I have been both fortunate and blessed to be able to take such a trip as the three weeks I spent in Alaska's Inside Passage. There have been sights that are so spectacular they have taken my breath away...left me speechless and shaking my head in disbelief. The calm blue waters on an early morning, mountain views with a lingering cloud of mist hanging at their shoulders and forests of trees so thick the sun hardly penetrates.

But for well more than an hour in the fishing town of Ketchikan on a sunny late afternoon there was another type of beauty that had me soaring higher than the highest mountains:

I had the time of my life shooting pictures of American bald eagles that had gone over to the cannery for dinner. I was told by someone in town that the eagles would be there when the fishing boats came in. They were right. There must have been two dozen flying about...all I had to do was aim the camera and shoot. No special effects, no talent or skill needed...just shoot.

It was an experience I'll never forget and certainly a highlight of my trip. These pictures are the 20+ best of the many I took in that one-and-a-half hours' time. (Oh! And there's one shot of a flock of seagulls that flew through.)