Dan and I just returned from a photography-centered vacation in Alaska with Dolphin Charters (www.dolphincharters.com) and photographer extraordinaire Betty Sederquist. On July 21, we flew to the native village of Hoonah on Chichagof Island in Southeast Alaska. Hoonah is 20 minutes by small plane from Juneau. At the dock in Hoonah we boarded the M/V Delfinus captained by Ronn Patterson and crewed by John Kipping and Alicia Dominguez. Besides Dan and me, there were just two other passengers.
The weather conditions were magnificent when we arrived at Hoonah Harbor.
Delfinus is a 50-foot power yacht with four double cabins that can accommodate eight guests. It was cozy, but completely comfortable.
Our first stop was at Port Pavlov in Freshwater Bay to look for bears around the salmon stream. No bears anywhere, but we did see a cute family of Merganser Ducks trying to ignore us.
That first evening at sea was spent in the Tenakee Harbor. This was our only night in a town's harbor. All other nights were spent at anchor within calm bays.
We arrived in Tenakee just in time for women's hours at the town bathhouse. That hot, steaming bath was heavenly. The water is a combination of hot springs water tempered with cool river water.
Tenakee Bathhouse
From the harbor, it is a 1/4-mile walk into the town of Tenakee past charming homes, quirky signs, and roosting eagles. We woke to overcast skies, glassy water, and beautiful reflections.
The sign in this photo says, "Storage of crab pots, nets, barrels or gear on float is prohibited," but all items listed are on this float.
Near the ramp to the harbor is another sign that advises people not to leave trash behind. The sign was located in front of a dumping grounds for all things that are slow to decompose. One of the dump areas was piled with broken bicycles.
A couple of days after my first hot bath, we had a chance for another bath made from fresh and hot spring water in the town of Baranof (aka Warm Springs).
During our 9 days on the Delfinus, we did not visit another town. We did, however, see whales, bears, sea lions, harbor seals, river otters, sea otters, many birds, and fabulous scenery for the photographs shown in subsequent posts.
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