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Postcards from the Transition

Postcards from the Transition.

  • Topics
    • Winds of Change
      • Winds of Change, Africa
      • The Fall of the Wall
      • Velvet Revolution
      • Arab Spring
      • Balkan Turmoil
      • 9/11
      • Soviet Union
    • Christmas Markets
    • Lent and Easter
    • Holy Land
    • Pillars of Hercules
    • Architecture
      • Boardwalk Towns
      • Bridges
      • Castles
      • Religious
    • Transportation
      • Trains
      • Ferries
  • Europe
    • Balkans
      • Albania
      • Bosnia and Herzegovina
      • Bulgaria
      • Croatia
      • Kosovo
      • Macedonia
      • Montenegro
      • Serbia
      • Turkey
    • Central Europe
      • Czech Republic
      • Hungary
      • Poland
      • Slovakia
    • Southern Europe
      • Gibraltar
      • Malta
      • Spain
    • Northern Europe
      • United Kingdom
      • Iceland and Faroes
      • Isle of Man
      • Baltic States
    • Western Europe
      • Belgium
      • Germany
      • Netherlands
  • Africa
    • Kenya
    • South Sudan
    • Tanzania
  • Caucasus
    • Armenia
    • Azerbaijan
    • Georgia
  • MENA
    • Ceuta (Spain)
    • Egypt
    • Israel
    • Jordan
    • Morocco
    • Oman
    • Qatar
    • Palestine
    • United Arab Emirates
  • N. America
    • Canada
    • Contiguous US
    • Cuba
    • Greenland
  • S. America
  • Alaska
    • Sitka
    • South Central Alaska
    • South East Alaska
  • Cruises
    • Iceland, Greenland & Scotland 2017

Tag: Sitka Alaska

Sitka Winters, SitkaLeave a comment

Winter Alpenglow

December 31, 2022December 31, 2022 Rich McClear

Wintertime Alpenglow is special.  Because of the late sunrise (Just before 9 AM) and the early sunset (Just after 3 PM) I am up to see it on both ends.  The snow is also further down on the mountains giving … Continue reading Winter Alpenglow

Sitka Winters, SitkaLeave a comment

Winter at the End of the Road.

December 31, 2022December 31, 2022 Rich McClear

Sitka has many microclimates along its 14-mile road season.  Even a few hundred feet of altitude or distance from the ocean makes a difference.  And even along the ocean there are differences.  As you approach Starrigavan Bay it gets colder, … Continue reading Winter at the End of the Road.

Sitka Winters, SitkaLeave a comment

Winter on the Totem Trail

December 31, 2022December 31, 2022 Rich McClear

Winter in Sitka is a season the tourists don’t see.  They often ask us “What do you do in the winter?”  We smile and think about … Continue reading Winter on the Totem Trail

Sitka Winters, Sitka1 Comment

Out and About When The Sun Goes Down.

December 31, 2022December 31, 2022 Rich McClear

Sometimes I am out and about when the sun sets especially in December when it sets just after 3 PM.  Fortunately I have a new iPhone 13 pro so I always have a reasonable camera with me.  These are sunset … Continue reading Out and About When The Sun Goes Down.

Sitka1 Comment

Reconciliation Day 2022

October 24, 2022October 24, 2022 Rich McClear

October 18, Alaska Day, marks the anniversary of the transfer of Alaska’s sovereignty from Russia to America.  The problem is that sovereignty was not Russia’s to transfer.  The land was owned for thousands of years by indigenous people ranging from … Continue reading Reconciliation Day 2022

Alaska, Sitka1 Comment

Alaska Day, 2021

October 19, 2021October 19, 2021 Rich McClear

After a pandemic induced hiatus Alaska Day returned, in limited form, to Sitka.  Alaska Day Commemorates the day that the Russian Flag was lowered, and the American Flag raised over Castle Hill (Noow Tlein in Tlingit) and the United States … Continue reading Alaska Day, 2021

SitkaLeave a comment

Raptors!

July 10, 2021July 10, 2021 Rich McClear

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!

