We’ve been mentioning how wonderful the weather has been. Maybe it’s Mother Nature balancing last year, or perhaps it’s because we are here two months earlier in the year. Whatever the cause, everything looks more spectacular in unfiltered sunlight.

We’re not taking the conditions for granted. We assume Alaska will get rainy and wet sometime soon. But while we’ve got this weather, we want to record it for posterity. Can you believe how calm this is? (The Gulf of Alaska is just a few miles south!)

The entire east side of Baronof Island is covered in snow, right down to the water’s edge in places.

This is part of the massif fronting the narrow entrance to Red Bluff Cove.

There are two very narrow passes through which we have to thread our way.

These passages are 300 feet (90 meters) wide, but they look much smaller when you are conning your way through.

This is what the SONAR and radar images look like. The SONAR (left) is giving us insurance that the path ahead is clear, and in fact accurately charted.

There is one giant waterfall and dozens of smaller ones in Red Bluff Cove.

We’ve also got some eagles hanging around (but not close enough for good photos).

The peaks surrounding us are awe inspiring, as are their snow fields.

All of these mountain photos are taken with the equivalent of a 600MM 35mm camera lens – they are enormous…

…very high…

…and incredible steep.

They change shape and color as the sun moves across the sky. This is an early morning shot (it was 36F/2C) outside when we took this!

It is also calm right now (and high tide). At low tide the water is fresh from melting snow runoff and registers 33F (1C) on our infrared thermometer. No swimming here!

Plan A was to make a quick transit of Southeast Alaska and get ourselves to the promised land of Prince William Sound without delay. However, plan B is now in effect. We are transfixed by the beauty with which we are surrounded. We just hope the weather stays benign for our transit through the Gulf of Alaska.