Thursday, July 30, 2015

Scavenger Hunt: July 2015 ~ Alaska and the Inside Passage


I'm sorry I missed June's scavenger hunt,
I didn't get the post finished before a long trip
to isolated places with questionable or no internet.



Margerie Glacier in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
See the splash from ice breaking off the glacier.
You can hear the ice crackling and popping as it moves!




I hope that these past two months 
have been good ones
and that you've had lots of fun
hunting down photographs!



Yours Truly Caught in the Act
by my niece Heather in June
Plains Conservation Center, Aurora, Colorado




1.  D is for Denali
 Tundra in Denali National Park and Preserve



Scratch off another bucket list item!
I made it to Denali National Park and Preserve
in the interior of Alaska.

It's hard to imagine the sheer size of this wilderness
with 6,000,000 acres or 24,500 square kilometers
of taiga, tundra, and glaciers.
Denali is magnificent!




skole.hr





The Taiga Forest in Denali




The Polychrome Glaciers in Denali



Everyone wants to see animals in Denali.
We saw grizzly bears, dall sheep, and caribou,
but most of them were quite far away.



Caribou 




Mount McKinley



Mount McKinley is the highest mountain in North America
with an elevation of 20,237 feet or 6,618 meters.

It is the largest mountain in the world entirely above sea level
with a base-to-peak rise of about 18,000 feet or 5,500 meters.



2.  Wide
Wide Waters on the Inside Passage




More Wide Waters on the Inside Passage



Sailing through the Inside Passage 
from Vancouver, British Columbia to Seward, Alaska
was spectacular!

We were able to move through the narrow Grenville Channel
which squeezes to a width of 1400 feet or 427 meters.


Moving Into Narrow Waters on the Inside Passage



Grenville Channel, British Columbia
Inside Passage



3.  Edge
Denali Road on the Edge



To drive more than 14 miles or 24 kilometers into Denali,
you have to ride a Tundra Wilderness or other bus.
Negotiating zigzagging, narrow, dirt roads
overlooking steep drop-offs in a bus
is a scary experience if you don't like heights!

I couldn't look out the window when I took these photos,
I just held my camera by it and clicked!


Braided Rivers Loaded with Glacial Sediments

  
4.  Cylindrical
Seward Coal Loading Facility



When I see something interesting,
I want to know what it is and how it works.

This long cylinder moves coal on a conveyor belt
where it is loaded into the holds of coal transport ships.

Railcars bring coal to the facility.
It is stockpiled and then moved to a transport ship
when one arrives at the port.   
alaskarailroad.com

Since no coal transport ship was at the port, 
I used a Flickr photo to show the ship loader at work.


Loading a Coal Transport Ship
Flickr:  Tom Brady Edited   License


5.  Feelings
Trippy Feeling



What a triply feeling it is to ride 1800 feet or 550 meters
up the side of Mount Roberts in Juneau, Alaska!

If you ride the cable car, you land at a restaurant, theater, 
shops, nature center, and hiking trails about halfway
up the 3,819 foot or 1,164 meter Mount Roberts.

One popular hike is to Father Brown's Cross.
In 1906 Father Brown, a Jesuit priest and avid hiker in Juneau,
began building a trail up Mount Roberts with other volunteers.
They finished in 1908 and erected the cross 
to commemorate the trail's completion.
The original cross has been replaced a number of times.




This is one of my first attempts
to take a selfie with my camera.
More practice needed!









6.  Mysterious
Bridge Windows on the Zaandam



I longed to see what went on behind 
the mysterious windows of the bridge.
It would be such fun to tour it.
I found some stairs that led to a window
where I could peek inside,
but a smiling sailor inside chased me away.


 


Bears on the Bridge



7.  Weed
Clover in Ketchikan




Fireweed on the Way to Denali

        






8.  Joke
Creek Street, Ketchikan






9.  Pile
Shavings Pile Up on a Carver's Floor
Potlatch Park, Ketchikan













10.  Speed
A Float Plane Gathers Speed for Take-Off
Ketchikan, Alaska



11.  Night
 A Ship Passes in the Night



At the beginning of July this far north,
the night sky doesn't get completely dark
although the sun does dip below the horizon.



12.  Whatever You Want
The Elephant in the Room



Towel Elephant on the Zaandam




Breathtaking Glacier Bay




An Eagle in Glacier Bay




Tidewater Glacier




Happy hunting in August! 

August's List:

Walk,  Horizontal,  Square,  Diversity,  Rough,  Bow,  Joy
Forgotten,  Crowd,  Colourless,  Friendly,  Whatever you want


Thanks to Jill (Greenthumb) 
and her Made with Love blog 
for setting up the scavenger hunt.

27 comments:

  1. wow! nice pictures
    dazzlingzest.blogspot.com

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  2. Dear Louise,

    Firstly, I love your selfie!!! Great job! Thank you so much for your kind comment on my blog, I am very touched, and your friendship and posts mean so much to me. Your photos are gorgeous and refreshing, just what I need! It is dangerously hot and humid here in Montreal, and your beautiful photos are providing a lovely and tranquil respite. Thank you so much for sharing.

