San Juan Island Adventures

A few times within the past weeks I've spotted a Steller sea lion out on the west side of Henry Island! (At least, I've only ever seen one at a time, so I'm assuming it's a lone creature, but there could be more...) They are easily identified because of their huge size, light flecked coloration and distinct movement. Compared to harbor seals they have a much more elongated face, long whiskers and those external ears are a dead giveaway. Adult male Steller sea lions...

I recently set off on another multi-day trip, but this one wasn't like the last. It was our first Inn to Inn trip, which meant we kayaked by day, but slept in warm and luxurious beds at night!
Darren, Marrin and I set off and spent the day paddling, hiking and generally exploring the area (and also came up with lots of wild ideas as to what was behind a door carved into stone) and then headed over to Orcas Island for the night. From our boats it was a short walk up...

It is yet another gorgious day here in Roche Harbor! Moderate temperatures, blue skies, and a super-pod just outside the harbor. Our whale watch boat, Sea Hawk, is currently with various members of J,K, and L Pod just north of Battleship island. As Margo mentioned in a previous post, seeing a Super Pod is an absolute treat! Because it is a time to socialize and mate, these orcas display a variety of behaviors that truly are captivating and awe-inspiring. Our 5 hr...

It was a good day out on the whale watching boat today. Our dock hand, Nick, got off early and went on our 11:00 AM departure out of Roche Harbor. He returned to the dock pumped about the trip, he said the trip was "fantastic!"

There were rumors that we had a "superpod" which is a treat to be able to see. A superpod occurs when J, K, and L-Pod join together to socialize and mate. In cases like this, there could be close to 90 whales in an fairly small area!...

Well, with the sun setting earlier and earlier every day, it's time for our evening kayak trips to draw to a close. It's been a great summer full of glorious sunsets, beautiful splashes of color, and of course, Kodak moments. All of our guides have different things they like about the sunset tours-- for example, I like that the water is usually still and relaxing while Blake likes to find harbor porpoise.

Here are some pictures I took of Noelle on her tour last...

Margo writing from the reservation desk and being that it's August, these last few weeks have been quite busy. I just spoke with Tom about his 5-hour kayaking trip today and it sounds as though he had a great time with his 4 guests. He reported that while they were sitting on the beach during lunch, a Red Fox approached them trying to beg or steal food. The foxes around here are quite friendly around people and every once and a while, they may approach very...

Captain Brian and I set off for a whale watch tour on Monday, heading north to Saturna Island, Canada. Just as we crossed the border and drew near the shores we saw what we'd hoped to find-- the elusive transient orcas (also called killer whales). Here in the San Juan Islands we have two species of killer whales --transients and residents. Although superficially similar, they are two distinct types of animals and differ in diet, behavior, social patterns, size and...

The weather was pretty crazy yesterday, with us experiencing everything from a hard downpour to a sunny warm breeze and lots of changes in between. It made for a wet day for all and I started off on a special 5 hour tour yesterday afternoon with some adventurous folks from Wisconsin. They braved the damp cold to paddle out and I'm glad they did as blue skies and sunny days are wonderful, but there's nothing like paddling around the islands when they're shrouded in...

I worked as a naturalist on the whale watching boat yesterday for the first time in a while and it was great to get out on the water again and in addition, we had quite an exciting trip! At the point of departure at 11:00, we had reports of Resident Orcas up north near the city of Vancouver and Transient Orcas were spotted near Trial Island which is close to the city of Victoria, Canada. We decided to go for the Transient Orcas as they were headed towards us and...