Week nine was a time for me to relax and recuperate from the whirlwind of both having my dad around, and camping out in Glacier Bay. It was also a time of great change.
Monday was my last day in Glacier Bay, and I spent it whale watching on the Taz in Gustavus. For hours on end, we watched – awestruck, as humpback whales breached and gave fantastic displays of tail slapping. To be so close to these phenomenal animals was incredible, and needless to say the perfect end to an incredibly wild week in the wilderness of Glacier Bay.
Tuesday, bright and early I boarded a plane with our fantastic pilot, Paul with Mountain Flying Services, and enjoyed the spectacular views of flying out of Gustavus and back to Haines. After such a long and physically demanding week, once I returned home I pretty much slept the entire day – and boy did I need it!
Then, it was time to get back to work. The middle of the week was spent catching up with photography work – like creating a photo book with my boss, Joe Ordoñez and going out on some fantastic photography tours. I even managed to squeeze in a much needed yoga class!
Friday was pretty incredible as well, as I got to experience my first gold tour with one of our best guides, Holly Jo. Holly was so much fun, and so enthusiastic as she took us up to porcupine creek – teaching us about the history of the gold rush here in Haines. If you’ve ever seen the show “Gold Rush” on the Discovery Channel, we went up to Dakota Fred’s mine, where we spent the afternoon learning how to pan for gold with Dakota Fred himself! Each one of us got a bag of “dirt” that we poured into pans, and learned to shake them out – separating the gold flakes from the other pebbles and minerals. As we got down to the last bit of our bags, we were all excited to see that every one of us had gold! It was really an awesome experience, and I think it’s pretty neat to be able to say I panned for gold in Alaska.
Saturday was my last day in Mud Bay, as I had decided to make the transition in to town to be located closer to work. I was really needing the company of more people, and was eager to be able to integrate myself into this small community more. I gratefully soaked up my last night in my cabin, as it was very bittersweet for me to be saying goodbye to my beloved cabin across Mud Bay.
Sunday, I moved into my new place. I relocated into a place up the hill, closer to town, with two of my good friends from work. After moving all of my stuff across the bay, it was awesome to relax with the new roommates, cooking an amazing steak dinner. I even showered at my new place, thrilled to have hot running water at my own place of residence! Between the busy week, and the move into town, I was exhausted, and slept gratefully in my new bed, ready for another week of southeast Alaskan living!
Here’s my favorite shot from the whale watching tour with Todd on the Taz. I highly recommend doing this if you ever get the chance!
© Brooke Foorman 2013