SitkaLeave a comment

Celebrate in Community

July 7, 2021July 7, 2021 Rich McClear

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

Sitka, AlbaniaLeave a comment

Smart Bears

July 7, 2021July 7, 2021 Rich McClear

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

Sitka1 Comment

The 4th is back! (Tranche1)

July 4, 2021July 4, 2021 Rich McClear

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)

Sitka4 Comments

Filling a Hole in June

July 2, 2021July 2, 2021 Rich McClear

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

SitkaLeave a comment

Earth Day 2021

April 24, 2021April 24, 2021 Rich McClear

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

Sitka2 Comments

Good Lord!

March 11, 2021March 11, 2021 Rich McClear

…That’s what I said as I looked across the sea walk toward Sitka National Historical Park.  Good Lord! I have never seen that many bald eagles in one place save at Haines, Alaska in the late fall.  That’s when they … Continue reading Good Lord!

Sitka2 Comments

Raven’s “Jack Benny” Birthday

February 18, 2021February 18, 2021 Rich McClear

Eighteen and twenty-one are milestone birthdays.  When I was in my 20s the old saw “don’t trust anyone over 30” made 30 the milestone birthday where you became irrelevant.  But what comes after 30?  All downhill?  NO!  We grew up … Continue reading Raven’s “Jack Benny” Birthday

Sitka1 Comment

Bumps On A Log.

January 7, 2021January 7, 2021 Rich McClear

I have walked by this log hundreds of times and photographed it dozens.  It probably washed ashore when the pulp mill was in operation and giant log booms, pulled by tugs, passed this point on their way to Silver Bay.  … Continue reading Bumps On A Log.

SitkaLeave a comment

Pictures on Boxing Day

December 27, 2020December 27, 2020 Rich McClear

I was walking along the Silver Bay path, a young family was coming the other way when a little girl pointed over my shoulder and behind me.  “Mama, there!” “Good eye sweetie.” I spun around and saw two whale spouts.  … Continue reading Pictures on Boxing Day

Alaska, Sitka1 Comment

Sprung …well sort of.

April 8, 2020April 8, 2020 Rich McClear

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.

Alaska, Sitka4 Comments

The Quarantine Post

April 4, 2020April 5, 2020 Rich McClear

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

Cruises, M.S. Amsterdam 2020 World Cruise, MS Amsterdam 2020 Grand Magical Mystery Tour5 Comments

Take Off Your Mask for the Border Guard…

March 26, 2020March 26, 2020 Rich McClear

… Your Glasses Too. March 26, 2020,  Sitka Alaska. Usually I’m a good sleeper, a short sleeper but a good one.  I fall into a deep sleep and 6 and a half hours later my mind is racing with things … Continue reading Take Off Your Mask for the Border Guard…

SitkaLeave a comment

Alaska Day Parade, 2019, Take Two.

October 20, 2019October 20, 2019 Rich McClear

The bagpipers have returned to Seattle, the beards and bonnets are judged, ball gowns are back on their hangers for another year and I am still digesting pie and donuts.  I’m also getting around to sorting, processing and posting pics … Continue reading Alaska Day Parade, 2019, Take Two.

Sitka2 Comments

Spring Eagles

March 17, 2019March 17, 2019 Rich McClear

It was a tough winter for eagles.  The Alaska Raptor Rehabilitation Center had a full house.  The normal number of eagles were injured by electric wires, entangled in fishing gear and suffered from other human encounters.  One immature bird fell … Continue reading Spring Eagles

SitkaLeave a comment

Jazz Fest ’19

February 11, 2019February 11, 2019 Rich McClear

The room throbbed with all the energy and exuberance of a high school pep dance, and perhaps that’s what the centerpiece of the 2019 Sitka Jazz Festival was.  The Kyle Athayde Dance Party, an 18 piece big band from New … Continue reading Jazz Fest ’19

SitkaLeave a comment

When Lost in the Forrest, and other Uncommon Gems.

August 9, 2017August 11, 2017 Rich McClear

Our summer is full of the joy of music festivals, the Sitka Summer Music Festival, the Winnipeg Folk Festival, and the Uncommon Music Festival, Sitka’s newest. The Uncommon festival features music that is not usually heard but should be.  This … Continue reading When Lost in the Forrest, and other Uncommon Gems.

SitkaLeave a comment

Monday Evening Cruise

July 25, 2017 Rich McClear

Monday was a nice nice for a cruise as a weather front moved in.  We went out with the Sitka Conservation Society for their salmon cruise.  We went to Redoubt Falls to watch the salmon jump the falls into the … Continue reading Monday Evening Cruise

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