Overnight, National Geographic Sea Lion brought us through Wrangell Narrows and Clarence Strait from the town of Petersburg, Alaska to Misty Fjords National Monument. We spent the morning enjoying the views from the decks of National Geographic Sea Lion as we slowly cruised through the fjord. In late morning, we boarded small passenger vessels to explore the area. We watched our ship come through famous Owl Pass, and we got a closer look at the forest, the waterfalls, the salmon, and the eagles. We got an even more intimate experience afterwards when we explored the area by kayaks. We watched as the zombie salmon in the streams fulfilled the last days of their cycle, which is critical to the old growth forest ecosystem. We even got to see a double rainbow over our ship! Later in the afternoon, naturalist and cultural interpreter Sharon Grainger gave a wonderful talk about Native American culture and art. In the evening, we enjoyed the views from the deck as our captain navigated us back through Behm Canal towards Dixon Entrance. Tomorrow, we arrive in Canada!
5/7/2025
Read
National Geographic Sea Bird
Daajing Giids, Haida Gwaii, Hecate Strait
After an evening cruising from SG̱ang Gwaay, National Geographic Sea Bird made one last stop this morning in Daajing Giids to drop off our cultural interpreters, DeeDee Crosby and Grace Garvie. At dock, we had two unique opportunities. The first, our daily morning stretch class had the opportunity to meet on land, and second, we welcomed the incredible artisan, Aay Aay, aboard. We were familiar with Aay Aay, who we had met two days prior as an interpreter at the Haida Heritage Center. His specialty is a revival of traditional Haida weaving. During Aay Aay’s time on board, he shared with us his personal story about discovering and mastering his art with spruce root, cedar, and wool weaving. He taught us how to hand spin the warp threads that would be the beginnings of a wool piece. After an artistic morning, we embarked on our journey across Hecate Strait to reach our next destination along our expedition, Alaska. This evening, I write as we make our way into Dixon Entrance preparing to wake up to the scenery of the famed Misty Fjords in the morning.
