Wow! Talk about “peak season” in summer Alaskan tourism! Things have REALLY been picking up here in Haines, and the past two weeks have flown by in the blink of an eye. I can hardly keep track of myself these days, so I’ve decided for sake of convenience to combine week eleven and week twelve into one post.

Week eleven was even more productive than week ten, as things continued to pick up pace around here. This was also the first week I made the transition from shadowing tours (which is essentially training as a back up, or an assistant guide) to being moved to the forefront, while another guide shadows me. It has been exhilarating to begin to take charge of my own tours, interacting more with the photographers that join us for the afternoon (or morning, or evening!) both teaching, and learning from each one of them.

Monday and Tuesday were both fantastic tours – but I was particularly fond of the tour on Tuesday, as it was pretty much a one-on-one experience. It was a great way to start guiding my first tours, being able to focus all my attention and energy into such a personalized tour.

Week twelve was an exciting week for me, as I spent a couple of days traveling around more than just the Haines area. Monday I had the opportunity to ferry to Skagway and back where I saw a couple humpback whales. The ride between Haines and Skagway is really breathtaking, on it’s own, but the photography tour that followed was the most incredible tour I’ve been on so far. We had a small group, and there was one particular woman that knew very little about her camera when she first met us at the dock – by the end of the tour, she was smiling from ear to ear, exclaiming that she now understood her camera, and had found a new passion in life! Her excitement, enthusiasm, and encouraging words were so incredibly rewarding to me. She now understood her hobby enough to turn it into a full-fledged passion for the art of photography.

The highlight of my last two weeks was definitely a private photo tour we did on Wednesday. My boss, Joe Ordoñez and I, took a wonderful couple on an all day private photo tour. In the morning, bright and early, we picked them up from the dock, and headed up the Haines Highway to Kroschel’s Wildlife Farm, where we spent three hours alone with Steve Kroschel himself, learning about and photographing a myriad of animals. We saw a wolf named Isis, an ermine, a couple of red foxes, a mink, a lynx, and a wolverine. We also saw caribou, porcupines, and even got to kiss some moose! I must say, a moose kiss is just as slobbery and sloppy as one would imagine.

We then headed up the highway into Canada, our destination The Million Dollar Falls in the Yukon territory. Along the way, we stopped to marvel at incredible wildflower displays and learn about the natural history of the area.

Since we have been so busy, it has been difficult to keep up with the normal amount of journaling and blogging that I typically try to maintain out here, so I’ll go ahead and include a couple extra photos, instead!

© Brooke Foorman 2013

© Brooke Foorman 2013

© Brooke Foorman 2013

© Brooke Foorman 2013

© Brooke Foorman 2013

© Brooke Foorman 2013

© Brooke Foorman 2013

© Brooke Foorman 2013