Jim and Joyce visit us in Alaska

Any week in which I shoot more than 200 hundred pictures must be a special week. While Kris

and I are on a temporary permanent vacation, it was different when our friends, Jim and Joyce

came to visit. We shifted into a vacation mode, the mode of getting the most mileage out of a single

week as possible. What follows are some of the photos that captured our experiences.

Looking across Kachemak Bay from just outside our hotel room in Homer Alaska

A large group of sea otters floats in Kachemak Bay as the group heads out for halibut fishing.

A humpback whale unexpectedly surfaces only a few feet from the boat. Tim gets a picture of the tail.

Halibut line the back of the boat as we head back in. 20 people caught these fish in about an hour.

"These heavy slimy things are mine", says Kris.

Joyce holds up her catch.

Deckhand Joe throws another carcass to the waiting seagulls.

The view as the boat returns into the boat harbor at Homer.

A view up Portage Valley along the roadside near Turnagain Arm. This is about 11:00 PM.

A moose trots away after a swim across a river outlet near Turnagain Arm.

Sunset along Turnagain Arm became a frequent sight during their visit. Read that as I drove home late every night.

A dall sheep mother and baby hang out on a cliff side along the road.

The view from the hot seat in the raft on the upper portions of the Kenai River.

Jim gets ready to net a red salmon for Joyce. Combat fishermen on the other side vie for space.

Joyce holds up one of her reds while Kris tries not to look too bored in the background.

Marmots relax on the climb to Harding Ice Field (we were climbing, not the marmots).

The group works their way up a ridge high above Exit Glacier’s cracked ice.

"Dig your own hole. This one is taken."

Joyce approaches a potential trail use conflict with a marmot.

Kris watches her step on the snow. Joyce enjoys the view of Harding Ice Field.

The group picture above the ice field.

Mountain peaks extend out of the ice and clouds.

Jim looks the part of mountain climber in spite of his swollen calf.

Looking down on the crevasses in the cracked blue ice of Exit Glacier.

A young black bear hangs in a tree above the trail. Where’s mom?

A black bear mother checks both ways before bringing baby out to cross the paved trail near the vistor center.

Exit Glacier from a distance. Our path climbed to the right of the little peak on far right of this picture.

Downtown Seward, Alaska.

A sea lion circles his tank.

A kittiwake poses for the camera at the Alaska Sea Life Center

A confused puffin flaps its wings atop a worker at the Sea Life Center. I wonder if they’re hiring.

A tufted puffin cooperates its way into the picture of the week.

A couple of sea otters float in Resurrection Bay.