Alaskan Adventure: Icy Strait Point, Alaska

My favorite day of the whole trip was spent in the coastal temperate rainforest of Icy Strait Point, our third port.

Our ship docked right next to a beautiful forest with an easy-to-walk nature trail that ran through the woods.

The rocky coast was rich with a variety of colors, shapes and textures.

Earthy yellow kelp along the shore caught my eye.

I spent most of my time in the woods, along the nature trail, sitting on a bench painting or walking slowly through the forest.  

I asked an employee about bears, and he said that they hadn't seen any in the last 2 weeks.  The trail was well traveled by tourists while I spent time there, so I felt safe.  Still, I made noise and kept a sense of awareness about my surroundings.

Entering the woods, you could see towering hemlocks and spruces, rich vegetation, and moss everywhere.

Western Columbine was blooming.  June is the best time to go for wildflower watching.

The earth underfoot was soft and spongy with decaying wood.

Bunchberries bloomed on the forest floor.

Fallen trees hosted new life springing up from their roots and surfaces

Blueberry bushes grew much larger than eastern varieties.

Deer heart's glossy heart-shaped leaves seem to call out to be drawn.

You can see the ocean out beyond the forest.

The crooked tree with the craggy limbs in the background of this scene above drew my eye in, and I sketched it at the bottom right of my page.

Sometimes the tiny things in a larger scene tell a story of their own.

Hours spent sitting in a forest, forest bathing, was more relaxing than a spa day for me, and gave me a chance to fill several pages with sketches and paintings.

I hope you'll take inspiration from some of these photos and create artworks of your own.

Happy Creating!