One of the things on the Hubster’s and my bucket list was to take a whale watching excursion.
We were able to knock that off of the bucket list with this trip to Orcas Island!
*Clicking on a photo will give you a closer look!
We booked a tour with Outer Island Excursions (well ahead of this trip) and met at Rosario Harbor for about a 4 hour excursion.
“Our” chartered boat was full of excited adventurers. Captain Elliott looked barely old enough to drive, but he proved more than capable (He used to drive the ferries…I think he must have been 10 years old then!). Loved him! The crew was also great…made sure that we were all comfortable, safe, and answered lots of questions, even though they must’ve answered them a hundred times before.
We sailed off to Spieden Island where wildlife is known to hang out, and right away we spotted eagles and harbor seals.
The following photos are not sharp by any means. If you decide to go whale watching, then bring a long lense if photography is your thing. Regardless, enjoy your excursion!
Captain Elliott made sure to always keep a good distance away (and indeed there are rules for this) so as not to disturb them.
Sometimes you really needed to keep a sharp eye out as critters really do blend into their surroundings!
We also saw Steller sea lions.
These are very noisy boys and girls!
Spieden Island is a private island, worth about 21 million or so. Back in the day, it seemed like a good idea to the owner/entrepreneur to create a big game hunting preserve, and so all sorts of exotic critters were brought to the island, including mouflon sheep, native to Corsica and the Mediterranean.
I don’t see the fun, or sport, of hunting on an island where there is no where to go or hide. Maybe the hunters felt the same.
The business fizzled out, and the only exotic animals left are the deer and the sheep.
I don’t have a fantastical photo of a whale breaching but we did see orca whales and followed them quite a bit.
This is where I began to have mixed emotions. Our crew were very knowledgeable, identified the pod that we were following, and shared all about them. The crew was also very respectful and kept the proper distance.
What you don’t see in all of these wonderful whale watching photos all over the internet, is just how many boats are following these pods. Most are respectful.
But not all.
There are those few who do not slow down, nor keep their distance. Our captain warned the boat in the following photo, and I hope he reported the incident.
I don’t know how to reconcile the compassion for these beautiful creatures who are chased everyday and can never seem to find any peace, with the importance of observing and learning and preserving the lives of these whales, or any creature in any of their natural habitats.
What do you think?
The crew kept a map to show us where we were and what we saw. I like maps, so this was fun for me to look at.
While on Orcas Island, we also explored Obstruction Pass State Park.
Sometimes the trail looked like this:
Sometimes it looked like this:
And at one point, the trail even looked like this:
This park has forest hiking trails, picnic areas, camping, fishing, crabbing, bird watching and the longest public beach on Orcas Island. It is 76 acres of beautiful serenity!
Our time here came to an end and we caught the ferry from Orcas Village back to Anacortes.
See the world around you!
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