...and more adventures!

The weather has been pretty rainy here this week. Just this evening we are able to see the Chilkats across the bay. I know, we have it pretty rough out here!

Our Tracy Arm trip on Thursday didn't exactly work out. Instead of heading there, we ended up at Endicott Arm. The icebergs from the glacier at Tracy were too thick for the boat so for safety's sake we headed further out. Along the way we saw more humpback whales. Joel even saw one breach; I turned around just in time to hear the ohh's and ahh's and see the splash. Once in the fjords, we saw seals and pups, and the Dawes Glacier was calving new icebergs. Who knew that the birth of an iceberg was called calving? In the slideshow you can see what looks like an icefall coming off the glacier; that's the calving.

Yesterday we had a fabulous going away party hosted by the folks at Glacier Peds. It was a great night of laughs and good food. Today we started getting ready for our return trip home, and this evening we went for a short walk out to Dredge Lake. We hiked along the Mendenhall River with beautiful views of the Mendenhall Glacier. I love the pictures showing the mountains and trees reflected in Dredge Lake.

At the lake we came across a family of beavers busy working as the day came to a close. At first, we heard a sound like someone throwing large rocks into the water, and then from across the lake, we saw a small dog swimming. The problem was there were no other people at the lake or on the trail so our assumptions didn't make much sense. Without our binoculars, we couldn't really tell what we were seeing, until the "small dog" swam to our side of the lake. And behold, it was a beaver! This guy camped out on a tree that was partially submerged in the lake, and he enjoyed a nice snack on the bark. Every once in awhile, he would dive back into the water, swim around, and slap his tail to let us know who was boss. All along the trail we could see signs of their work.

As we were coming down the stairs to the house, we saw this bald eagle just below our porch near the hot tub. Joel's critter vision is in tip-top shape, as he also spotted a seal just on the shore of our yard.

A half moon is over the bay tonight. The sea is a bit choppy so the reflection scatters the light just enough to make it look like a million fireflies dancing on the water. Oh, how we are going to miss Juneau!