A Dream Come True... Katmai Brown Bears.

View fullsize

Images courtesy of Scott Stone

I’m beyond excited to share something that has been a personal dream of mine for years… we’re adding a Katmai Brown Bear Expedition to our 2025 adventures!

Katmai National Park has always been at the top of my bucket list places to visit.

The thought of standing in Alaska’s untouched wilderness, surrounded by nature, in a very wild place has been something I’ve longed to experience.

The iconic images of brown bears fishing for salmon in the Brooks River have captivated my imagination for years, and now, I’m thrilled to finally make this dream into reality.

This expedition is not just another trip; it’s the culmination of years of dreaming and planning. I’ve spent years watching, learning, and finally connecting with one of the best local guides to ensure this experience is everything I’ve envisioned.

From the perfect timing during peak salmon run to the intimate group size that allows for a truly immersive experience.

One of the most thrilling aspects of this adventure for me is that we’ll be fully immersed in the wild, sleeping in tents under the stars.

View fullsize

While we’ll be protected and safe, there’s nothing quite like the thrill of hearing the sounds of nature all around you. Being so close to nature is an experience like no other, allowing us to truly connect with the environment and wildlife that make this wild place so special.

I haven’t been to Katmai before, but I’ve always felt a deep connection to the wild places of the world—where the laws of nature reigns supreme. Katmai represents that for me.

It’s a place where I imagine the air is filled with the sounds of rushing rivers and the sights of powerful bears honing their fishing skills. I can’t wait to share that first awe-inspiring moment with you all when we see that first bear pop out of the forest and step into the river, to fish for it’s breakfast.

Get ready for the WOW, WOW, WOW vlog. Lol

View fullsize

I am humbled that we announced this trip only a few days ago, and it sold out almost immediately—proof of how special this experience will be. While the spots went quickly, I’m so grateful for the overwhelming interest and support.

I’m counting down the days until we set off for Alaska, and though this trip is fully booked, please keep an eye out for future opportunities.

Of course you know I will be sharing the stories, videos, and images from this adventure in the future.

Until then… thanks for reading!

Churchill... We have arrived!

View fullsize

July 27, 2024 The official arrival day of the trip. Everyone is here. Tatiana and Kira arrived yesterday with me, and Christine made it today. Thomas was already here; he arrived last week to explore Churchill with his wife. He shared images from his time with another lodge and a visit to Fire Island. Lots of bears feeding there, fat on a beluga carcasses.

I need to get out there, man.

The boyz… Kenny and Jeromy.

Today, my friend and local bear guide Kenny took me out on his tinny (his boat). Just the two of us, it was cool. Jeromy, another good friend, was grumbling

because he wanted to go too. Lol, kids.

I get it; I would be jealous if they went without me. All of us are just grown-ass kids, wanting to do cool things all the time. Lol. It fills me with gratitude connecting with locals on these adventures. All of us with a strong love for nature and friendship that will last a lifetime.

We went out on the boat to find a bear that was at the point. We found it resting in the fog.

The fog was thick!

We motored around for a bit. I tried to get a photo of the bear, but the fog was too thick. So, we left the bear alone and just enjoyed watching the belugas circling our boat. They were really intrigued.

The tinny is great because you can hear the belugas. Their sounds echo.

With some editing I managed to remove the fog and bring out the bear. Even though the fog looked cool and spooky. I like to see the animals in my photos. lol

I think they might have been intrigued with the echo from the tinny and wanted to listen to it closer because they kept coming up to us over and over.

The belugas made some crazy noises that I recorded. That was wicked cool. I put together a video clip from the day. Going to be filming more stories on this trip.

I really do love storytelling.

So far, Churchill has been almost perfect.

The airline left my bag in Atlanta and has been slow to get it to me. It's been three days.

But despite not having my bag, I am filled with gratitude again. I had no issues getting here. All my flights were on time, and thankfully, I have my cameras with me. To help me survive waiting for my bag to catch up, I stopped at Walmart in Winnipeg to buy some extra clothes and toiletry stuff.

So I am blessed. All is well. Especially with the nightmares people have been experiencing at airports lately, I feel really lucky to have gotten to Churchill without any delays.

View fullsize

Sadly, I don't have my wetsuit, which is fine. I can rent it from the hotel. But my mask and snorkel, man! Gonna miss having that.

Hopefully, I will only have to deal with it for one more day.

The bag is supposed to arrive on Monday. Feeling confident it will be there for me.

Today is our first day in the water... the adventure is off to a great start!

Day One Score... Crap Weather - 1, Whale Sharks - 0

July 8, 2024 - Day One

We got weathered out, sadly. Hurricane Beryl, which recently passed through the area, has taken a toll on the Yucatan. The hurricane blew through early Friday morning, causing a lot of wind damage: mostly broken branches, some roadside signs, and a few windows. But we are still dealing with the aftermath of the storm.

