Mt. Baker, Washington

 

 

 

 

There is a very pretty drive to take from Bellingham, Washington to Mt. Baker.
Mt. Baker is 10,781 feet.
It's glacial peak towers above the landscape.
Mt. Baker has the worlds record for the most annual snowfall, making this a winter wonder land.
The summers are just as popular with hikers, bikers, camper, and fisherman.

Peace Arch State Park

 

 

 

 

The International Peace Arch stands outside the international boundary between Washington and British Columbia.
There is one foot of the arch in America and the other on Canadian soil.
The Peach Arch represents the longest undefended boundary in the world.

Beautiful Flowers

 

 

 

 

Flowers of Peace

 

 

 

 

There are beautiful flowers and great landscaped grounds.

Dedicated To World Peace

 

 

 

 

Dedicated in the year 1921, it is the first Monument built and dedicated to world peace.
You do not need a passport to view the Peach Arch Park, but you have to have one to get into Canada and back to the USA. It is even stricter when you try to get back into America.

Begula Whale

 

 

 

I did not take these pictures of the Begula, they are just to show you how cute they are up close.

This is the Vancouver, BC Aquarium where the Begula Whales were kept. It was worth the trip form Bellingham, Washington to see them. Going from there to Vancouver,BC it was only 54 miles.

The people of Vancouver, BC were very nice to us and we enjoyed the visit immensely.

Vancouver BC Begula Whale

 

 

 

The Beluga Whale tank is particularly exciting; it has a surface-level area as well as an underwater viewing room.
Beluga Whale came from Alaska and Antarctica where the waters are very cold.
They swim among icebergs where water temperature may be as low as 32*F.
The Beluga has a well adaption to both cold ocean habitat and a warmer fresh water habitat.
The Beluga or white whale grows to 15 feet long.
They eat octopus, crabs, squid, and some fish like cod.
The aquarium has to cool their water to a constant 54* to keep them comfortable.
They usually have a routine that they follow much like at Sea World San Diego.
Today it was the first 80* day of the season.
They let them just swim and see what the whale wanted to do in the warm weather. They didn’t want to play.
Beluga do not exhibit as many aerial behaviors like jumping etc. that the killer whale and dolphins exhibit.

Tiqa the baby Begula

 

 

 

The little one, Tiga is only one year old. He was cute, and like most young he wanted to just play.
They are a dark gray color and lighten as they get older.
They get full sized at the age of 10.

Oila the Begula Whale

 

 

 

 

This is Oila the mother of the baby Tiqa.
Aurora is her mother.

20 year old Aurora

 

 

 

 

The 20 year old Aurora is having a baby any day.
She is also the grandmother to the baby Tiqa.
Pregnancy lasts 14 to 15 months birthing only one calf.
The baby will weigh in at 175 pounds and will be 5 feet long.
It was a big surprise to the aquarium officials that she was pregnant.
They had no idea that could happen at her age.
They took no chances with her; she was watched and monitored 24/7.
She gave birth to a healthy girl ten days after we were there.
It was very exciting to see them as they are not anywhere around where we live.
There are some in Alaska, Georgia, Florida etc.

Jelly's and Sea Otter

 

 

 

 

The Jelly's were beautiful but the Otters were full of fun. Eat and play is all they want to do.