Back in 1980 I was managing KTOO radio in Juneau. Alaska Day was a State Holiday. Raven was not yet on the air. The Alaska Public Radio Network decided to do a statewide man on the street asking people, “What … Continue reading Alaska Day Parade, 2026
Friday, October 9 was sunny. Harbor Mountain Road is the one vehicular access to high country, over two thousand feet above sea level. The road was built by the military in World War II and led to a secret radar … Continue reading Harbor Mountain before the TD.
When you ask a Southeast Alaskan what word comes to mind when they hear “October” that word is, more likely than not, “rain.” Thursday, October 8 was rainy. In the afternoon, a big sucker hole opened with sunshine and blue … Continue reading Autumn in the Muskeg at the End of the Rainbow.
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!
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
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.
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
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
September 5, 2024. We know most people in Sitka, in the winter. But in the summer a whole new crop of newbies arrive in town. I don’t know as many of them. As we walk from Westerdam to the Sitka … Continue reading Our Hailing Port
I used to transit Peril Strait a lot. When I was chair of the Alaska Public Radio Network, I went back and forth to Juneau to lobby the state legislature frequently. I loved sitting in the solarium of the ferry, … Continue reading Noting Changes on a Dynamic Coastline.
The Chichagof Dream started its life in Jeffersonville Indiana in 1984, launched as the Spirit of Nantucket for Clipper Cruise Lines. She cruised the Canadian Maritimes, the East Coast’s Intercoastal Waterway, and the Great Lakes. Cruise West bought her and … Continue reading Chichagof Dream
Suzi and I were offered berths on the MV Chichagof for a two night “Shakedown Cruise” over Memorial Day Weekend. We took the opportunity. We were the “Guinea Pigs” for Alaska Dream Cruises as they broke in a new crew … Continue reading Memorial Day Shakedown Cruise.
Getting to Sitka from the inside passage you either need to sail around the North of Chichagof Island, through Icy Strait and Cross Sound, or south around Cape Ommany on the southern tip of Baranof Island, unless you go through … Continue reading Peril Strait Sunset
…And a look at today. I’ve always loved Independence Day. It and Christmas are my two favorites. I love the sense of community that both holidays engender. At Christmas it’s community parties, singing, decorations and a feeling of celebration. The … Continue reading Flashback Fourth…
When some folks first hear that Sitka has a farmer’s market they say, “I didn’t know Sitka had any farms.” Don’t expect to see big John Deere Tractors or long rows of soybeans in Sitka, but, historically, Sitka has had … Continue reading A Famers Market in Sitka?
(July 2, 2023, 127 years later.) On an unseasonably cool July 2, 1776, Richard Henry Lee moved a resolution, before the second Continental Congress, declaring independence for the 13 American colonies. To get unanimous agreement Congress made changes during the … Continue reading Almost Independence Day
My music education was largely intellectual. I learned about scales, keys, meter, time signatures, tonics, and modes. It was almost like learning mathematics. I was taught that listening, particularly to classical music, was an exercise in intellect. But that’s not … Continue reading It’s The Emotion
(June 30, 2023) OK, I was feeling a little down. It had been raining most of the day, which is not unusual for Southeast Alaska, it was a Friday night in June and there was no music festival concert. The … Continue reading Surprise!
The first program Raven Radio produced was for the Sitka Fine Arts Camp. We produced it before Raven was even on the air. Suzi, the kids, and I moved to Sitka from Juneau in the fall of 1980 to help … Continue reading Jazz on the Waterfront
(June 19, 2023) “My idea is that there is music in the air, music all around us; the world is full of it, and you simply take as much as you require.” — Edward Elgar. Suzi and I were hiking … Continue reading Music on the Mountain
Okay, I admit it. I almost missed it. Today started out fairly nice with rain in the forecast for the early afternoon. Suzi and I had Saturday Breakfast at the Nugget. I dropped her off at home and headed out … Continue reading Sitka Pride Post