We had to make several stops in Icy Strait on our way to Hoonah due to whale traffic. Breathing and spouting surrounded us on all sides. Many Ahhh’s were expelled as we watched the occasional breach, tail slap, and fin display.

Walking up the dock with DJ, a Hoonah fisherman, we saw two Eagles sitting near their large nest high in a cottonwood in the center of town. He told us he watched those Eagles begin to build the nest eleven years ago out the window of of his English class. If what he learned in class came close to that lesson, he had a great education. Hoonah has a great harbor and the quiet friendly ambience of the town felt good. I appreciated the conversation we had with a Tlingit elder who was cleaning out canoes, who shared some of his language and history with us. He was astonished to hear we hadn’t seen any bears yet and wondered if we wanted to borrow his glasses. He said there were only 800 people in Hoonah and  8000 bears on Chichagof Island.