildly foraged for food among the many restaurants on the ship.

            However, if people-watching is not necessarily your thing, Alaska offers a vast selection of outdoor wildlife to observe.  You are certain to see whales on a trip up Alaska’s inside passage.  Black bears are commonly sighted as are bald eagles.  Raven is a favorite among the Alaskan people.

            Some wildlife can be seen from the comfort of the ship.  One morning at breakfast we were treated to the sight of both a humpback whale and a male Orca.  The Orcas are my favorite to spot because the male dorsal fin is five feet tall, black, and glossy.  Overall, orcas are beautiful black and white animals.  The dorsal fins make spotting them easy.  Humpbacks are easy enough to spot because they are so big.  We look for the plume of mist from their blow. 

            This particular morning at breakfast, the humpback wasn’t producing much of a blow.  He was sleeping—just lying on top of the water looking like a big log with a bump on it.   The orca was nearby a smaller sleeping log with his tall dorsal fin piercing the morning mists.  Both whales were easy to see as they slept peacefully, oblivious to the cruise ship full of half-awake humans sliding by.

            We got off the ship at Juneau for a trip out to the Mendenhall glacier.  I left my camera in the room thus assuring that we would see wildlife.  I’d chosen this tour because I wanted to walk in the woods, so we set off walking.  Our first stop was to view the glacier.  We found a large number of beautiful Alaskan Terns nesting just below the trail.  Remember my camera is in my room.

            We continued on out toward the waterfall.  I soon noticed people with their cameras out intently taking pictures into the dense shrubbery.  I looked through the willows and saw a young black bear.  Since there appeared to be a satisfying number of meaty, tasty people between the bear and us, my husband and I stood and watched it for several minutes.  It crossed the trail in front of us and wandered off into the woods toward the visitor’s center. 

            Continuing on toward the waterfall, we encountered a flock of ravens.  They were calm around tourists— just sitting around posing for pictures, but I didn’t have my camera. 

            After hiking for a half hour away from the parking lot, we turned around and started back to our bus.  When we arrived back at the visitor’s center, we found more tourists intently taking pictures into the shrubbery.  We’d encountered the black bear again.  As we were walking through the parking lot, the bear came out of the shrubbery and ran across the asphalt not far from where we hastened to our bus.

            Back on our bus, our wildlife adventures could have been over.  As our driver guided our bus down the highway, he entertained us with a commentary on the local history.  I sat and watched the bald eagles lazily soaring overhead.  Suddenly, I saw two eagles lock together and fall out of the sky.  Being a romance writer, I immediately called out in a loud voice, “Eagles!  Having sex!  Left side of the bus-in the sky.”  The poor bus driver nearly wrecked the bus.

Delinda McCann is author of the novel:  Lies That Bind, a romantic thriller with outlandish characters. Learn more at: www.delindamccann.com 

Thanks for sharing your story Delinda!


Tells us about something spectacular you've seen, but alas, no camera to capture the memory.  

KICK BACK BOOK OF THE WEEK:

Delinda McCann's novel, Lies That Bind, is my choice. You can order it on Amazon.com. Here is part of what one reviewer wrote:


Delinda McCann has written an unbelievable account of society's interpretation of a dementia caregiver, the social reform for care of orphans, and a love story strong enough to transcend global terrorism. 
She does this by encapsulating you into the daily lives of the characters so meticulously interwoven with the story that you seemingly become part of the extended family.

KICK BACK SONG OF THE WEEK: 

I had the pleasure of seeing Barefoot, a folk band from Alaska, at the oldest coffee house in the USA, Cafe Lena's, a couple of years ago. I've been a fan ever since. Here they are singing, Tell Me A Story: 

A LITTLE SOMETHING EXTRA: