June 19, 2026 I was beginning to wonder if I would make it up Harbor Mountain. A USCG Jayhawk crashed at 1800 feet and the road was closed for a while. But it is open now with only a small … Continue reading Harbor Mountain in an Electric Car
July 18, 2026 In 1992 a container ship lost a container full of bathtub toys. The container broke open and 28,000 “Friedly Floaties” broke loose and started the more than 6,000 mile circuit of the Subarctic Pacific Gyre. Because of … Continue reading 2026 Rotary Duck Race!
This year’s Rotary Wildlife Fundraising Cruise hit the jackpot. Not only did we fill the boat but while we had rain in the morning, as we cruised out of Crescent Harbor the sun began to break through. We also hit … Continue reading 2026 Rotary Wildlife Cruise.
Most visitors along Lincoln Street spend their time looking in shop windows or taking pictures of the big bear who wears a plaid vest or St. Michaels Cathedral, which is a pity because if they looked up, they would see … Continue reading Look Up!
Someday I may celebrate the 4th in a big city with huge fireworks shows, parades with 76 trombones, tall ships and big stars on a big stage, but I’m not sure the experience can match a small town 4th. As … Continue reading Small Town Fourth!
This Morning on Raven Radio Melissa interviewed representatives from the Sitka Cancer Survivors Society. They were promoting a fundraising event that helps raise money for mini grants to Sitkans with Cancer, $1,000 the first year and $500 a year for … Continue reading Two Kinds of Hope
On our way back from the cruise, we flew from Seattle to Sitka in the dark. On our return from Minnesota, we had full daylight all the way home. Alaska Airlines operate several “Milk Runs” between Seattle and Anchorage. In … Continue reading The Milk Run Home
Beltane, May first, is one of the Celtic cross calendar days. The cross quarter days are halfway between equinox and solstice and mark the beginning of a season. The two major cross calendar holidays are Samhain, October 31, the beginning … Continue reading Beltane with “My Log.”
At Festivals I withdraw from daily life and immerse myself in something different and stimulating. Throughout the year Sitka gives me several chances to take such a staycation immersing myself in chamber music or jazz. But in November a long … Continue reading Turning STEM into STEAM. Sitka Whalefest 2025
It’s been a while since I logged onto the blog. I have been posting on Facebook but have been busy enough that I haven’t done much writing. The last week we have had a succession of storms battering our coast. … Continue reading Boardwalk Patterns
OK by Alaska standards Sitka isn’t a small town, but it can feel like it. As one friend wrote in a song, no one uses turn signals because everyone already knows where you are going. Skagway, Alaska is really a … Continue reading Small Town 4th
On July 2, 1776, Richard Henry Lee moved a resolution, before the second Continental Congress, declaring independence for the 13 American colonies. John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail: The Second Day of July, 1776 will be the most memorable … Continue reading July 2, 2025, Almost Independence Day, 249 Years Later.
Every June my hometown, Sitka, becomes alive with the arts. Both the Sitka Music Festival and Sitka Fine Arts camp bring people from all over the Country to our little town. We have performances and parties all month. This year … Continue reading 2025 Sitka (Summer) Music Festival Photo Gallery
Walking through Sitka National Park today with Brian, we saw an eagle on a gravel bar in Kassada Heen (Indian River). As I zoomed in with my camera the eagle jumped into the river and started splashing and preening. It … Continue reading Bathing Eagle
On the longest day of the year we joined the Annual Raven Radio Summer Solstice Cruise on one of the Allen Marine Tours boats. Allen Marine supports non-profits in Sitka by donating their boats for fundraising cruises. According to Rob … Continue reading Raven Radio Summer Solstice Cruise, 2025
At age 70 9PM becomes the new midnight. By that standard I have seen in the New Year every year since I reached the Biblical lifespan. The ball drops in New York, I sing “Happy Days are Here Again”, stay … Continue reading 2025!
Today we celebrated the 42nd Sitka counseling Christmas Bazaar. It was a clear and cold day. I don’t think I have ever had as much problem finding a parking place as I have today. That means having to walk about … Continue reading 2024 Sitka Counseling Christmas Bazaar
If I lived anywhere else, I wonder if I would attend a science symposium. I’m interested in scientific issues, but I don’t think it would occur to me to sit through 9 science presentations. But I live in Sitka, and … Continue reading Sitha Whalefest 2024
I seldom sleep well on days before I fly. It’s the combination of fear and excitement. I have a fear of flying dating back to a day in 1978 when I was sitting in an exit row, landing gear on … Continue reading Home
Friday the 13th does not exist for me. It’s the day we cross the dateline, we move directly from the 12th to the 14th. To compensate we will have two October 12ths on the way back. A lost day at … Continue reading Cruise Conundrum
When I first started cruising, I suffered from FOMO, Fear of Missing Out. There was so much to do, I didn’t know where to start, but I wanted to get my money’s worth. Now I’ve relaxed a bit, I’m choosier … Continue reading FOMO and ROMO
I started this blog to share photographs. When working in international media development I wrote weekly letters to family and friends. I asked then not to share them because I made observations that may, if publicized, compromise my work. But … Continue reading Unalaska Photo Gallery
A Coast Guard Cutter pulled rank and Westerdam had stand offshore and tender passengers into Dutch Harbor, the port for Unalaska. We disembarked at the Carl E. Moses small boat harbor. “Small” is a relative term in Alaska. The harbor … Continue reading Fresh Blueberries
In 1986 the Hubbard Glacier was a circus and Raven Radio covered it. In May pressure from the Valorie Glacier, that feeds the Hubbard Glacier, Alaska’s biggest tidewater glacier, pushed the glacier forward. The glacier pushed the glacial till of … Continue reading Covering the Hubbard Glacier.