#10 Kristi Scott, Guide-Alaska

It was day 2 of our Kenai Peninsula tour. Aboard our private cruise ship, we headed to our normal whale watching spot, expecting to see an occasional pod of Orca. Instead we found ourselves in the middle of a MEGA-pod, there must have been 30 of them! We lowered a microphone into the water to hear the whales communicating and watched with amazement as they showed off for one and other or maybe for us, jumping into the air, raising fins, slapping the water’s surface. I don’t think there was a single dry eye on the ship.

#9 Carol Austin, Family Expert -Havasupai

After a few hours of hiking in the hot morning sun, our group stopped at the base of Havasu Falls, where blue-green water tumbled 100 feet from soaring red rocks into a perfect travertine pool below. We took off our shoes and waded knee deep into the cool water. Standing there a the base of the Falls in the heart of the Grand Canyon, the roar of the water vibrating the earth under our feet, mist cooling our cheeks, a clear blue sky overhead, it all came together in perfect harmony. My daughter Kasey and I looked at each other and smiled, this was Mother Nature at her best!

#8 Christy Hamill, Staff-Glacier National Park

#7 Vince and Julie Auletta, Alumni-Machu Picchu

#6 Charlie Kress, Guide-Yellowstone

#5 Paul Lehman, Owner-Africa

#4 Paul Roye, Guest-Provence

#3 Mark Francis, Staff-Okanagan Valley

#2 Ryan Sagare, Guide-Glacier National Park

#1 Dan Austin, Owner-Germany

We were hiking in Glacier National Park on the trail to Hidden Lake. It was early in the season and the wildflowers were just beginning to bloom. Some of the shaded areas of the trail still had snow. As we approached the overlook of the lake and the amazing view of Sperry Glacier, we spotted a small herd of Mountain Goats and their kids. I don’t think they saw us or if they did, they didn’t care as the kids were having so much fun playing in the rocks next to the trail and jumping in the air. It was like the parent goats had brought their little ones to the park to play! We must have watched them for a half hour and just smiled.

I’ll never forget stepping from the train at kilometer 104 and climbing the Inca Trail, awed by our first view of Machu Picchu from the Sun Gate in the late afternoon. We returned at sunrise the next day to explore the ruins up-close. Scaling Wayna Picchu’s 1,100 feet of trail, stone steps, and cable hand-holds gave us a true feeling of accomplishment, and not to mention a final panorama that defies words.

It was an early July morning, around 6:00 am in Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley, when my guests and I spotted a pack of five wolves hunting a Cow Elk. As we watched, the wolves circled the elk, and eventually took her down. Not a word was spoken amongst the group; it was as if we were witnessing a part of nature typically reserved for the Discovery Channel. While it was sad because a life was lost in that moment, it was also one the most amazing things I’d ever experienced, watching as one animal was sacrificed for the survival of another. None of us had ever seen anything like it.

We had just set out on our first game drive on the Okavango Delta. We came around a bend and a herd of giraffe and three elephants emerged from the brush. The elephants were massive, their ears flapping, feet the size of garbage cans and the giraffe moved so beautifully, as if in slow motion. I have no idea how long we sat watching, I just remember my heart pounding inside my chest. I’ll never forget that first African wildlife spotting.