The ocean swells from the passing storm are making our life out on the ocean complicated. The hurricane is long gone. Texans, especially those in places like Houston, are dealing with it now.

Today I was thinking... we have been running our whale shark expedition every July for the past 20 years, and we have never had a weather day until this year. We have never had to cancel a day on this trip, which is amazing.

Someone might remind me of one, but I don’t remember any. We have had bad weather before, but we were already out there when the storm arrived to kick us around.

This is the first, and I hope it will be the last weather day we will experience. I feel bad for our guests, as they all want to be out there looking at these amazing sharks, but nope, we are stuck on land.

We are all making the most of it in our own ways. Isla truly is a paradise, and if you are going to be stuck somewhere, this gorgeous island with a perfect beach is the place to be stuck.

Thankfully, the forecast looks like this will be a one-day deal, and tomorrow it will be game on to get out there to find those sharks… And find them we will!

To read about this years trip, please visit our whale shark trip report…

The search for Sperm Whales Begins!

Today is our first day in and on the water, seeking out sperm whales off Dominica Island.

The stories can be found on our “The Daily’s” page.

We won’t be updating our blog during our time here on Dominica, other than this post of course.

I will be updating the trip report at the end of everyday.

So if you want to know what is going on, please visit the link I will be sharing at the end of this post.

Thank you so much.

Blogging will resume when the sperm whale trip ends…

Hello Dominica!

I finally made it to Dominica.

Only took me two days.

Because of where I live in deep South Texas, I am often forced to fly a day early to get to most of my destinations, just in case a flight is delayed.

Which sometimes happens.

Airlines are not perfect, they are full of flaws.

When I get to chatting with my travel buddies, we can sit down and trade horror story, after horror story of the crap we often go through to get from point A to point B on a plane.

Airlines, airports, customs, TSA -long lines, canceled flights, lost luggage… All can be a nightmare sometimes.

But…in the end, I don’t mind.

To me, airplanes are highways to the world!

I love them, despite their many flaws.

This morning I woke up in a hotel in Miami, and now I am in a hotel on a beautiful island in the Caribbean.

I get to meet interesting people and see interesting places.

Monday morning I will be in/on the water looking for sperm whales to swim with.

Tomorrow is Sunday and I have the day for me. I am not sure what I want to do yet.

Explore the island… or go shore diving?

Not sure?

But thanks to a plane… these are my options.

Goodnight from Dominica!

Anaconda Diving - What an Epic Day! Part Two

View fullsize

Finally our girl left the darkness of her cave and began swimming up-current (thankfully), to find an exit out of the river.

We didn’t know she was trying to leave the river when she was swimming, we figured she might be headed to another hiding hole.

These snakes are notorious for having quite a few hiding spots in their hunting territories.

When she left the cave, she swam through the roots of the tree that were not only guarding the entrance to her cave, but also offered support to the soft mud that made up the walls of her secret dwelling.

The trees and grasses help prevent erosion by stabilizing the sediment with their tangled root systems.

This in turn helps maintain water quality, filters pollutants and traps sediments originating from land and us humans.

Nature is amazing.

Back to our girl…she slowly emerged from the roots of the tree and out into an area where we had a bit more light, and it was awesome.

We were all there (the four of us), taking turns snapping images of her as she poked her head out of the shadows.

When she began swimming out of the tree, we were ready, all of us were lined up, waiting patiently for her to fully emerge.

When she slithered out, we did not know what direction she was going to take, she chose swimming into the current, my guess is so that the dirt and debris would not obstruct her view.

This was great for us, as we would get clean shots of her beautiful head free of the silt and dirt.

She slowly came out of the darkness, silted debris poured out around her… and damn, she just kept coming.

She was a big girl, at least 5-6 meters long, and thick!

These are the moments that we all live for.

This is the stuff I dream about.

When you plan a trip like this, you want moments for everyone who joins you, where they will see a big prehistoric snake swimming underwater.

This is why we are all here… and what we all dreamed about. A big snake, up close and fully submerged underwater in crystal clear water.

We were all very excited and firing away.

The snake made her way slowly up river and we slowly, but excitedly followed her. Knowing full well, the encounter was going to end the minute she left the river.

We were not forcing the encounter, nor did we touch her.

Just as expected, the snake found the exit she was looking for and slowly slithered herself out of the river, disappearing into the underbrush that made up her mysterious world.

We all surfaced with massive smiles on our faces. The excitement we all felt was electric.

I was beaming with pride, knowing our friends experienced an extraordinary day.

This day was magic and everything I love about wildlife photography with special animals in special places.

Thank you for reading!

Anaconda Diving...Into the Black. PART ONE.

View fullsize

I posted today on Social media, a photo from a trip we ran, back in September of 2021.

We were in Brazil diving with anacondas.

On this particular day we were on a beautiful river in Bonito, Brazil.

The water was gin clear, and the scenery was spectacular.

We were slowly cruising down the river looking for snakes. We were watching the edges of the river, as well as the river banks for any snakes that might hiding in the water, or basking in the sun.

