Juneau Summer • colored pencil 1982
Personally, I still live in old Alaska. What I mean by that is Alaska has been changing over the years and some of us still long for the old days. Before everything got so coorporate. Back when the governor would declare a "Sun-day" for public employees and everyone got to leave early; when it didn't matter what your house looked like. It was just "Alaskan," and usually accepted by everyone. Back when all your neighbors got together to celebrate spring or summer or any old thing, just for a good time.
I think that still exists in the smaller towns and secluded areas of our state. It's nice to believe that anyhow. Things keep changing.
Alaska Sealife • Lonely Planet • Wikipedia • Alaska Seafood • Alaska State Library • Alaska Rainforest Campaign • National Park Service • Alaska Natives and Native Americans online • Alaska Folk Festival • Alaska Museums •USDA Forest Service/Alaska Region • Alaska Historical SocietyWHALES AND OTHER WILDLIFE
The Alexander Archipelago of Southeast Alaska is summer home to feeding humpback whales -- the largest aggregation of humpbacks in the North Pacific. In these inside waters, 100 miles from the nearest ocean swell, the humpback feeds almost continuously on the rich proliferation of life, produced by the long daylight hours and the cold Alaskan waters. Other animals share the bounty...the orca, minke whale, Dall's porpoise and harbor porpoise, and the birds. The red-necked phalarope flitters from bubble-net to bubble-net created by the humpback, to benefit from the krill-laden upwelling. Bald eagles soar overhead and flank the shores to feed off salmon returning to where they were spawned. Steller sea lions intersperse their lounging about the islands with pursuit of prey, and sometimes playfully or aggressively interact with other marine mammals, particularly the humpbacks.
from The Intersea Foundation
