Here is a set of photos from a trip back in October to Seward, Alaska.
I walked out onto the boat dock and was enjoying the beautiful sunshine when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something darting around the water. As I moved closer I realized it was a sea otter! It was weaving under the dock and around the boats that were tied up. Just then I spotted another! They played with each other in a way that you may mistake for fighting. They would dunk each others heads under water back and forth for about 5 minutes and then act like they were taking a shower. It was so funny to watch and amazing to get so close to them.
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One of the otters had a fish and he kept watching me, probably thinking I would try to steal it. Here you can see the otters taking a break from roughhousing to clean themselves. It really looked like they had just put shampoo on and were washing their hair!
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Just as curious about me as I was of him. Be sure to always respect the distance of wildlife and don't intrude on their space. I kept a safe distance on the boat dock and never touched the water.
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Seward is located about 2 hours south of Anchorage. It was named after William H. Seward, a man who negotiated the deal for America to purchase Alaska. The town is surrounded by massive mountains on one side and the ocean on the other. Covering the mountain is a beautiful dense forest. In the summer it's not uncommon to see whales in the bay and sea otters like these by the dozens.
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There were also quite a few birds enjoying the beautiful weather. The water in Seward is some of the most pristine I have ever encountered. Even by Alaska standards.
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Thank you for reading! I hope you're enjoying my stories from Alaska. I have so much more to share and I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts. I want to thank everyone for the massive amount of support in my first weeks of using steemit. This is a really great platform and an even better community :)
- Chase