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    1. Thank you, Linda! You always make me smile. I haven't seen a TV or heard any news for several days, but I do hope that it is cooling down in Montreal. I'm having such a wonderful time with my family. We had an epic game of hearts tonight. Hugs to you, my friend!

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  3. What wonderful photos, thanks for sharing!

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    1. Thanks, Blogoratti! Sharing my photos and having people enjoy them gives me so much pleasure. Take care!

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  4. Wow, you sure saw a lot over the last little while. All must have been awesome to see in person. Yeah, I can imagine the cable car would be a bit trippy haha

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    1. Hi Pat! My head is spinning from all I have seen! But what fun! My family and I are going down to the Islands tomorrow. It's always fun to take the ferry rides across Petite and Grand Passages. We've been soaking up lots of sunshine; hope it's whinging down in your part of NS too!

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  5. Hi to my blogging friends! I'm in Halifax, and got some sleep after being up 1 1/2 days. Had a blast with Ron and Jim (Sophie Doodle's dads) and I'm meeting them in just a few minutes. Had a wonderful dinner with them and five family members including a surprise visit with my Barbour niece Sharon. I hope to come this evening and answer each of your comments and link to my scavenger hunt buddies! Have an awesome day!

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  6. Amazing collection of photos! You have seen and captured so many incredible sights. And I had a good laugh at the 'joke' one!

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    1. Hi Martha! I have been having an amazing summer! I'm very lucky. I hope you get that Nova Scotian trip in ~ You would have an unforgettable time with Ron and Jim! And sweet Sophie Doodle! Glad that you enjoyed the joke! Hope you and hubby are enjoying a great long weekend!

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  7. A great post for the Scavenger Hunt. You are certainly having a wonderful time with so many sights of interest and magnificent views. It would indeed be fun to tour the ship's bridge!

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    1. Thanks, Linda! I'm having a blast, but it's wreaking havoc with my blogging! Either I don't have access to the internet or I'm too busy to get on. Or both! I dearly love being with my brother, sisters, and other relatives in Nova Scotia. I hope that you are enjoying a great summer too!

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  8. Such an amazing trip Louise. What great pictures to share too it is evident that no matter where you go you always get the most out of it. You are curious about life and your enthusiasm shows. I'm glad you had such a good vacation.

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    1. Thanks, Peggy! Now I'm in Nova Scotia with all my siblings and lots of relatives! I do try to get the most out of every day ~ as you get older you realize that time is precious and short. I'm going on a lighthouse hike tomorrow down on Brier Island off Digby Neck in Nova Scotia. Hope I don't fall asleep on my feet from burning the candles at both ends. Hugs to you, my friend!

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  9. Wow, such beautiful landscape in Alaska. Some of it looks very lonely. I thought the coal loading facility was interesting too. I love all the colored buildings in Ketchikan. It looks like a cute little town with interesting things to see.

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    1. Hi, JarieLyn! Alaska was magnificent. Yes, it is lonely, but I found the sweep of wilderness exhilarating! It just makes my heart soar! Ketchikan was a lot of fun with interesting things all over the place. Have a good one!

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  10. Wow what spectacular scenery. I am rather ignorant about Alaska so it was interesting to read your post. The coal loading facility was perfect for Cylindrical and how about that cable car??? I'd be Feeling sick.

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    1. Alaska was spectacular, Fiona! It is vast, empty, and challenging. I've wanted to go there all my life, and I finally did! I didn't feel sick on the cable car. I was too busy alternating rapidly between "Wow!" and "Please God don't let it break!" Have a good one!

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  11. Thanks for taking part in this months scavenger hunt. I really like your photos oF everything but edge, pile and joke are great. Greenthumb

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    1. Thanks, Jill! I enjoy the hunt so much! I've been trying to think of things to look for. How about "Dazzling?" for one.

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  12. Oh, wow - amazing photos, I've enjoyed them all. I'd be scared on that edge! Love mysterious and your elephant in the room also pile - I love the composition of that first photo with the old tins:)

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    1. Thanks, Rosie! I was all but freaking out on the edge of that steep drop-off in Denali. I was terrified that the edge of the road would crumble and our bus would be doing cartwheels in space for a long way! We had a new towel animal almost every night in our stateroom on the ship. I couldn't wait to get back to the room each evening to see what animal would be there. Have a good one!

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  13. Brilliant collection! I loved edge, mysterious, weed... quite a few! I used fireweed too, only around here we call it rosebay willowherb! I wrote a big post about it recently on my 30 days wild blog!

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    1. Thanks, Louise! I chuckled when I saw your fireweed photo! I didn't even know it grew in England. Rosebay willow herb sounds much prettier than fireweed. One thing I want to do is to go back and see your wild posts which I regretfully missed because I haven't had much online time in the past six weeks or so. Take care!

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  14. Brilliant set of photos and the elephant looks so funny made out of towels, should try that in my bathroom at home :)
    Amanda xx

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    1. Thanks, Amanda! I couldn't wait to see what towel animal turned up each evening! I may try to make some for overnight guests at my house. Thanks for the idea! Hugs!

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Thank you for your comments! I appreciate them very much.