alaska vacation: Two New Listings in West Sacramento and Elk Grove
- 09/18/13 12:25 AM
I can't show you photos yet, darn, because I haven't yet shot them. However, this real estate agent is dashing off to Elk Grove this morning to take photographs of a newly staged home for sale. I can't wait to see it. The sellers have been working on this home almost daily since last month, just before I left for my Alaska vacation. I know they've changed out the drab ceramic counters in the kitchen in exchange for granite and removed the carpeting from the first floor, replaced with hardwood.
This home is almost 3,000 square feet, with four bedrooms, a … (2 comments)
|
alaska vacation: Anchorage, Alaska: the Last Leg of Our Alaska Vacation
- 09/11/13 07:25 AM
If you have the option of a cruise through the Inside Passage coupled with a visit to Anchorage, my suggestion would be to visit Anchorage first and not last. It's a nice city, mostly rebuilt after flattened in the 1964 earthquake, but it's not a lifestyle centered on water like the Inside Passage.
This park where the train runs along the water was a short walk from our hotel, Captain Cook, where there is no such thing as room service for breakfast, believe it or not. Where you might go to drop a few hundred on dinner for three … (4 comments)
|
alaska vacation: The Kenai Peninsula and the Town of Seward, Alaska
- 09/10/13 02:05 AM
The drive from Anchorage to Seward is about 120 miles and takes about 2 1/2 hours in good traffic, but then that doesn't count all of the stops one must make along the way to stop and stare at the magnificent scenery!
This is another town that is somewhat reminiscent of Old Sacramento. It has that "old west" feel, but then again, Alaska is the Last Frontier.
We are standing at the end of the road. Mile Zero for the Iditarod trail, which runs north to Nome, you know, where all of those guys are running around in … (1 comments)
|
alaska vacation: South Marble Island in Glacier Bay, Alaska, is a Wildlife Habitat
- 09/09/13 03:29 AM
For $7.2 million, Russia sold Alaska in 1867 to the United States -- about what it would cost to buy an oceanfront home in Malibu these days. Of course, the question in my mind is how did Russia come to own Alaska when Alaska was settled by native peoples who still live there today, but I imagine it was more along the lines of a promise to stop beating up on people, raping women and stripping the oceans of otters, leaving all of that stuff to Americans to carry on.
South Marble Island in Glacier Bay is home to … (2 comments)
|
alaska vacation: Brown Bears and Glaciers in Alaska's Inside Passage at Glacier Bay
- 09/09/13 03:13 AM
The John Hopkins Glacier is one of the few glaciers in Alaska that is advancing and appears to be a healthy glacier. The cruise ship in the center is the Zandaam, a hugely gigantic monstrosity. Our much smaller Alaskan Dream was able to get pretty close to the glacier but there is a lot of ice floating about. The Alaskan Dream can maneuver fairly well due to its catamaran.
The Lamplugh Glacier required a close-up shot to show its intense colors, which are really just reflections of light but you don't have to know that. Nature painted it.
… (4 comments)
|
alaska vacation: Skagway, Alaska, is Disneyland of the North With Rides and Everything
- 09/08/13 02:41 AM
The only thing I kind of regret about visiting Skagway is the fact we didn't shoot photos of the cartoon characters who work in the tourism industry. They are dressed to the period and to say they were way over-the-top with enthusiasm would be an understatement. It's like they were wound up to number 11. With rehearsed scripts that ran together at warp speed.
But this is the restored town, much like Old Sacramento except larger in scale and more people live there. There are about 900 year-round residents of Skagway, Alaska. When the cruise ships leave in September, many … (2 comments)
|
alaska vacation: Juneau and Orca Point Lodge, Alaska
- 09/07/13 04:23 AM
This is the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska, and it's receding. The lake and the visitor's center were once under the ice. I believe it is a half mile wide.
A Kingfisher rests on top of a harbor pole. There wasn't much to do in Juneau except visit shops in the historic district, and we walked up a heart-attack flight of stairs to see the State Capitol, which we never found because I guess it looks like a junior high school, so we missed it.
This is the harbor in Juneau and, apparently, is indicative of what Juneau … (17 comments)
|
alaska vacation: Petersburg, Alaska, is like a Picture Post Card
- 09/05/13 07:43 PM
The thing about shooting photographs in Alaska is everytime I put my lens cap back on my camera, stuff it back in my bag and figure I'm done shooting photos for the day, some spectacular opportunity presents itself almost immediately.
Inisde the harbor at Petersburg are all of these marvelous boats, and this one is a purse seiner.
We stopped at the Sons of Norway hall to watch middleschoolers dance to a polka in native costume. It's OK to call these costumes but you cannot call the regalia worn by Alaska natives a costume.
We were not … (5 comments)
|
alaska vacation: Hobart Bay, Alaska, is an Adult Summer Camp
- 09/05/13 07:41 PM
This is an Indian Paint Brush and our guide said it was unusual to see it in bloom this time of year.
