Images of Kenai Fjords National Park – Southern Alaska, taken in July 2015.

We boarded the Orca Song in Seward for our trip into the waters of Kenai Fjords National Park. It was smooth but foggy sailing in Resurrection Bay until we came to the Harding Gateway in the Gulf of Alaska where we encountered five foot swells that forced everyone to hold onto something or be thrown about like a rag doll. I felt like I was on an episode of “Deadliest Catch” as we slammed into the walls of water. Luckily the waters became calmer as we made our way toward the Aialik Peninsula and then the waters of Aialik Bay. Once there we were treated to all sorts of incredible wildlife including seeing Humpback Whales bubble net feeding…not once but five times! It was amazing; however, you will not see that here but instead in a separate gallery which is dedicated to all things Humpback Whale related.

The wildlife show started with the sighting of a pod of Orca Whales and included everything from Puffins (this time a Horned Puffin as opposed to the Tufted Puffin I saw in Glacier Bay) to Harbor Seals and large groups of Sea Otters floating together in the ice cold waters. It was interesting watching them watch us as we sailed by and we learned that the otter floats on its back to conserve energy and heat.

Although not wildlife, an equally interesting “show” was watching the Aialik Glacier calving. Unlike my past glacier experiences this one included some huge sections of the glacier falling into the bay; pieces so large that the boat captain had to turn the boat into the swells to keep us from being tossed around!

My trip to Kenai Fjords was complete after a hike to Exit Glacier the only area of the park that is accessible by road.