Living in Grand Junction on the edge of the desert, we don’t get to see God’s ocean creatures “up close and personal.” However, on the past trip to Oregon, we had the privilege and pleasure of meeting Carrie Newell, a marine biologist and whale researcher. Carrie has been studying whales for the past 18 years, and is a wealth of knowledge about them (and other sea creatures). She shared many fascinating details about their lives, diet, reproduction, and migration patterns. Carrie specializes in gray whales, but the day she took us out in her Zodiak we saw no grays. Instead, we had the thrill of seeing 4 killer whales the size of her boat. What a rare and special treat! We watched them for more than a half-hour as Carrie maneuvered her boat in what she considered “safe” range, took hundreds of pictures, and shared information with us. In all her years of whale research, she had only seen killer whales in the wild about 7 times, so we felt God gave us a real treat of seeing them our one time out. Whales are certainly great and awesome animals – how much greater is our awesome Creator who made them!
P.S. If you’re ever in Depot Bay, Oregon, look Carrie up. We can’t guarantee you’ll see a whale, but we do know you will enjoy meeting Carrie and learning from her – or take a virtual trip at: www.whaleresearchexcursions.com.
By Mary Jo Nutting
