Whales and seals and salps, oh my!

Posted on by Alyssa

Thanks to our lovely friends who have read this blog and encouraged us to keep it going on our adventures. Sorry to be sporadic at best!

After leaving Florida we were lucky enough to be able to visit a number of friends en route to Oregon! We appreciate all the lovely folks who made some time in their schedules to see us as we randomly pop up in the area. Being able to see friends and indulge in a few tourist activities makes the cross country trip a ton of fun.

We met the amazing Dolphin People (Rick and Nina, plus Tudor!) at a dive expo in Singapore in 2018. They work to promote ocean conservation, education, and dolphin protection. If you are ever in Hilton Head, SC go and visit them!

https://www.mermaidofhiltonhead.com/

Fiddler crab spotting in Bluffton, SC with the Dolphin People
ADEX 2018 reunion, now with dance moves.

While we weren’t in Tennessee long we had a chance to visit a somewhat quirky spot that has been on my bucket list for a while. Rock City in Chattanooga TN was mentioned in one of my favorite books, American Gods. This was also pretty close to some of Colby’s good friends, Chris and Marissa, who were kind enough to host us for a few nights of games and catching up.

Rock City, Chattanooga TN
I am in no way responsible for the faces Colby makes for photos.
Thank you for the amazing hospitality! Some of Colby’s friends put us up in Tennessee on their beautiful property. We don’t usually watch sports, but after catching the Little League game we are converts- Wyatt played a great game.!
We took a ride to the top of Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Definitely worth it!
City Museum in St. Louis was ridiculously fun, a whimsical indoor playground for all ages. We were able to catch up with Ben from Key Largo, who has been bringing his amazing cooking to music festivals and the cool local music scene.

We had a wonderful stroke of luck, and about when we were due to be crossing Missouri a friend from Key Largo was going to be at Lake of the Ozarks with her family! I worked with Sandra in Key Largo, and we last saw her and her hubby in England in 2019 when we were across the pond. While we had heard of the area and a bit of the reputation as “Key West of the Midwest” we might have underestimated it’s beauty and fun. We had an amazing visit with one of our favorite families, and we were able to visit a state park as well as local cave system.

Keys photo from back in the day.
Ha Ha Tonka State Park with Sandra, Tom, and Terry. Beautiful flowers, trails, and people.
Bridal Caves

Then we were back in Depoe Bay, Oregon! We had traveled out here in 2019 for the season, and while a delay in our captains licenses had delayed initial plans we were able to see and learn a lot about the local gray whales and other fascinating residents.

Depoe Bay bridge, the whale watching center, boat and gray whale.

This year with our licenses in hand we are able to go out and run our own six passenger vessels for whale watching. Each summer there are gray whales that have figured out that rather than travel all the way from Baja Mexico to Alaska they can instead stop and feed along the Oregon coast before needing to journey back south for the winter. These whales or “residents” usually are within a half mile of shore, and are sometimes recognizable. These, and sometimes some other passing cetaceans are who we get to show to passengers on our tours.

When barnacles fall off of the whales their skin loses pigment, giving some a more mottled or white appearance.

In addition to the gray whales we are typically able to see a variety of sea birds, harbor seals, and occasionally sea lions. While not expected we also have transient orcas passing through the region, and occasionally humpback whales or other cetacean species.

A juvenile humpback whale spent a few days visiting before moving on.
While transient orca might pose a threat to juvenile gray whales we haven’t seen any active predation this summer.
Harbor seals always get the seal of approval.
Harbor seals and Steller’s sea lions are always a welcome sight on tours. Between the adorable harbor seals and the phenomenal size of the Steller’s sea lions you can’t lose.

Between work, the beautiful Oregon coast, and the small town camaraderie we are kept busy and in good company.

Mother and calf. 8-Ball and Pockets.
The local kite festival offered more entertainment than we were expecting.
Tide pooling is a local low tide hobby. When the tide is negative certain spots offer a plethora of critters to see.
On one of my favorite summer encounters. We were looking at this salp trying to ID it when I realized I stopped the video just short of something better…
Two Dots has a reputation for coming up to the boats for close encounters, and while unexpected he did not disappoint.

While we are still hoping to see some of the whales we met in 2019, so far the season has been both challenging in terms of sea conditions, and rewarding in terms of whales. We are looking forward to seeing more of the resident gray whales, and hopefully more of their fascinating behaviors.

Colby coming through the cut.
Days can be beautifully calm, completely socked in with fog, or rocking and rolling. Oregon coast weather keeps us on our toes.

Leave a comment

Unknown's avatar

Published by Alyssa

Hello, I'm Alyssa! I am a semi-retired scuba instructor based in Florida. My boyfriend and I have hiked the Appalachian Trail in its entirety (2015-2016) and we aspire to hike more long distance trails, and do more diving around the world! Hobbies include hiking, reading, diving, traveling and spoiling my feline fur babies. Newest adventure- trying to tackle the PCT!