Orcas at San Juan Island
Last weekend, I continued the trend of exploring new places and trying new things in the PNW. This time it was heading up to San Juan Island in Washington, to check out the orcas. A friend is spending the summer on the island helping researchers count and monitor the orcas. Stationed at Lime Kiln Lighthouse, she has a pretty spectacular vantage point to watch the amazing beauty of nature pass by every day.
The island is teaming with life. Everywhere you turn there is something amazing to see. I walked out of the B&B one morning to be greeted by a young buck standing about 5 feet outside the front door. There were about 12 deer in total hanging out having breakfast. They are clearly accustomed to the guests because they didn’t seem to mind sharing the morning air with me.
Even when the sun starts to go down the amazing sights don’t slow down. We were treated to a couple of the best sunsets I’ve seen in quite some time.
We had four separate whale sightings in two days. The sightings were of J & K-pods. We even saw the matriarch of J-pod, “Granny,” who people estimate to be over 100-years-old. Having friends that know about the orcas made the experience even better. I feel so special to have witnessed these majestic animals in the wild.
I hope you enjoy some of my favorite images from the weekend.