#heidenoutinalaska

[amyheiden]

We spent our last day in Alaska, during a trip last July, in the forest of Sitka.

I enjoyed hiking alongside the creek and discovering species of plants I had never seen.

[amyheiden]

A beautiful misty morning hike in Sitka National Historic Park, from my trip to Southeast Alaska last July.

I am heading out for a hike today. I'd rather #OptOutside instead of shop on Black Friday.

[amyheiden]

Early morning mist at the Joh Hopkins Glacier in Glacier Bay National Park. 

[amyheiden]

Cruising through Glacier Bay National Park just after sunrise last July, watching as ice broke free from the glaciers. 

[amyheiden]

On our way to Glacier Bay National Park, we traveled the Icy Strait, which is whale territory, so we continued our search for Humpbacks. As we rounded Point Augusta, we finally spotted half a dozen whales.

We had been watching the whales for about 5 minutes when we observed them swim away from one another, then dive and flip their flukes to the sky. About 3 minutes later, we witnessed an amazing and rare behavior known as bubble feeding.

Bubble feeding occurs when a pod of whales swims below a school of fish, blowing bubbles, forcing the fish up to the surface. The whales then swim up through the bubbles with their mouths open, catching hundreds of fish.  We were very lucky to have seen this performed four times.

Continue reading adventures from days 1 and 2 here: <a href="http://amyheiden.com/blog/alaska-day-1-2" rel="nofollow">amyheiden.com/blog/alaska-day-1-2</a>

[amyheiden]

I just returned from a 10 day trip in Southeast Alaska, where I saw my first Grizzly Bear in the wild.

We watched this bear forage for roots, grass and other plants for almost an hour from our boat, 60 feet from shore.