This is the second tranche of pictures from the Alaska Day Parade. There are three tranches of photos. In past years I have been more selective but many people asked “why isn’t my group, kid or spouse, in these pictures?” … Continue reading 2018 Alaska Day Parade — Tranche 2
Today is our day. Alaska Day celebrates the transfer of Alaska from Russia to the United States 151 years ago on Castle Hill in Sitka. It’s a state holiday but for most of the state it is little more than … Continue reading Alaska Day Parade 2018
I made several Facebook Posts on and around Alaska Day. I am collecting them on this blog page, with a few extra pics added. On the Sunday before Alaska Day I posted this: “Alaska day is well and truly launched. … Continue reading 2018 Alaska Day Facebook Posts
In an earlier post, September Turning, I posted pictures of September sunsets from my front deck. Here are some other pictures. The ones of the moon and the plane taking off were also taken from my deck, others were downtown … Continue reading September Song
On September 1 the sun sets at 286 degrees so can’t see sunset from my house but I can certainly see it’s affects from my deck. I can actually first see the sun set, that is go behind the north … Continue reading September Turning.
The last day of September was a great time to be out and about. In an earlier post I have pictures from Harbor Mountain. Earlier on Sunday I hiked a little along Silver Bay, the day before I also walked … Continue reading Silver Bay September
Sitka gets relatively little color at sea level. Some imported maples color out red, the mountain ash gets bright red berries and the alder give us some yellow but look up. The mountain sides that were green become gold, rust … Continue reading Harbor Mountain the Last Day of September
I’ve spent a lot of time in cities from Belgrade to London to New York, but last weekend in San Francisco I noticed things I’ve not seen in other cities. We were in San Francisco for a memorial service and … Continue reading The City by the Bay and a 35 Foot Polar Bear Made From Smashed Car Hoods.
We had a great time riding the cable cars in San Francisco. The California street cable car climbs Nob Hill, past China Town, the Mark Hopkins and Grace Cathedral. We rode it at night and the next day at dusk … Continue reading Ding, Ding, Ding, a Ding, Ding, a Dinga Ding. Cable Cars and Other Delights.
The University of Alaska told us that there was a magnetic storm coming. I started looking for aurora just after 10 PM on Sept 10. I watched and photographed the Aurora at Starrigavan. There were several people there, which was … Continue reading Overnight Aurora Sept 10 – 11
Two hundred and forty two years ago a resolution written by Thomas Jefferson and moved by John Adams passed the Continental Congress. It read, in part: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that … Continue reading JEFFERSON STILL LIVES !!!
Every June I know I am exactly where I should be, home in Sitka, enjoying the Sitka Summer Music Festival. At the end of every June I go over my Facebook Posts, and review some of the pics that didn’t … Continue reading June’s Over, but oh what a June!
Around 150 Sitkans joined other people in other cities around the US in a “Families Belong Together” march. To be precise Suzi and I counted 147 people march past us while I was taking pictures. We met several more at … Continue reading Remember — It Could Be Us.
Last weekend the Carnival came to Sitka. It seems more wholesome than the carnivals of my youth. Carnivals, as I remember them were a bit seedy, in an exciting way. The Golden Wheel is run by an Alaska family. Several … Continue reading Everything Comes on the Ferry
Everyone in Sitka has a story about our town veterinarian, Burgess Bauder. He is our town character. I mean when people come to town they wonder why our cars have bumper stickers reading “What Would Burgess Do?” On Saturday Sitka … Continue reading “Animal Nature.” Celebrating a Local Character
Actually it was a little less than 19 miles an hour, 18.9 mph or 16.4 knots as I reckon it. Nineteen miles an hour seems like a leisurely pace to circle the planet. But on a human scale it’s really … Continue reading Coda – Around the World at 19 Miles an Hour…*
We were upgraded to first class on flight 67, Alaska Airline’s “milk run” up the coast to home. It seems like we knew every 4th person passing us getting on the plane. We had early boarding because Suzi broke her … Continue reading S#it Happens — Re-entry
We’ve almost completed our circuit of the earth at the stately speed of 19 knots. Holland America has done most things right on this cruise but I think they overplayed the ending. In the last days we wanted to have … Continue reading A Whirlwind Finish
Each of these pictures help illustrate a story. The cobble stones paving Old San Juan streets are a metallic blue grey. They were made from slag left over from iron production in England and were carried over as ballast in … Continue reading San Juan Stories
We sailed in just at sunrise. At sunset I was on the deck because I thought it was a good perch. Four hours after sunset we sailed out. It is our last sail out of the cruise, beautiful and, in … Continue reading Sunrise, Sunset, Sailout
San Juan was a walled city that spilled out past its walls that were anchored by two forts, Fort Christóbal and El Murro, the oldest Spanish fort in the Americas. In 1898 the US Navy bombarded these walls and breached … Continue reading Fortified San Juan.
The Immigration officer looked at our passports, asked us our names and then put the passports into a scanner. He tapped a few keys on the keyboard, handed us our passports and said “Welcome Home.” Those words jolted me because … Continue reading Are We Home Yet? — San Juan
No matter who we spoke with in San Juan, a driver, a shop keeper, the receptionist in City Hall where we went for directions, Hurricane’s Maria and Irma were not far from anyone’s mind or lips. We saw damage from … Continue reading Crowd Sourcing Help Please — San Juan.
We’ve crossed into our 24th time zone, Atlantic Standard Time (or Eastern Daylight Time.) While we have one more port before Fort Lauderdale people are packing. Many are already packed. We are putting that off until the last minute. I’m … Continue reading My Understanding of Stuff