Sea otters in the rain

I usually think about tropical jungles when I hear the word rainforest. But Cordova Alaska is a rainforest; they receive an average of 180 inches of rain per year. In contrast, Salt Lake City receives less than 16 inches per year.

So we are vacationing in the rainforest, albeit a cold rainforest. We've had a couple of very beautiful sunny days here, but the locals say that one sunny day is worth a week of rain.

Ian and I went walking in the rain the second day we were here. Here is a photo of nearby Mount Eccles, which has snow on it year round. If you look closely the snow is formed into a woman with a long dress on, facing left.

We walked out near the harbor and looked at all the fishing boats.

We saw some otters in the distance so we went for a hike on the breakwater to get a closer look. There were 4 or 5 otters playing in the harbor. Its so fun to watch them roll around in the water. They are such playful animals.
We also saw a seal pop his head up, but he dived down in the water before we could get his picture.


These sea otters don't mind the rain, though. They keep dry and insulated with their thick fur. They have up to a million hairs per square inch; much more effective than our flimsy raincoats.