Residents and Transients...

The two types of Orcas we see here.  The Residents are the fish eaters - J, K, and L-Pods.  These are the whales we see most often here.  Very family oriented.  The Transients are the mammal eaters - these are the "bad boys" - they are rougher looking that the Residents.  We generally see them in small groups of 3 to 5, when we do see them.

Today, we saw both groups.  Our first trip out today took us near Saturna Island (southern Canadian Gulf Islands), with J and K-Pods.  The viewing was outstanding...

That dorsal fin belongs to Mike - he is a big boy.  For some perspective, that dorsal fin is about 6' tall.

We rode with these animals all the way down to Spieden Channel and Haro Strait.  Close to Roche Harbor by the end, so there were lots of boats out there.  We saw all the behavior: breaches, spy hops, tail lobs, etc, etc.

I knew they were heading south at a pretty good clip.  For our second trip, I had options: south to try to catch up with the south-bound Residents, or north to try to intercept a group of Transients that were in Canadian water, heading southwest.  I chose to go north, into Boundary Pass.  The whales kept going southwest until we got there, then turned east.  Slowly.  They were very active for Transients, a group of about 8.  Instead of running in any kind of straight path, they were all over the place.  Not as many boats with this group, so the viewing was very pleasant.  We were able to be shut down for a good portion of the trip, with whales on either side of us.

On both trips, the water was lovely.  The sky turned mostly overcast by the second trip; it was actually a nice reprieve from the sun... for a change of pace.  Don't get me wrong - I love the sunshine.  On these two trip days, it can be a bit of too much of a good thing.

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Working in Roche today, it was a scoot commute.  The parking at Roche was completely full in the lower section... no problem with a scooter or a motorcycle, though... there's always room for another bike or two.  Getting ready to head home, I took a moment to check out the scoots there: this Kymco GTi 300...

A Sunny (Chinese made) for sale, only $600...

And, this Grom...

OK, the Grom isn't a scooter, it's a small motorcycle.  The key word there is small - you can see my red PCX in the background; a better fit for me.

I was tired at the end of the day, but the scoot commute home was refreshing.  And my Honey brought home pizza!  :-)