In Petersburg the sun came out just before we sailed out of the harbor and that gives me the excuse for another post, showing the final few minutes in Petersburg and the sunny sail out. As we sailed into Fredrick … Continue reading Petersburg to Thomas Bay.
After an evening anchored up in Scow Bay we pulled into Petersburg. Petersburg was settled by Norwegian Fishermen and is located not far from the active tidewater LeConte Glacier that provided ice to pack fish for shipment south. We all … Continue reading Alaska’s Little Norway
In the afternoon we toured Wrangell, drove by Chief Shakes house and made stops at the museum and Petroglyph Beach. The petroglyphs along the beach are a mystery. No one knows why they are there, who put them there or … Continue reading Aye, There’s the Rub, and Running the Ditch
AnAn Wildlife observatory is on the mainland behind Wrangell Island near the Bradfield Canal. It is a 62 NM roundtrip from Wrangell. We took a tour on a local airboat from where we docked. While the main attraction is watching … Continue reading AnAn Wildlife Observatory, Bears!
After refueling with gas and Drambuie (at my request) we left Auke Bay under overcast skies, which brings out the blues of the ice and water and the greens of the misty clouds that seem almost alive as they snake … Continue reading An Unfinished Yosemite, Tracy Arm.
We encountered some rough weather sailing down the bay and Captain Eric was not sure we would be able to make a close pass by South Marble Island, which is a sea lion rookery and home to sea birds, including … Continue reading Sea Lions, Puffins and Bears, Why Not? South Marble Island in Glacier Bay.
We anchored behind Composite Island and tarried (some folks taking advantage of the tarrying by going out in kayaks) until Holland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam sailed past. Captain Eric didn’t want us to even see the big ship. While Nieuw Amsterdam … Continue reading Johns Hopkins Glacier, Glacier Bay
The healing pole sits upland from the Bartlett Cove Dock. It is a 20-foot yellow cedar pole depicting the conflicts between the park service and Huna tribe over their return to Glacier Bay. It combines traditional and modern forms and … Continue reading Ice Refugees, Bartlett Cove
The plan was to visit the fishing village of Pelican, but weather had a different idea. To reach Pelican you need to cross Cross Sound. (On some of the older English maps it is called Croff Sound, but Captain Cook … Continue reading No Pelican, Whales!
When we lived in Juneau, I managed KTOO radio. KTOO was on the same street as, and a block from, the State Capital. Across from the Capital was the Dimond Courthouse. It had a modern sculpture in its courtyard, light … Continue reading Looking for Nimbus (in Juneau)
Our cruise left on Sunday, so we flew over to Juneau on Saturday night. The plane was late as clouds and fog rolled into and out of Southeast’s mountains, bays and passes. Before GPS and Fog Busters I used to … Continue reading Alaska’s Brigadoon, Juneau
I’ve wanted to take one of these cruises for a decade. The timing never worked out. For the first several years we were overseas. Then other travel, and then the COVID epidemic intervened. Allen has been part of our lives … Continue reading 2021 Alaska Dream Cruise.
Raptors, eagles, birds of prey, being chased across a lawn by a kid. That’s how I first encountered the Alaska Raptor Canter. It was set in a back yard to care for injured eagles. In 1983 it moved to the … Continue reading Raptors!
Fourth of July is a civic holiday. Christmas and Thanksgiving are for families and church. Labor Day and Memorial Day have evolved away from civic celebration to family picnics that bracket summer. Independence Day is a time for communities to … Continue reading Celebrate in Community
My most intimate experience with a bear was not in Alaska, it was in Albania. A man in our neighborhood had a pet bear that was also his source of income. He and the bear walked around Tirana, he gathered … Continue reading Smart Bears
Here is the second tranche of pics from the 2021 Sitka Fourth of July Parade. One of the highlights of this half, which straddles both posts, is the new Yellow Cedar Bench honoring Alaska Civil Rights Leader Elizabeth Peratrovich. The … Continue reading The 4th is back (Tranche 2)
After missing a year of parading Sitka’s 4th of July parade was back this year. This is the first tranche of photos of the parade. It’s good to see your friends marching down the street, waving and chatting. For me … Continue reading The 4th is back! (Tranche1)
For 50 years the Sitka Summer Music Festival has brought the world of chamber music to our remote island town on the fringe of the Pacific. Because we’re remote, we appreciate the world coming to Sitka at the start of … Continue reading Filling a Hole in June
Harbor Mountain Road was cut through in 1942 during World War II. The story in town was that it was to give access to an observation post, more than 2000 feet above the sound, to enable spotters to watch for … Continue reading A Late Spring on Harbor Mountain
Kruzof Island sits 15 miles to the west of Sitka and forms the barrier that creates Sitka Sound. Mt. Edgecumbe, our extinct volcano sits on the island. I can see it every day when there is good visibility from my … Continue reading Volcanic Field
I am afraid of flying. I am frightened whenever I get on an airplane. This is a strange thing for a person who flies as much as I do. I mean, I live on a remote Alaskan island, no roads … Continue reading Let’s Go Fly!
It starts with an image. The leader makes a full-sized sketch of that image. She slices that image up in strips from top to bottom, or sometimes in a grid. Each member of the quilting group takes a slice and … Continue reading A Slice of Quilt
The Parade of Species is a highlight of Sitka’s Earth Day. Usually, it has tons of kids dressed as different species, costumes made from recycled stuff. Last year there was no parade, this year it was limited to Spruce Tips … Continue reading Earth Day 2021
Friday Spring arrived in Sitka. It was sunny, the crocus had popped up in the yard, the daffodils have just shown their green shoots peeking out from the soil, the skunk cabbage had returned to Navy Creek and the temperature … Continue reading Aurora and Sunset Hues in the Clouds