Alaska never ceases to amaze and surprise me.
We came into camp late one night from a successful afternoon of trolling for Salmon. As we docked up, Nicolette noticed LIGHTS off the back swim deck in the water!
WHAT? Fireflies in the Water?? LIght reflections? Nope, Bioluminescence in the water!
This was another first for me! I have read about them, and wanted to have the experience of seeing them but never found myself in a place with the time or opportunity to see them. Till now.
David didn't think anything of it, seeing as he's experienced it before and forgot to tell me it existed in ALASKA! I had only heard of it in warm tropical water. So I was totally caught unaware! What an incredible site.
As I moved the paddle between the dock and the boat, tiny lights shot out from the movement it created in the water. Some of them disappeared in seconds and others seemed to float toward the bottom. It was magical!
Since we didn't get to spend much time that night, the girls and I decided to go back down a few nights later when it was pitch black, and see if they were still there. That was even more exciting, with a startling surprise!
We arrived at the dock around 10:30 pm. Three of us girls and two dogs in tow. We parked at the top of the ramp and turned off all lights except our flashlights to get down the metal dock and onto the deck, which was almost impossible to see tonight. There was no moon that I remember, it seemed SO dark, which worked out to be perfect to see if there were any tiny bioluminescence in the water.
We grabbed some paddles and touched the water. Sure enough, it LITE UP, like fireflies dancing across the top of the water, scattering out in the direction of the current created by the paddle! Absolutely amazing, and so beautiful! I had read that some of the bioluminescence could be on or from anything from tiny organisms to jelly fish and much more. Knowing this, I was hesitant to try much more than a paddle or item NOT connected to me personally.
But, finally my curiosity got the best of me so I laid on my stomach at the edge of the dock and gingerly put my fingers in the water. The lights scattered from my fingers and I didn't feel anything at all
. Well at least nothing other than the cool Alaska Waters caressing my fingertips. So I pulled my hand through the water and felt the delight of all those little lights shooting out behind the path I created!
Over and over I stirred the water, giggling and watching the little lights float out from my hand and gently make their way toward the bottom or outwards, disappearing like Christmas tree lights blinking off.
All of the sudden we heard a BIG SPLASH and the bay lit up right beside us! I heard both the girls yell, "On No, Bailey!!".
One of the dogs is older and couldn't tell where the edge of the dock was and walked right off into the water! Fortu
nately it was SUPER EASY to tell where she was because she lit up the bay like fireworks in the water!! Poor Bailey, it scared her a bit, but she loves water and is a great swimmer so the girls just laid down on the dock and pulled her back up. She was wet, but otherwise undamaged. The other dog is pitch black already, but younger and I think can see great in the dark as he's a Husky-German Shepard cross. So you can't find him in the dark without his glow in the dark collar, which he didn't have lit up that night.
We stayed down on the dock a little longer, watching the magic in the water with every little movement or splash created. I wish I could have captured it on my camera but it just doesn't show up. If you look CLOSELY at the one video, you can see little white spots dance across the screen every few seconds.
To really see what bioluminescence looks like I'd recommend googling it. It's so amazing, one of those wonders of Nature that I feel so blessed to have seen and experienced!! And right here in my backyard!!
I've been a lot of places, and love the Pacific Northwest, but Alaska has always been on my bucket list and I'm so grateful to actually LIVE her to experience life offgrid in "The Last Frontier"!
Till next time,
BJ
PS: If Alaska has been o
n your bucket list - be sure to check out the retreats we host on the Events Page. ASK if you have a specific desire around visiting Alaska (Family event, Business training and write off of the experience, or friends get away. just for starters)