A Whale of a Day

The weather today was exceptionally gorgeous and sometimes there is just magic in timing.  We left the cabin to paint in the company of locals and visitors a like.  A stop a Auke Bay to visit the sunlit harbor and a quick painting of boats on getting ready to take people out.  I found a wonderful old fishing vessel or tanker with a little red on it edged by the tall spruce and far out lying mountains.  I chose to set up and paint there.  Ken wandered the area while I set up and painted.  The little town near Auke Harbor has just a few things to discover other than the natural beauty of the boats and docks.  It wasn't long before he came back with news of a wonderful Waffle House (and yes an amazing waffle) and tickets to board one of the scenic boat tours.

So I didn't have time to finish my painting on site.  I will finish it later for sure!  Until then, here's a sneak peak at my view.

  and another really good option ....

Alaska and Hawaii have a few things in common.  One being the distance to travel the lower 48 states, lower from here anyway.  Another thing is the whales that breed where it's warm and teach where it's cool.  Aboard our ship, the captain was surprised and almost as excited as we were to find orcas still in the waters and not far from the shore.  We watched a large pod for what seemed like an hour with a sensational back drop of Mendenhall Glacier.

It took these guys a few minutes to stop fishing before they realized the crowd they were keeping.  And yes, that is a lot of people in a little boat in that deep cold water.

So sweet and special to witness such majesty.

Our initial search on this little boat holding only 16 people was to find some humpbacks.  These orcas were such a delight but onward said Captain Nick.  Ashley, our naturalist, was explaining what we might see if we were lucky enough to find the enormous under water mammals.  Humpbacks would only show there backs and probably a blow from the spout.  It was unlikely that we would catch a glimpse of a tail but we did!!!  Not only did we see the tail but this!!!!!!!!  Which we were told would not happen.

Six times it happened!!    I'll share more photos later when I'm not on my IPad but I've got to say again... What a whale of a day!!!

As magnificent as a breaching humpback is the splash left.

So  fantastic.  So again, more photos to follow and most definitely paintings to come from this day.

Thank you again State of Alaska for this Artist in Residence opportunity.