Mount Baker looms in the distance over Lopez Island, one of the largest of the archipelago of the San Juan Islands. During the afternoon this was one of our views as we enjoyed watching the behavior of a group of orcas (killer whales). The seas were nearly flat calm and quite clear as at one point a female whale cruised slowly only a short distance from the side of the ship, curious about our behavior. Late in the afternoon we were alone with the whales. Our marine mammal biologist, Lisa Sette, told us about some of the behaviors we were seeing and a great deal about the animals' biology and ecology.