Stranded Starfish

Starfish move very slowly. The tides go in and out rather quickly. It is not surprising the the starfish get stranded on the rocks and pilings. This one is on a bed of mussels. If you look closely, you can see its tiny feet.

Glacial Panorama

Cruising is about the only way to see this kind of scenery in Alaska. You could drive but it is about 3500 miles to Fairbanks and you can't really drive to the sea coast like this. It is a lot easier to stand on the deck of a ship and take photos like this. This is the Alaskan Coast near Glacier Bay.

Salmon Fish Trap

This is a fish trap for Salmon. The only people who can use this type of device are the Native Americans living off of the salmon harvest. I understand that this is a very effective way of catching the salmon and they return to the rivers and streams from their lives in the ocean.

A Mountain Waterfall

This beautiful waterfall is located right in Juneau, Alaska on the Salmon Creek. It is about a half a mile away from the main, and only main, Highway 7 that runs through the town. If we had such a waterfall in Arizona or Utah, it would be a famous attraction. In Alaska, such a small waterfall is hardly noticed. We saw this at the Gold Creek Salmon Bake, which had an all-you-can-eat salmon bake for our lunch that day.

Searching for Whales

It was a gray and windy day with lots of rain and we spent most of the morning moving around in a very fast boat looking for whales. This is about as much as you get see of the whales in the Alaskan waters. We found out that they "breach" or come out of the water more frequently in warmer waters such as those around Hawaii. Here, near Juneau, Alaska, they are too busy eating to jump out of the water much, although it does happen. Taking this type of photo is very difficult. The boat is pitching. The rain is coming down in sheets. The whale pops up without any notice and then dives within a few seconds. This is a lucky shot, not the best taken that day, but lucky none the less.

Juvenile Bald Eagle, Juneau, Alaska

When bald eagles are young, they lack the distinctive white head of the adult. This younger eagle has started to change from a juvenile to an adult and you can see both the darker feathers and the newer, white feathers on it head. This bird was sitting on a large wooden pole in the ocean off the pier in Juneau, Alaska. It was raining quite hard the whole time and I had a hard time keeping water drops off the lens of my camera.

Built Over the Ocean -- Ketchikan, Alaska

When the mountains come down to the edge of the Ocean, land is at a premium and much of Ketchikan, Alaska is built on piles over the water or on the edge of the steep mountains. It is a picturesque community, flooded with thousands of tourists every day of the Summer season. It is definitely a walking city because the roads are narrow and there is very little parking. In addition, there are no roads to Ketchikan. All access is by air and water.