09/27/2026
📢Baja 2027 Announcement! Special Extended trip option.📢
We are very excited to announce that Carrie will be leading a group trip to Baja this winter! This year’s trip has two different trip options:
-Trip 1, Feb 20-24, 2027, is the normal 5-day trip to the gray whale breeding lagoons for 25 people.
-Trip 2, Feb 16-24, 2027, includes not only the 5-day gray whale lagoon trip, but also an additional 4-day trip to travel to the monarch butterfly wintering habitat, high in the mountains above Mexico City. This is an extended trip option for only 12 of the 25 people going to the lagoons.
A note from Carrie: "As a child, two of my favorite pastimes were watching whale shows, especially about gray whales in their breeding lagoons, and chasing monarch butterflies. Both of these amazing creatures’ populations are now very vulnerable, and seeing them firsthand is a powerful reminder of why we must protect them. Monarch Butterflies are proposed to be put on the Endangered Species List because of loss of milkweed in their breeding habitat in North America, and their wintering habitat in the Mexican Mountains has decreased from 45 acres to 7 acres. -Carrie"
Do you want to have the trip of a lifetime?
Do you want to have the possibility to touch a gray whale?
Do you want to experience numerous gray whale behaviors in one of only three breeding lagoons in the world?
Do you want to see millions of monarch butterflies in their high mountain winter habitat?
You will have close encounters with gray whales, including moms and calves. You will also see numerous gray whale behaviors, including breaching, spyhopping, and courting. In addition to the whale encounters, Carrie will lead a variety of field trips, including tide pooling (where many times, we can hold an octopus!), bird identification of the 100's of birds in the lagoons, plant identification (including the largest cactus in the world, the Cardon), and constellation gazing in a light pollution-free environment.
Those who join the extended Whales and Butterflies trip will also get to experience a horseback ride and hike to at least two monarch butterfly sanctuaries to witness millions of butterflies in the mountain forest, bird walks, and a hike to a waterfall. We will visit small mountain villages, soak in warm mineral pools, and witness how important these butterflies are to the local communities.
There are limited spots on these trips, so please secure your seat soon! It will be first-come, first-served.
To learn more:
https://www.wetravel.com/users/whale-research-ecoexcursions
