Thar's Flukes!

Mom and Dad are in town visiting for Whale Fest, 2009.

On Sunday we joined members of the Kodiak Audubon for a hike around Narrow Cape. We saw dozens of whales off-shore and managed to avoid any errant missile strikes. Our guide and naturalist, Stacy Studebaker, said that they were gray whales passing through on their migration to the Chukchi and Bering Seas.

Bruce captured some of the action on video while Mom surveilled the horizon for spouts.

Mom was interested in the buffalo wallows.

Mom venturing across the lagoon.

Dad is afraid of heights and didn't get too close to the edge. He was worried that one of the bunkers might fall into the ocean, taking him along for the ride.

The hiking got a little extreme as we scrambled down one of the buffalo routes over a creek bed.

All's well that ends well...on to the next adventure!

Six Degrees of Whale Fest

While Kodiak is small enough for most people to be connected in some way or another, Meghan and I are always amazed at the wide variety of Kodiakan pursuits. The poster for this year's Whale Fest was designed by local Kodiak artist Robert Wagner. He is a budding artist best known for his 2005 full length film Cope and 2003's Equivocation. More recently, Wagner's multimedia production company, Kiluda Rock, is busy with a new feature shot on Kodiak Island - How to Survive . We'll let you know when it's available for your queue. Although we have not seen either of Wagner's two films, Meghan does have a Wagner original hanging in her office at the courthouse - a beautiful sketch of dark ravens on a bright green background.
This year's Whale Fest officially begins on Friday, but we'll be part of the audience for Patrick Saltonstall's lecture Alutiiq Marine Mammal Hunting Through Time, a whale-related event held at the Alutiiq Museum. As a BIG fan of Moby Dick, I for one am very excited. Now, hopefully we spot some flukes while Meghan's parents are in town during the Fest.