July 24

The day started off like the movie, Ground Hog Day. Up and ready to go heading to the dock a bit after 8 only this time there were no engine issues. A beautiful yet hazy day on the water with mountains all around. We viewed a few sea lions and plenty of eagles then orcas at 3 o’clock on the starboard side. We got some great views.

We arrived in Juneau close to noon. It was a bit overwhelming with four large cruise ships in port. In one of the shops we were asked if we were on a cruise. When we repled no, we were in a small trailer the person called us independent travelers. I like it! A few blocks away we found a small café and enjoyed a tasty lunch. I checked at a local camera store to see if they had a D850 camera in stock. No luck, but it was worth the try! Around 4 we returned to our vessel and started back towards Haines. On the trip the captain meanders a bit more looking for more wildlife. We got distant views of a humpback or two then more orcas. We spotted two more groups of orcas. It’s likely some were part of what we saw in the morning. We just did not really know. It’s not common see orcas here everyday only every so often. We were lucky!

Onboard we were served some tasty salmon chowder along with a piece of sourdough bread and a cookie. We arrived back at our campsite around 8 and grabbed a shower. It was delightful.

Orca 8