Nearing the end

This is my last time in Juneau this season.  I begin the last week of my servitude today.  This past week was great, with lots of whales, some Orcas, and great weather.

 We went to Petersburg this time, because the weather was bad offshore, so we had to skip Klawock.  I like Petersburg and the mountains to the east, so it was nice to see the area. 

 The Devil's Thumb is a high peak east of Petersburg...

 We did go out to sea otter territory to look for the little beasties, and spotted a few.

 The weather is not so stable nowadays, because the winter is coming, but there was a nice clear night and i got a long shot of the milky way.  No Northern Lights, however.

 We had two Orcas come by the boat while in Port Houghton.  I love Houghton, and will have to go back on Altair and stay a while.  There is a big salt chuck, or lagoon, with a river connecting it to the ocean.  Lots of quivering seals were shivering in the shallows there, hiding from the roaming Orcas.  We paddled near one that would not move from the six inches of water he was hiding in.  He kept his eyes under water watchful of the predators, and kept a wary eye on us, but wouldn't swim to deeper water.

 On the way out we came across the orcas again, before coming into Humpback territory.

 There were hundreds of humbpacks lungefeeding all over the place, in a convention of whales.  They don't do this very often, but it was fantastic to see whales as far as the eye could see.  I like this shot because you can see the baleen and the bumps. 

 This is while at anchor in Port Houghton.