This amazing photo by local professional photographer Marla Smith captured an orca playing recently in the waves off Vashon Island in the Puget Sound. The orca pods are well monitored to track the health of their populations in the Sound. The Northwest is so rich in the beauty of nature – there is nothing like seeing an orca swimming free in the waters with the snow capped mountains in the distance, hills full of evergreen trees, and bald eagles soaring overhead. If you’ve never experience it yourself, you should.