From our perch, looking South southwest over Jamestown Bay toward the Gulf of Alaska, I have a crows’ nest view of incoming weather, and from September to March I have nightly views of winter sunsets, when I can see them … Continue reading Winter Sunsets
Forty years ago, we were living in Sollar’s Trailer Court. We could see a small slice of the channel from the front window of our mobile home because we were a little forward of the trailer next to us. One … Continue reading Floating Joy
The link to Raven Radio is here. December 24 will not be a normal Wednesday night. It’s Christmas Eve and the Battery Exchange is back. This year we start at 7:30 PM. Phone lines open just after 7:30 PM and … Continue reading A History of “The Battery Exchange”
Stringy stuff in my hair, that’s the memory of Halloween for me. As kids we approached and entered the “Haunted House” where someone had hung strings or threads from the ceiling that would get into our hair, adding something tactile … Continue reading All Hallows Moss
August 28, 2020 Anyone who’s beachcombed in Southeast Alaska knows about hard plastic fishing buoys. Japanese fishermen use them, and sometimes they escape and wash up on our shores along with beach glass and flocks of rubber ducks that fell … Continue reading Brave Heart Buoys
In August 1982 Raven Radio had been on the air for 6 months, broadcasting from the Historic Cable House, the old Army Communications Service (ACS) center built in 1906. I was manager of Raven Radio when two older men climbed … Continue reading Alaska Pirates (Radio in Sitka)
August 18, 2020 Trains used to have names, evocative names, descriptive names, geographic names, names honoring heroes. There were (and, in some cases there still are) Coast Starlight, Sunset Limited, The Broadway Limited along with the competing 20th Century Limited, … Continue reading Tall Mountains and Long Shadows on the Ice.
HAL CPP Platinum-33-State COI August 8, 2020 And just like that it’s fall. The skies are overcast and even though sunset is still late, a little before 9 PM, it feels dark. We’ve had a good deal of rain this … Continue reading Recovery Fishing
August 7, 2020 I’m sitting in my living room looking out at the rain this first week of August. Fall is coming and I’m dreaming of that last week of July. A week that confirms for me that Southeast Alaska … Continue reading The Last Week of July
Last week we were in Anchorage for a week of medical tests. The Anchorage Sleep clinic was full so they sent me up to Wasilla. Hitting the road was wonderful. We started at Eklutna to look at the Spirit Houses … Continue reading A Fine Summer Day in Alaska.
July 16, 2020 Eklutna is the only Native Alaskan village within the municipality of Anchorage. It sits between Thunderbird Falls and Cook Inlet’s Knik Arm north of Chugiak. One source says the village is 800 years old, another, dates it … Continue reading Spirit Houses
July 11, 2020 Sitka to Anchorage, It was light when the alarm rang at 4:00 AM, although the sun would not, technically, be up for another 22 minutes. The days are getting shorter. We got dressed loaded the car and … Continue reading Northern Milk Run
This was a dry Independence Day. Not only did it not rain but there was no water fight. The water fight has been my favorite July Fourth activity for years. The Coast Guard and Fire Department square off against each … Continue reading A Duck Dump and Antique Cars
May 30, 2020, Sitka, Alaska I don’t like visiting cemeteries. Perhaps it’s a reminder of my own mortality. Or perhaps it was watching my elementary school being built in the summer of 1950. To make room for the school playground … Continue reading A Shady Resting Place.
May 28, 2020, Sitka, Alaska. Sitka seem a little schizophrenic. Part of Sitka, along with the rest of Alaska, has started to “re-open responsibly” according to the Governor’s directive. And another part is reacting to Sitka’s second COVID case. While … Continue reading Up Hill!
May 3, 2020, Sitka, Alaska I would not make a good bank robber. On my walk yesterday almost everyone greeted me by name “Hi Rich” while I was wearing my mask. Only one person, someone I have known for decades, … Continue reading Who Was That Masked Man?
May 1, 2020, Sitka, Alaska It’s been a while since I visited the Michio Hoshino memorial totem pole on the south side of the Halibut Point Rec. Today was a nice sunny day so I decided to hike down for … Continue reading Michio Hoshino Totem Pole Redux..
April 19, 2020, Sitka, Alaska The instructions are confusing. We’re supposed to shelter at home but are encouraged to go outside for exercise. In spring, when the weather turns nice Alaskans NEED to get outside to crush cabin fever. Sheltering … Continue reading Social Distance vs Cabin Fever
Memories of Grandma April 12, 2020, Easter Sunday, Sitka, Alaska This year Lent started for us on a Thursday. We completely lost Ash Wednesday because of an untimely crossing of the dateline. So, we attended Ash Thursday services on MS … Continue reading When Does Lent End?
Matthew 28:6 April 11, 2020, Sitka, Alaska One of the trails I regularly walk was “Easter Bombed.” The shells you see in the pictures were scattered, but scattered carefully. They made my walk on Thursday delightful. They were a message … Continue reading He Is Not Here
April 9, 2020, Sitka, Alaska I needed some more practice at social distancing before I really took it on-line. It was a beautiful day to try. I decided to walk along Silver Bay where I would not encounter too many … Continue reading Social Distancing…day 2
April 8, 2020, Sitka, AK My quarantine ended last night and I resumed my walks today — at a social distance. When I first got up it was blowing and raining and I thought “no way.” But this afternoon I … Continue reading Sprung …well sort of.
April 4, 2020, Sitka, Alaska As the days go by, I get more nervous. It’s like waiting for the shoe to drop. Will I have traveled through four airports with lines and crowded waiting areas and sitting for hours in … Continue reading The Quarantine Post
It used to be a tradition at Alaska Airlines, still may be, to put their best pilots on their most challenging runs. In the late ‘70s those included the Southeast Alaska “Milk Runs.” Wrangell and Petersburg had gravel strips on … Continue reading “Let’s Go Fly!”