Polychrome Pass and the Wolf

Polychrome Pass (mile 46) was the second stop along the Denali Highway. This was just a get out and stretch stop. A few people from the bus saw a grizzly from here. Not me. The top picture is what was visible of Mt McKinley. The rest are merely evidence pictures. Evidence that I did see a wolf. The first picture (the vertical one) is the shot I took through the moving bus window. I zoomed in on my camera screen and yelled for the driver to stop, I thought I saw a coyote. We stopped and he checked it out and confirmed that it was a wolf. These pictures are zoomed all I could with the camera then cropped even further. Nothing frame-able, just evidence.

Ketchikan

For a vacation that started so nice weatherwise it ended as we left Ketchikan late on Friday night. The overcast started on Tuesday while we headed out of Glacier Bay. The clouds hung low over Juneau. All aboard in Ketchikan was 9:30 pm, I think the rain stated about 8:30. We were at dinner on the ship. We had a day at sea left and the flight out of Vancouver then on Sunday. Alaska was awesome. I would recommend it to everyone. 

Mendenhall Glacier

Glaciers, glaciers and more glaciers. This one is the Mendenhall Glacier 12 miles outside of Juneau. Here you could walk right down to the water or hike down to a waterfall just out of sight to the right. Recently the U.S. Forest Service opened a visitors center. The glacier is 12 miles long and sits within the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area in the Tongass National Forest.

Whales in Auke Bay

Best part of the trip. Whale watching in Juneau. We loaded up the buses and boarded the St. Herman at the docks in Auke Bay. After a bit of other wildlife viewing we headed to the hot spots. It total we saw 4 different whales surface  and we got six fluke waves. This humpback whale is the University of Alaska, Fairbanks' whale number 1783, I believe.

Haines, Alaska

Haines was the first land stop for the cruise. A small town, Haines is located on a narrow peninsula between the Chilkat and Chilkoot Inlets. Haines is the location of the decommissioned Fort William H. Seward which was established to be a presence during border disputes with Canada in the very early 1900's. Haines is also where the 1991 Disney movie White Fang was filmed.

Margerie Glacier

Margerie Glacier in the Tarr Inlet of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. We sat and watched this for hours. You would hear what sounded like a gun shot and after a minute or so it would calf. Calving is when chunks, big or small, would break off into the bay. Margerie starts 21 miles away on Mount Root in the Fairweather Range on the Canadian border.

Sunset over the Gulf of Alaska

Have no fear I did take some of the pictures you would expect from me. I caught a few sunsets. In Alaska that's not easy to do. The day we saw Denali sunset was two minutes after midnight. This sunset is several hours out of Seward on the Gulf of Alaska. It was 10:45 pm.

Denali

We found out that only about 1 in 5 people who go to Denali National Park and Preserve to see Mount McKinley get to see it. It spends most of the time shrouded in clouds. At about the 19 mile mark into the park we got our first glimpse. It looked like it would be a good day. When we stopped at the 62 mile mark, Stony Hill Overlook - our turn around spot, it was standing before us in all it's glory. The tallest mountain peak in North America at 20,237 feet above sea level.  The impressive thing about it's height is that it begins down around 2,500 feet which means it rises nearly 18,000 feet. That's more than 3 miles. At his vantage point, northeast of the peak, we are still 35 miles away.

McKinley Explorer

The ride from Anchorage to Denali National Park aboard the Alaska railroad and the McKinley Explorer took about 8 hours. This rail line is one of the last flag stop railroads in the country. The locals will flag them down and catch a ride to town if they need. Beautiful country. Beautiful rivers. We saw a black bear, some bald eagles and swans on the trip. Also had reindeer sausages for breakfast.

Beluga Point

Beluga Point on the Turnagain Arm south of Anchorage, Alaska. There is a small overlook parking area at mile post 110.5 along the Seward Highway.

Please bear with me as I re-acclimate to normal life. It might take a couple days.

Senior Prom

Oh, what could be better than Senior Prom? Graduation! See, even though I say I don't take people pictures some people know all they have to do is ask. Good luck to you two. Congratulation and Woooo!

Bala Cynwyd to Manyunk

 The Manayunk Bridge over the Schuylkill River looking at Montgomery County from the Philadelphia side.

Pequea Works (PG 199)

Pequea Works Fishing Lures date back as far as the late 19th century in Philadelphia. The moved to Strasburg, Lancaster County in 1907. They laid claim that their fishing hooks have been used in every stream in North America. The closed up shop in 1987. This building is on the National Register of Historic Places. Painted Gentleman 199 is located in Strasburg on the first block of Miller Street.

The Wind Mill

The wind mill across the creek. On the outskirts of Garrett, Pennsylvania.

Centaurea Montana

One of the many Mountain Bluet growing at the mother-in-law's. I did manage to borrow some of these plants. I think they came from her mother-in-law's gardens.

Strasburg Fire Company No. 1, Old Station

Strasburg Fire Company No. 1, Old Station, 46 West Main Street, Strasburg, Pa. Lancaster County Station 5. Fire service in Strasburg goes way back to 1818 when the borough minutes reported the need to purchase fire apparatus. After years of service around the borough the Strasburg Fire Company No. 1 was chartered in May of 1933. In the late 1950's this station house was built on West Main Street and on August 5, 2006 a new firehouse on Franklin Street opened.

The Big Adventure

That's right people, the big adventure took me to places I've never been and I saw things like I've never seen them before. I mean, I've been to Caledonia State Park many times since I was a kid but I've never turned right off of Route 30 and been to the Totem Pole Playhouse. This is one of  two totems I saw there. Cool stuff.

Let's Play Ball

It's been a while since I've posted a 'Larger than Life'. This one comes from the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory in Louisville, Kentucky. Unlike the Big Bat that is outside, the limestone ball and glove are inside. Touted as the largest stone baseball glove, it was created in 1998 by Kimberley Hallerich and Albert Nelson from one 17-ton hunk of Kentucky limestone. It is really that big. Kids can crawl back between the ball and the pocket.

Columbine

Yes, more columbine. This two-tone purple one is at my mother-in-law's place. I don't have this shade, I must not have stolen any. Yet.

Memorial Day Parade 2014

The beginning of the Shippensburg Memorial Day Parade, approaching Prince Street. The High School band up front followed by the Shippensburg Fire Department. The flag being carried by members of the SFD many are Junior members of West End Fire and Rescue and the Vigilant Hose Company.