Glaciers-#12

Why is glacier ice blue?

Glacial ice is a different color from regular ice. It is so blue because the dense ice of the glacier absorbs every other color of the spectrum except blue - so blue is what we see!

It's Not Just Frozen Water!

Sometimes the glacial ice appears almost turquoise. Its crystalline structure strongly scatters blue light. The ice on a glacier has been there for a really long time and has been compacted down so that its structure is pretty different from the ice you normally see. Glacial ice is a lot different from the frozen water you get out of the freezer.

It's Not Just Frozen Snow!

Glacial ice is not just frozen compacted snow. There are other things in the ice that make it much different from the ice in your home. Glaciers move through rock and soil as they carve their way down a slope. This means the ice is going to have a lot more ingredients than just water.

Wings Airline-#11

Wings Airline

Waiting to board our ten-passenger Otto floatplane for our excursion. Tomorrow I'll show you what Jim and I saw during our flight.

A Capital City-#10

The Dock at Juneau

Alaska Cruise #9-Docking in Juneau

I watched our handsome Italian  Captain as he manuevered the ship close to the dock.  Notice his right hand and the instrument panel in the photo below. He never seemed to take his eyes off the dock and used his hand on the panel without looking at the instruments to bring 

the ship snugly against the dock.

Alaska #8-Approaching Juneau

Alaska #7-Sitka, continued

 Sitka is a small, quaint little town with lots of attractions!

No matter where I go I can find new friends and a thrift store to browse.

Cruise #6-Sitka, Alaska

We were "tendered ashore" after we arrived at Sitka

The Docking Difference

When a cruise ship docks, it tethers itself to a dock or port and lowers a bridge so passengers can walk directly off the ship and into the port of call. Cruise ships most commonly dock at larger ports because they are usually better equipped to accommodate cruise ships' enormous size. When ships anchor, passengers are "tendered" to shore on tender boats. Tendering usually involves a shorter stop time because ships -- even large cruise ships -- can shift positions over time, even with a dropped anchor. If your itinerary indicates that your ship will tender at a particular port, that port is likely smaller in size, or the waters surrounding it cannot support large ships. Your ship will be in the waters away from, but still in sight of, the shore -- a roughly 10- to 40-minute small boat ride from the ship. The difference between docking and tendering can mean the difference between having all day or only a few hours to explore a port of call. This is because docked ships allow passengers to leave at their will -- and at their own pace -- to explore the town. Anchored ships, however, usually provide small boats that can ferry passengers to shore approximately 20 to 30 at a time, although some ports provide larger ones.
(Credit: USA Today.com)

This modest Cathedral that sits in the center of town is a big attraction to tourist because of its history.

Alaskan Cruise #5

Our ship as seen from shore at our first port city, Sitka. It looks like a huge ship but with a maximum of 386 passengers it is quite small, compared with other cruise lines. It is one of 7 ships owned by an Italian company. We spent many hours in the Observation Deck, quietly and gratefully watching the water and land slip by. What a treat!!

 Our suite was bedroom and living area combined. Very
comfortable. Note the curtains by the bed which were black-out drapes since we were in Alaska during White Nights. It also provided privacy for Jim, who is a late sleeper, when I rose early
to dress and go down for breakfast.

Theme Day-"Motion, July 1, 2017-Alaskan Cruise #4

I have been posting cruise photos chronologically but because it is theme day for July, I am skipping ahead and adding instead photos taken in Vancouver, Canada, where we spent a few days after the cruise ended. Since the theme is "motion," the jelly fish in the Aquarium cooperated gracefully.
Click here to see how other bloggers showcased the idea of "motion."

And since these photos were taken in Canada...

Alaskan Cruise #3

On the train from Anchorage to Seward to get to our ship, Silver Shadow, these are some of the scenes we enjoyed. We met the two women, Wilma and Mary, sisters-in-law, who are from Melbourne, Australia, at breakfast in the hotel. Coincidentally we were assigned seats together on the train and socialized with them many times thereafter on the ship.

If you didn't believe in God before touring Alaska, I'd bet that you would after seeing this glorious countryside.

Alaskan Cruise #2

Jim and I and 344 other people boarded a train that took us to Seward to begin our journey on our ship, the Silvershadow, one of 7 in the fleet of Silverseas, an Italian company whose crew and staff pampered and spoiled every single one of us during the entire cruise.

As we wended our way on the three-and-a-half hour ride to the port I gave thanks for the United States good fortune of "Seward's Folly!" At roughly 2 cents an acre for the purchase of Alaska from the Russians, I'd say this was quite a bargain!

