Icy Strait Point is located in the little town of Hoonah Alaska on Chichagof island.
Hoonah is a beautiful, small, port stop. It has fantastic ocean and mountain views. We left the ship and took a bus through the town to a remote part of Alaska where we hiked in the woods. It was so beautiful and peaceful. It was a small group and we were looking for bears. The excursion was a bear watch and a whale watch. We didn't see any bears but the views were so spectacular - just what I pictured in Alaska that we didn't mind one bit!
I mean just look at that!
and this in the other direction.
Our little group was silent hoping to see bears. I was just breathing in all that beauty.
and then we looked up - right in front of us!
It was actually the coolest thing to watch - right there - like living in a nature channel!
I chatted with Scott about him finding a principal position there and me finding a 4th grade classroom open - it was just that amazing!
Look at the clouds and you can see the bald eagles flying!
After our hike back we went on a smaller boat (not the cruise ship) for a whale hunt!
Look at that beauty!
They were certain we'd see humpback whales
but the guides were shocked that we witnessed a F A M I L Y of killer whales (orca whales) They said that less than 1% of tours saw them and how lucky we were!
First just a little glimpse and we were so happy.
But then they kept swimming around us and popping out of the water.
See that baby?
There really is no way to describe the feeling of being that close to an orca whale in Alaska. And I am certainly not a nature photographer but my camera kept clicking away, trying to capture the magic until it was getting dark (this excursion lasted until 9:30 at night) and we headed back to our ship.
This day was spectacular!
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