Final Farewell

Just before the Gould came in this last time, some Gentoos stopped by station right near the seawater pump house. We all took a break to check them out a little bit. I took the time to make a nice pose, too. Just like a senior picture for the yearbook, right?

Bye-bye for now.

Farewell Whales

Fluke with Mt. Williams.

I had one more awesome encounter with some humpback whales, too. We weren't whale watching, they were people watching. About three times, the two whales circled the boat and checked us out as they fed around us. There was another boat out there and it checked them out as well. It was good to have them out there to take a picture for scale. It gets a little disconcerting when such a huge animal swims right up next to your boat.

The other boat for scale.

Spy-hopping.

Next to the boat.

Feeding.

Farewell Leopard Seals

I have to confess that I've gotten lazy when it comes to taking pictures of wildlife. I like to go out in the boat with other people, enjoy the moment to the fullest, letting them take the pictures, and then get copies later. Needless to say, the pictures of the seals, penguins, and whales are not mine. But I was there, so it's an accurate account of what I've seen.

Not shown here was an interaction we had with a curious Lep following us behind the boat. We put the motor in neutral and let it check us out. It swam towards and away from the back of the boat, sticking its head out of the water every once in a while. It was doing the most amazing underwater acrobatics. Finally, it blew bubbles at the boat, believed to be a sign of aggression, and then opened its big gaping maw a couple times as it surfaced. That's when we decided it was time to leave.

Leopard seal on an ice floe.

Same seal from the side, showing its sinister grin.

Another good show we were lucky enough to see right off shore. We got to see this Lep chase and play with its meal before finally killing it.

Farewell

The Lawrence M. Gould has been in port for about five days now and it's taking me back to Chile tomorrow. It brought the second wave of winter-over staff and offloaded over 45,000 gallons of fuel for the station. I hope to come back next season for station opening. We'll see how it all works out. Here are some pictures from the last month of my season- scenery and wildlife.

Mt. Williams shrouded in clouds.

Palmer Station seen from Arthur Harbor.