Books and other stuff I feel like discussing
By education and experience - Accountant with a specialty in taxation. Formerly a CPA (license has lapsed). Masters degree in law of taxation from University of Denver. Now retired. Part time work during baseball season as receptionist & switchboard operator for the Colorado Rockies. This gig feeds my soul in ways I have trouble articulating. One daughter, and four grandchildren. I share the house with two cats; a big goof of a cat called Grinch (named as a joke for his easy going "whatever" disposition); and Lady, a shelter adoptee with a regal bearing and sweet little soprano voice. I would be very bereft if it ever becomes necessary to keep house without a cat.
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We were in Alaska for a week, with Elderhostel on a program which was based on a cruise ship sailing from Seward to Vancouver. We had the fairly standard Alaska sights, which many other travel commentaries/reports have summarized. So I think I will comment on our experiences which struck us with "wow!" and/or those which our guides/escorts described as unusual.
Arriving in Anchorage at 9 pm, with body clocks feeling like 11 pm, to find the sun still high in the sky, with our cab driver telling us that sunset would not occur for about another 2 hours! Thank goodness for heavy dark drapes in our hotel room!
Reindeer sausage for breakfast. This stuff is good, folks!
On our second day heading south, the ship stopped at Hoonah where a corporation owned by native Alaskans (Tlinglit) has renovated an old salmon cannery to provide a nice touristy cruise ship call, complete with zip line. We went whale watching instead, on an excursion arranged by Elderhostel. We saw several humpbacks, probably about 8 of them, but it's hard to count for sure when they keep surfacing and diving. But the topper, which had even the captain and naturalists working on the boat oohing and aahing, was a mother brown bear, absolutely HUGE, even from the vantage point of a boat a couple of miles offshore strolling along with a little black cub. As the two of them poked at a pile of brush on the beach, here came another little cub catching up to mother and sibling! Although the staff of the boat were very aware that quite a few bears make their home in the nearby woods, they told us that catching sight of a trio like we saw is very very unusual. Too far away for a decent picture with our little point and shoot camera, you'll just have to take my word for it.
The stop at Icy Strait Point is really quite nice, in spite of the requisite Alaska shopping overload. The area was developed in cooperation with the Tlinglit corporation which owns it and the cruise ship trade organization, and they limit the stop to one ship per day. The endeavor provides economic opportunities to an area where traditional jobs and occupations were beginning to die out.
Bald eagles soaring overhead, a very congenial hospitable staff on shore, together with whales, bears, and screeching from zip line riders made for an enjoyable day.
Skagway was very very wet, the only day of really uncomfortable weather we had. We always try to attend presentations by the US National Park Service, and the historical district in Skagway served up a very good one, based on photographs of the struggle to get over the mountains into the Yukon and hunt for gold.
Skagway's main drag has a very nice bookstore, with a collection of Alaska themed fiction and non fiction and a very knowlegeable bookseller on duty. Very impressive collection of calendars with photographs of the area, and Mr Woodstock popped for one with photos of the Northern Lights.
Juneau holds the distinction of being the only US state capital not accessible by road. Only way in or out is by air or by water. The downtown area was strapped for parking and the city also needed a new public library. So - how about a four story parking garage with the library on the top story? How about it, indeed! The windows facing the harbor are where they placed the "sit down and read for awhile" comfy chairs, but with a vista featuring seaplanes, cruise ships, yachts, fishing boats, and the ever present soaring eagles, it's hard to get very much reading done. But it's a very ingenious solution to a continuing problem of use of space faced by a city hemmed in on three sides by mountains and on the fourth by the water.
Ketchikan has a compact "totem heritage" center where the staff could probably talk forever about these intriguing relics. A totem was created to achieve prestige for the person who commissioned it. The phrase "low man on the totem pole" is a meaningless distinction since all the images carved on a totem held significance for the person who raised it, and placement of the images on the pole was determined by the artist who carved it. Totems told stories of a person, family, or clan; memorialized one who had died; or chided in full public view a person whose lapses in character had become too much for others to cope with. Once placed in view around a home or village, totems were allowed to decay in the natural order of things, since no prestige was gained by maintaining an existing totem. Prestige was enhanced by commissioning and raising another totem. Photographs from the late 19th and early 20th century show veritable forests of poles surrounding clusters of small buildings.
