Icy Strait is great!
We awoke to the deep but gentle rocking of swells from the open Pacific. We were traveling through the Inian Islands. Huge winter waves have sculpted the striking scenery of this archipelago. Steep cliffs and craggy seaward exposures testify to the ocean’s regular rage. Open ocean influence was not limited to topography. Certain creatures prefer oceanic expanse. One of these is the sea otter. We found a group of otters clustered around Althorp Rocks. These rocks are the local “maternity ward” of the otters; we saw several mums toting fluffy pups.
After breakfast, we landed at George Island. A flotilla of kayaks soon struck out. At low tide the rocks wear a rubbery skirt of kelp. Between the olive colored strands we found sea stars in ochre, orange and lavender. Other species were vermillion, or grey flecked with tangerine. Sponges were even brighter, spattering the rocks with hot purple and pink. Our kayak journey began in a quiet cove, and grew more and more exposed until we were rising and falling, stirred by the waves of the open ocean! Here, we found that the storms had hammered out a bold arch, covered by trees and circled by seabirds. Meanwhile, ashore, intertidal explorers found sea stars, urchins, sea cucumbers and much more in the rich and colorful world that lies between the tides. Hikers enjoyed a rugged scramble through the woods, finding deer, an eagle's nest, and the great gun set up to guard this entrance in World War Two.
We awoke to the deep but gentle rocking of swells from the open Pacific. We were traveling through the Inian Islands. Huge winter waves have sculpted the striking scenery of this archipelago. Steep cliffs and craggy seaward exposures testify to the ocean’s regular rage. Open ocean influence was not limited to topography. Certain creatures prefer oceanic expanse. One of these is the sea otter. We found a group of otters clustered around Althorp Rocks. These rocks are the local “maternity ward” of the otters; we saw several mums toting fluffy pups.
After breakfast, we landed at George Island. A flotilla of kayaks soon struck out. At low tide the rocks wear a rubbery skirt of kelp. Between the olive colored strands we found sea stars in ochre, orange and lavender. Other species were vermillion, or grey flecked with tangerine. Sponges were even brighter, spattering the rocks with hot purple and pink. Our kayak journey began in a quiet cove, and grew more and more exposed until we were rising and falling, stirred by the waves of the open ocean! Here, we found that the storms had hammered out a bold arch, covered by trees and circled by seabirds. Meanwhile, ashore, intertidal explorers found sea stars, urchins, sea cucumbers and much more in the rich and colorful world that lies between the tides. Hikers enjoyed a rugged scramble through the woods, finding deer, an eagle's nest, and the great gun set up to guard this entrance in World War Two.