Alaskan Dream has exclusive rights to use the property at Hobart Bay for its passengers. The land is owned by the Goldbelt Corporation, which is owned by Natives. The Zego is an individual water craft, like a miniature jet ski boat. We also had kayaks at our disposal, but since we mainly go around in circles in those, we passed.
When our ship pulled into the dock, fog was just beginning to lift, but it is … (2 comments)
|
alaska vacation: Tracy Arm in Alaska's Inside Passage, Thundering Glacier Bergs
- 09/05/13 04:58 AM
The thing about posting photos while on a cruise ship is the fact they don't give you anytime whatsoever to upload photographs. I have about 15 minutes in the morning or when we depart to post. Which means I have to type very fast, give little thought to what I have to say and just get it on the page before I lose the Internet connection.
Because when you're on vacation, you're not supposed to be loading photos from your camera to your computer. Some people would say you're not even supposed … (2 comments)
|
alaska vacation: Humpback Whales at Wrangell, Alaska
- 09/04/13 01:12 AM
This beautiful humpback whale was feeding when we cruised into the harbor. Our ship is a catamaran, so it doesn't cause a lot of waves and is relatively quiet. A long lens is a good help, too. Look at that snout. You can tell that a humpback whale is feeding when you spot a flock of seagulls flying overhead.
And no good whale spotting is complete without a tale just above the water before the whale dives. Once these humpbacks dive, they can stay down for 30 minutes, but most of them come back up in 4 to 6 … (8 comments)
|
alaska vacation: Wrangell, Alaska, and Black Bears at Anan Wildlife Observatory
- 08/31/13 10:06 AM
You can spend your entire life travelng to view wildlife and never shoot a photograph like this in the wild. Our guide carried a rifle, along with bear spray, just in case. We photographed a lot of black bears, and a brown bear by the shore. I have photos of bears eating fish and dripping blood down their chin to the rock below, but that might too gross for some of you.
Here is the beginning of the path built by the National Forest Service. There are only 60 permits a day issued by the government for visitors.
… (7 comments)
|
alaska vacation: Kasaan and the Whale House
- 08/31/13 12:48 AM
This rock is more than 200 feet tall, and I only wish that there had been a whale next to it for comparison purposes.
This upper part of the totem pole in the Whale House in Kasaan is more than 200 years old, and is actually part of a support column. There are 4 huge logs that are used as columns. This is under renovation to be restored.
This is nothing like the little slugs that slither across our sidewalks in Sacramento, leaving a trail of slime, they are huge, and you have to be very careful not … (2 comments)
|
alaska vacation: Misty Fjords in Alaska
- 08/30/13 01:17 AM
We are learning about trees in Misty Fjords, and how to tell the difference between a Sitka Spruce, cedar and hemlock. The cedar leaves are soft and the tip of the tree curls a bit; the Sitka branches spread out upward like the palms of your hands reaching up to the sky, and hemlock is what's leftover.
It was so peaceful, quiet and surprisingly warm that we took kayaks out to paddle around in circles; it's very hard to paddle in a straight line, but we are still married.
I really like this photo for the color and composition. … (3 comments)
|
alaska vacation: A Visit to Metlakatla Community on Annette Island
- 08/30/13 01:02 AM
Metlakatla totem pole on Annette Island is dedicated to US Armed Forces veterans.
The Tsimshian live on Annette Island and these young dancers are like rock stars!
Waiting for our ship to dock at Metlakatla. My husband warned that I might offend people by wearing my Bash Em in the Head tshirt from Shaun of the Dead that I picked up in Old Sacramento one day out with Myrl Jeffcoat, but instead everybody complemented me on it, and it was a big hit.
… (0 comments)
|
alaska vacation: Photos from Ketchikan, Alaska
- 08/28/13 01:21 AM
When the cruiseships leave town, Ketchikan is very quiet and deserted. When it's not raining, it's raining.
The way the sun peeks through the clouds over the water cast an eerie shadow on this church and the buildings way down the street.
This is a creek where the salmon spawn. I did not know that the mother dies after giving birth. So, it can be pretty smelly around here at times.
This is a view fom the creek where we sat on a bench after coming down the hill just to catch the enormous scene. A couple … (8 comments)
|
alaska vacation: Ketchikan Gets 13 Feet of Rain a Year
- 08/28/13 01:03 AM
I have this strange urge to adopt some of these guys and take them back to Sacramento with me, perhaps offer them a new home in my front yard, next to the maples. My husband says they would clash with our decor, but I say totem poles go with everything -- just like you can wear blue jeans with anything. This is in Ketchikan, Alaska.
… (7 comments)
|
|
|
|
I can't show you photos yet, darn, because I haven't yet shot them. However, this real estate agent is dashing off to Elk Grove this morning to take photographs of a newly staged home for sale. I can't wait to see it. The sellers have been working on this home almost daily since last month, just before I left for my Alaska vacation. I know they've changed out the drab ceramic counters in the kitchen in exchange for granite and removed the carpeting from the first floor, replaced with hardwood.
;)
;)
;)
