I'm Back!

You may not have even noticed, but I was on vacation for the past two weeks. I set up all my blog posts and it looks like I only made a couple of mistakes, so that's pretty good. The comments were probably the most obvious difference as I didn't reply until Monday when I returned.

I spent most of it in America's 49th state, with a few days in Seattle, Victoria and Vancouver. Alaska in the 49th state for non-Americans. I saw people with real cameras, taking their time, framing and zooming. I was kind of jealous as I know my iPhone won't do any of it justice.

Hubbard Glacier.

Alaska was terrific and a great place to just cut myself off from technology. I left work behind, but also all my non-work stuff, too. I only checked my phone for time and weather.

What's left of Mendenhall Glacier.

Some mountain.

I thought it might be like Newfoundland and Iceland, but it was actually quite different. It's a lot of nature and landscapes, First Nations and small towns, fish (especially salmon) and wildlife. And a lot of sunlight. Like 18-20 hours of bright daylight. The cruise ships make the towns more commercialized than Newfoundland. And the nature felt different than Iceland.

Humpbacks.

The Tlingit presence is everywhere.

Creek Street, Ketchikan AK.
These were brothels - the men would climb up
from underneath. Now it's like Disney's Frontierland.
"Look, kids, this is where the whores lived."

This King Salmon was amazingly fresh.
We learned how to filet it, even eating
some like sashimi.

It's a little depressing as you can see how much the glaciers are retreating as you hike through what was glacier just a few years ago. They're in a drought, so if things don't get better soon, Alaskan salmon will be a lot pricier in a couple of years.

The weather was beautiful for us, but not for locals.
The temperate rain forest was bone dry.

It's like their version of a street sign.

From the other side of the Yukon
Suspension Bridge. Yes, I walked across it.

More nature.

Seattle was interesting. I'd been to Victoria and Vancouver before, but they're really nice cities, too.

Seattle. Rainier Tower.

Seattle. The Gum Wall. Yes, it's a wall covered in gum.

Victoria BC. Emily Carr (famous and one of
my fave Canadian artists) grew up here. 

Anyway, that's it. I'm glad to be back. I'll have some new reviews coming soon.

Alex