Rain, fog, rain, wind, rain

That's Cordova this week. Did I mention it was also a little bit cold and windy? I got a Mustang survival suit recently, so I am warmer and more comfortable sitting in the open door of the helicopter this trip. It's bright yellow and despite being an XS is quite bulky because of the flotation... pictures of me in that lovely outfit will follow shortly so you can all have a good laugh.

These are pictures of Kalen and me setting up the helicopter at the Orca Lodge, in the rain, at 4 am each day. With no coffee. (Because we have to fly for 3 hours straight each time, and we don't set down to pee.)









Our survey progress is good despite the weather and the short tide windows. We are limited to 2 hours of imaging each day, when we are used to 3-4. This survey we had to pick up shoreline on both sides of the Sound, so we've done a lot of flying. Some days we are in the helicopter for 5 hours! We are seeing a lot of beautiful country, glaciers, sheer cliffs, snow-covered peaks, mountain goats, whales, eagles, otters, and tons of waterfalls.

At Knowles Bay, we spotted this mama brown bear with her two enormous cubs.



These spectacular sea cliffs are along an exposed section of coast called "Red Head" outside of Port Fidalgo.