The Gulf and San Juan Islands
This morning, as we perused the schedule for today’s activities, with the San Juan Islands prominently featured, it became obvious to us that we were getting very close to the end of our journey. Alaska was far behind us, and the warm morning air told us that we were in the habitable climes of southern British Columbia. Our minds, however, were still firmly focused on one of the upcoming highlights of the trip: our visit to the Saltspring Island home of Robert Bateman, the internationally renowned wildlife artist. Soon after our arrival at dockside, Bob and his wife Birgit came on board, and Bob presented a slide show of their house and some of the art objects they have collected over the years. The true splendor of their home, however, did not reveal itself until we actually walked through the house, and could admire at close range the various sculptures, paintings and cultural artifacts. We were taken upstairs into the spacious studio, and Bob showed some of his recent work, and talked about his approach to painting wildlife. To me this was a heartwarming experience, as Bob and I have been close friends for many years, and seeing him share his thoughts and creative processes with a group of what to him were strangers, showed me why he is such a terrific person to know. He combines an amazing talent with a warm and immediately sympathetic personality.
With the images of Bob’s art still in our minds we continued southward to our journey’s destination. We sailed under a clear blue sky among the San Juan Islands, with the towering presence of snow-clad Mount Baker above the south-eastern horizon, guiding us home. Tomorrow, the pressures of travelling home will temporarily push the memories of our Alaskan experiences into the background, but in the long run, these memories will be with us forever.
This morning, as we perused the schedule for today’s activities, with the San Juan Islands prominently featured, it became obvious to us that we were getting very close to the end of our journey. Alaska was far behind us, and the warm morning air told us that we were in the habitable climes of southern British Columbia. Our minds, however, were still firmly focused on one of the upcoming highlights of the trip: our visit to the Saltspring Island home of Robert Bateman, the internationally renowned wildlife artist. Soon after our arrival at dockside, Bob and his wife Birgit came on board, and Bob presented a slide show of their house and some of the art objects they have collected over the years. The true splendor of their home, however, did not reveal itself until we actually walked through the house, and could admire at close range the various sculptures, paintings and cultural artifacts. We were taken upstairs into the spacious studio, and Bob showed some of his recent work, and talked about his approach to painting wildlife. To me this was a heartwarming experience, as Bob and I have been close friends for many years, and seeing him share his thoughts and creative processes with a group of what to him were strangers, showed me why he is such a terrific person to know. He combines an amazing talent with a warm and immediately sympathetic personality.
With the images of Bob’s art still in our minds we continued southward to our journey’s destination. We sailed under a clear blue sky among the San Juan Islands, with the towering presence of snow-clad Mount Baker above the south-eastern horizon, guiding us home. Tomorrow, the pressures of travelling home will temporarily push the memories of our Alaskan experiences into the background, but in the long run, these memories will be with us forever.
