in gustavus....

put in a sneak preview picture from around point adolphus. there was a large pod of humpbacks feeding out there. we sat in our kayaks in the kelpbed and watched for sometime. tried to get video but all you could hear was the wind. often in photography there are limits. i can try and take pictures to pass along how amazing something is, but the truth is you really do have to see to experience. hope you enjoy my meager attempts at using photography to bring you to where we were.
of course, i also posted this picture as i had posted it on facebook. i let whoever look at my pictures. i realize this opens me up to the negatives that can happen in life. a friend of a friend posted a comment on this one. the conversation between the friend and i had been about her wanting details so she could go on this trip one day. her friend responded in what i thought was kinda a snotty tone. some people just must feel that whatever they do is better than what others do rather than being happy for others and excited for themselves at the same time.
she said she'd looked into point adolphus and that they hadn't guaranteed whale sightings so she was going to beardslee islands, inferring that these were the better choice. i have heard of the beardslee's and may want to return and check them out one day.
it's just people like that who make me avoid those adventure groups. everything is such a competition for some people.
in truth it's nearly impossible to guarantee wild animal sightings. most places won't do it if you really try to pin them down. i mean the whales are free to wander the big ocean. that is the joy of seeing wildlife in the wild, but also the risk. on our trip we saw more whales before we got to point adolphus than after we got there. on the ferry ride in we could see over to point adolphus and could see many spouts over there. wilderness isn 't a zoo, the animals aren't caged.
since our ferry arrived first we got settled into our rooms at the B&B. we chose blue heron as we'd heard great things about it. turned out to be a wonderful place. our hostess was fabulous and did everything in her power to make sure we had the most amazing vacation ever. it's so cool when people love what they do and where they live. excitement is contagious. the owner, deb, kept a stockpile of coats, bikes, boots...you name it. after bob, tanya and scott arrived we looked through the gear. she arranged for 4 of us to take a nature cruise out to glacier bay the next day. we had the day and it seemed wrong to miss the opportunity.

many of the inn keepers have a stockpile of bikes to get around town with. we grabbed some up and took off to explore. as it was the fourth of july not much was open and our food choices were limited. once bob, tanya and scott arrived we went to a community fundraiser dinner and bought a meal each. it was raining pretty good at that point, but the food was pretty good. the folks of gustavus seem to be big gardeners and so there was plenty of fresh veggies everywhere we went.

before the arrival of our friends val, sandra and i went exploring. there is a trail nearby so we did the loop. nagoonberry loop trail. lots of wildflowers out there which was amazing. the fireweed hasn't bloomed but you could see those were everywhere and that would be awesome to be there for that. gustavus is pretty flat, open spaces. having lived in ketchikan it was nice to have that openess and variety of landscape.

the lupine were out.

cute little birds

most of our first day there we just had a light sprinkle here and there, except for dinner.

i'm so bummed i have to go back to work tonight. some days you just want to chill with a book. i did manage to get out to the bog today. usually, i take my camera everywhere and today i didn't. the little camera was on me, but i'd left the memory card in the computer here. all i had was my iphone. not sure how to zoom in on that thing. drats as today i was out there and this rather large black bear wandered past me. the bear was totally chill about me and my barking labradoodle. i could have gotten some great shots. drats, drats, drats!!

yesterday, tanya and i enjoyed a super long hike out to williwaw lakes. will post those pictures after i'm done posting all these. we hiked for 8 hours, maybe 12 miles, plus i'd taken both dogs for a walk in the morning so rio could chill at home. was pretty beat last night and a bit sore today. i usually do 2-5 miles/day. it's amazing how taxing 12 miles of walking can be on your body.

not sure what these flowers are. lots of pretty ones out there.

of course, we missed another parade. felt bad though as our inn keeper, deb was in charge of all the gustavus festivities it seemed, plus she had to pick us up from ferries/airports. in our email/phone exchanges it had gotten confused how many were coming which days. we got it all sorted out though. she was totally accomadating.

obviously from the parade we missed. fourth of july in 3 different alaskan communities and we missed all the parades.

this is the dock in gustavus. just finished up building last summer i think.

the community will no doubt see some changes with the ferry being able to come in.

these are just more of the nagoonberry trail.

sandra enjoys the ride.

pretty and relaxing trail.

poor val. i guess as soon as she'd catch up we'd take off. i'm usually the last person on these things so i totally know the feeling when you get no breaks as those in front of hte back take off like that. sorry val. if anyone should have been aware, it should have been me.

can't say the bikes were in perfect shape, but they did get us around without issues. she also had helmets and if we had been safety conscious we would have grabbed them. apparently, they have a clinic there, but it isn't staffed at present. they all take care of each other.

i always think the rain and clouds bring out the vibrance of the green colours.

i really should be getting ready for work. hope it's a decent night.

just loved the name of this street.

this gas station/antique store was the only place we found open. she said people knocked so she opened up for a bit. we got snacks and a few tidbits.

love the old pumps, but loved more that they are functional still. this is the gas station here.

pizza joint. plenty of places to eat for such a small community, of course, not so much on the 4th of july though.

a better picture of the gas station

not sure what role this guy played in the parade...guess i'm assuming he was in the parade and doesn't just dress like this on a regular basis.

lumber and bear viewing. hmmm.....

this is another inn, the gustavus inn. the places seem to work together to make sure everyone is taken care of that visits. the food here is supposed to be award winning. it was booked before we left for kayaking, but we got a slot for those of us who stayed that night after returning. deb arranged it for us! love her!!

thier stockpile of bikes

the fire department of gustavus

apparently, they will soon build a community center here. we missed all the berries. love berries. lots of wild strawberries here. also salmonberries which are plentiful in southeast alaska. used to love eating those along the trails in ketchikan

back to the gas station. it was at the main intersection, called 4 corners by locals

homeowner with alot of racks.

the blue heron stockpile of bikes.

shots taken from the dock after the ferry came in.

we'll hopefully my next stretch off i will be able to get through our day in glacier bay and the start of our kayak trip. the entire trip was wonderful though so don't want to skip over any of it.

better run get ready for work and feed these dogs.