We finally found one on the river bank. She was a big 5-6 meter long snake. She was so beautiful lying there in the sun.

We slowly approached, but she dropped in the water to hide from us.

AND hide she did!

When you are a big snake in super clear water it should be impossible to disappear. But these snakes are territorial, and she knows the area she lives in well.

Snakes this size get big by being smart and cautious.

The area she has chosen to live in is surrounded by a forest. The river has a lot of trees, tall grasses and forest debris along the edge of the river, so she disappeared fast.

The search was on, we didn’t want to lose her.

We began searching the edges of the water with masks and snorkels to try and find her.

I checked underneath a tree right at the bend of the river and could see her large body tucked up deep underneath.

WE FOUND HER!

Our snake in her hiding spot. To the right of her, you can see her breathing hole. To the left, the river opens up.

It was a shallow area, but she was tucked in tight, so we had to put on scuba tanks to go where she was at.

This snake was hiding in a massive hiding hole she found or created that was behind a tree growing in the water.

It was dark and deep with a small breathing hole, which allowed her to hide indefinitely.

We swam underneath the tree that was half-grown, in and on the river bank. It led to where she was safely tucked away.

It was a tight area, so we took turns, so it would be less intimidating to the snake. A bunch of faces all trying to look at her in here hiding hole might stress her out. We did not want to do that.

I admit it was a bit unnerving swimming in there.

It was dark, and the water was silted up from her moving around in there. You could see her massive body, but you couldn’t see her head.

So we had to wait for her to settle down before we could inch in and see where she was.

She was just laying there, occasionally swimming up to the surface to get a breath of air.

Once she did, she would swim back down and curl up again.

These snakes are so calm and well-behaved. Nothing like we are led to believe.

She was relaxed and never got aggressive with us.

Yes they are predators and yes they are dangerous and must be respected, but interactions like these prove that if done with respect, we can co-exist. They truly are such a polite predator.

She eventually left her cave and swam along the edge of the river searching for one of her spots where she exits the river to slither back into the forest.

We continued to follow her and I am so glad we did, we managed to capture some epic images of this iconic predator…

PART 2 COMING TOMORROW.

It's Monday... Countdown to Dominica Begins

View fullsize

The week begins!

This weekend I spent my days doing normal life kind of things. Repairing things, lawn care… Domestic stuff that has nothing to do with the wildlife world.

So I will stop there with the boring unrelated to why you visit this page stories… on to the good stuff.

This week is prep week. I am sorting through last-minute gear prepping for next week’s expedition to Dominica.

Dominica is such a cool island in the Caribbean. There is a freshwater river for every day of the year. At least that is what the islanders boast.

365 rivers and hot streams that pepper the island, which is really cool.

It has waterfalls and lots and lots of forests. It is a beautiful island. A must-visit kind of place.

What is exciting for me and for our friends who are joining us, is the very healthy population of sperm whales that call the waters surrounding the island home.

I am looking forward to a great week of swimming with the whales. Hoping for magic to happen.

There are several pods / families of sperm whales that call Dominica home.

Some are friendlier than others. Most seek out interactions with people. Some don’t and that is ok.

Those whales we leave alone. But the whales that do want to share time with people, those whales are true magic and moments with them is the stuff that dreams are made of.

Either way, it is going to be a great week of good friends, beautiful scenery, and a week of life- in and on the ocean with big animals.

It doesn’t get any better than that!

Have a beautiful week everyone!

Hightlight Reel In the Works!

I am working on a new reel for our website. Well, it is a highlight reel for our recent grey whale trip. I have been procrastinating putting one together because reels take such a long time to create (at least for me. ) Some people can knock them out in a few hours.

It takes me longer than that.

I also have been pretty quiet on our website lately. I have been sharing daily on our FB and IG pages, but I have not been active on our website.

That is going to change.

I decided to begin sharing daily journals with you guys.

We are not always out in the world looking for animals.

Sadly.

We spend a lot of time at home in between trips.

During this downtime, I am constantly editing and writing, but so much of that content ends up not getting shared.

So I decided I want to share more on our website for those few who are interested in what we have to say and share.

The magic of this life is definitely out in the world looking for wildlife, but the art we create from those adventures happens while we are in the office sitting behind a computer, writing and dreaming about this wildlife world.

So expect more blog posts, because I plan to share a lot more…

Until Tomorrow!

2024 Grey Whale Trip Report!

View fullsize

I just finished up our trip report for the first trip of the 2024 season. Grey Whales off Magdalena Bay, Mexico. And man what an epic trip.

I have to be honest, I was a bit nervous that the trip would be a bit of let down, because our 2023 trip was so good. I just could not see how this trip could be any better, or at least just as good.

It far exceeded my expectations and we all had an amazing time on this trip. Baja does not disappoint.

I have attached a link for you all to check out the story for yourselves. I hope you enjoy…