Signing of the Alaska Treaty, 1867

Russia offered to sell Alaska to the United States in 1859, believing the United States would off-set the designs of Russia’s greatest rival in the Pacific, Great Britain. The looming U.S. Civil War delayed the sale, but after the war, Secretary of State William Seward quickly took up a renewed Russian offer and on March 30, 1867, agreed to a proposal from Russian Minister in Washington, Edouard de Stoeckl, to purchase Alaska for $7.2 million. The Senate approved the treaty of purchase on April 9; President Andrew Johnson signed the treaty on May 28, and Alaska was formally transferred to the United States on October 18, 1867. This purchase ended Russia’s presence in North America and ensured U.S. access to the Pacific northern rim.

For three decades after its purchase the United States paid little attention to Alaska, which was governed under military, naval, or Treasury rule or, at times, no visible rule at all. Seeking a way to impose U.S. mining laws, the United States constituted a civil government in 1884. Skeptics had dubbed the purchase of Alaska “Seward’s Folly,” but the former Secretary of State was vindicated when a major gold deposit was discovered in the Yukon in 1896, and Alaska became the gateway to the Klondike gold fields. The strategic importance of Alaska was finally recognized in World War II. Alaska became a state on January 3, 1959.

An Alaskan Cruise on Silver Seas

Rather than design another blog as I normally do when  I travel to one place as I have done in the past,  I decided to post my cruise photos on my St. Paul blog. . .after all, I AM a St Paul resident on a journey to parts unknown. I am aware that I am not following a basic rule of CDP,  but I will chance your wrath at my violation of a basic tenet and ask your indulgence and forgiveness beforehand.

We flew into Anchorage to begin our trip, and I saw these scenes on an afternoon stroll through the city.  These moose were the only ones I saw on the trip, but what else I saw made up for not sighting them in the flesh!

Sitka, Alaska

I am back in town after an amazing Alaskan cruise.  Since it is Sunday, let me introduce you to
St. Michael's Cathedral in the heart of the little, quaint town of Sitka, Alaska.

St. Michael's Cathedral (Russian: Собор Архангела Михаила Sobor Arkhangela Mikhaila), also known as the Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel (Russian: Собор Святого Архангела Михаила Sobor Svyatogo Arkhangela Mikhaila), is a cathedral of the Orthodox Church in America Diocese of Alaska, at Lincoln and Matsoutoff Streets in Sitka, Alaska. The earliest Orthodox cathedral in the New World, it was built in the nineteenth century, when Alaska was under the control of Russia.^[3] After 1872, the cathedral came under the control of the Diocese of Alaska. It has been a National Historic Landmark since 1962, notable as an important legacy of Russian influence in North America and Southeast Alaska in particular.^[4][5]

An accidental fire destroyed the cathedral during the night of January 2, 1966, but it was subsequently rebuilt.^[4] The new building’s green domes and golden crosses are a prominent landmark in Sitka.^[5] Some of the icons date to the mid-17th century;^[6] two icons are by Vladimir Borovikovsky.

(Credit: Wiki

Baby Swing

Without planning a photo shoot, just walking around my neighbourhood gives me plenty of images to photograph and enjoy.  It's been a long time since I have seen an infant/baby swing suspended from a tree--even longer since I saw a child in one.  This model looks pretty sleek and very different from the swings my once-young children used and enjoyed.  A little bit of nostalgia!

Peonies

Wild Wendy and I got up early this morning and reveled in all the beautiful blossoms in our neighbours' yards. The peonies are gorgeous this year!! 

Friends of Fitzgerald

 Since this is the last post in my Fitzgerald's series, it is fitting that I show the high regard our family has for F. Scott.  We cannot seem to be able to bypass him whenever we are in the vicinity of Rice Park in downtown Saint Paul. Rain or shine, we always have time to stop and greet him. Notice the slight smile on Fitzgerald's face when we stop to chat with him.

F. Scott Fitzgerald in Rice Park

Several bloggers asked me to post a photo of the statue of F. Scott Fitzgerald located in Rice Park.

I posted these three photos on my blog in May of 2010, but here they are again per your request
He's my favorite Saint Paul fella (in addition to my DH)! My husband always loves to walk through the park with me because I invariably stop to chat with  F. Scott Fitzgerald to tell him how much I enjoyed teaching his books!  Or how much my students loved The Great Gatsby. Or how much my husband loved writing his college senior thesis on This Side of Paradise.  

Here is information on the artist who created the sculpture:
Artist Name: Michael Price 
Media: Bronze with warm brown patina on red granite base
Date Created: 1/1/1996
Location: Rice Park
History: Price created this sculpture, representing F. Scott Fitzgerald in his early thirties, to honor the renowned author on the centennial of his birthday.  Price said, “I found Fitzgerald to be an honest and generous person, and I wanted to express those qualities in the work.”  Price equated his work with the author’s—naturalism, as opposed to realism, characterizes the work of both.  “Fitzgerald said he didn’t have a large idea, but he had a large perception, and so developed content from the vantage point of immediate human experience.  I wanted to emulate that approach,” Price explained, “making this work immediately accessible and engaging.”