Carvers still work today, and their skill and artistry is demonstrated by the price of a new totem pole - from $1,000 to $10,000 per foot!
Elderhostel seminars were based on all the sights we saw and towns we visited, with a dose of Alaska history added as well. With our group only about 40 of the total passenger count of about 1300, perhaps not quite as much cohesiveness as other Elderhostels we've enjoyed, but still worth every minute.
Working on pictures, will post a link when they're ready.
Managed to read three books in addition to all the sightseeing!
Arriving in Anchorage at 9 pm, with body clocks feeling like 11 pm, to find the sun still high in the sky, with our cab driver telling us that sunset would not occur for about another 2 hours! Thank goodness for heavy dark drapes in our hotel room!
Reindeer sausage for breakfast. This stuff is good, folks!
On our second day heading south, the ship stopped at Hoonah where a corporation owned by native Alaskans (Tlinglit) has renovated an old salmon cannery to provide a nice touristy cruise ship call, complete with zip line. We went whale watching instead, on an excursion arranged by Elderhostel. We saw several humpbacks, probably about 8 of them, but it's hard to count for sure when they keep surfacing and diving. But the topper, which had even the captain and naturalists working on the boat oohing and aahing, was a mother brown bear, absolutely HUGE, even from the vantage point of a boat a couple of miles offshore strolling along with a little black cub. As the two of them poked at a pile of brush on the beach, here came another little cub catching up to mother and sibling! Although the staff of the boat were very aware that quite a few bears make their home in the nearby woods, they told us that catching sight of a trio like we saw is very very unusual. Too far away for a decent picture with our little point and shoot camera, you'll just have to take my word for it.
The stop at Icy Strait Point is really quite nice, in spite of the requisite Alaska shopping overload. The area was developed in cooperation with the Tlinglit corporation which owns it and the cruise ship trade organization, and they limit the stop to one ship per day. The endeavor provides economic opportunities to an area where traditional jobs and occupations were beginning to die out.
Bald eagles soaring overhead, a very congenial hospitable staff on shore, together with whales, bears, and screeching from zip line riders made for an enjoyable day.
Skagway was very very wet, the only day of really uncomfortable weather we had. We always try to attend presentations by the US National Park Service, and the historical district in Skagway served up a very good one, based on photographs of the struggle to get over the mountains into the Yukon and hunt for gold.
Skagway's main drag has a very nice bookstore, with a collection of Alaska themed fiction and non fiction and a very knowlegeable bookseller on duty. Very impressive collection of calendars with photographs of the area, and Mr Woodstock popped for one with photos of the Northern Lights.
Juneau holds the distinction of being the only US state capital not accessible by road. Only way in or out is by air or by water. The downtown area was strapped for parking and the city also needed a new public library. So - how about a four story parking garage with the library on the top story? How about it, indeed! The windows facing the harbor are where they placed the "sit down and read for awhile" comfy chairs, but with a vista featuring seaplanes, cruise ships, yachts, fishing boats, and the ever present soaring eagles, it's hard to get very much reading done. But it's a very ingenious solution to a continuing problem of use of space faced by a city hemmed in on three sides by mountains and on the fourth by the water.
Ketchikan has a compact "totem heritage" center where the staff could probably talk forever about these intriguing relics. A totem was created to achieve prestige for the person who commissioned it. The phrase "low man on the totem pole" is a meaningless distinction since all the images carved on a totem held significance for the person who raised it, and placement of the images on the pole was determined by the artist who carved it. Totems told stories of a person, family, or clan; memorialized one who had died; or chided in full public view a person whose lapses in character had become too much for others to cope with. Once placed in view around a home or village, totems were allowed to decay in the natural order of things, since no prestige was gained by maintaining an existing totem. Prestige was enhanced by commissioning and raising another totem. Photographs from the late 19th and early 20th century show veritable forests of poles surrounding clusters of small buildings.
Carvers still work today, and their skill and artistry is demonstrated by the price of a new totem pole - from $1,000 to $10,000 per foot!
Elderhostel seminars were based on all the sights we saw and towns we visited, with a dose of Alaska history added as well. With our group only about 40 of the total passenger count of about 1300, perhaps not quite as much cohesiveness as other Elderhostels we've enjoyed, but still worth every minute.
Working on pictures, will post a link when they're ready.
Managed to read three books in addition to all the sightseeing!
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