The Inside Passage, April 2010

In April 2010 I joined a group of Road Scholar travelers on a trip up the Inside Passage to Alaska. We traveled on the Alaska Marine Highway ferry system which is like a highway on water since the only way to reach some cities on the Alaskan coast is by water or air. We boarded the Matanuska ferry on a Friday afternoon. The ferry leaves every Friday from Bellingham, Washington and returns the following Friday morning.


The sunset as we headed north was exceptional that evening and was a preview of the scenery to come during the week. Our ports of call were Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, Juneau, Skagway, Haines and Sitka.

At Ketchikan we took a quick trip off the ferry and headed for an early morning visit to the Mendenhall Glacier. Our guides told us that global warming seems evident here since the glacier covers much less ground than it once did. And they have been visiting for many years.


The scenery changed from day to day, sometimes dark and moody and sometimes brilliant, clear and with blue skies. Below are some examples of the moods of the Inside Passage.


On the final morning of the trip I was grateful to be up early and have the opportunity to view this rainbow sunrise.

Skagit Valley, Washington Tulips Galore!

In Northwestern Washington state is the Skagit Valley which is home to my younger sister, Nancy, and her husband, John. It is also home every Spring to a wild array of colors as the valley comes alive with rows and rows and miles and miles of tulips and daffodils. It is a wonderful sight to see and if I visit them, my Father, and the rest of my family in the Spring I also get to enjoy the tulip season. The backdrop to the tulips is the North Cascades Mountains. The valley is north of Seattle by an hour with Mt. Baker and the Canadian border to the north and Puget Sound to the west.









Hope you enjoy this colorful scene!

Southern Colorado, 2010

In September of 2010 I went on a "Road Scholar" trip and the plan was to visit all the National Parks in Southern Colorado during the 5 day journey . The trip started and ended in Colorado Springs. One of the first stops was The Garden of the Gods outside of Colorado Springs. The weather was beautiful for the whole week of the trip and the blue skies set off the red rock country of Garden of the Gods.
Another stop in Colorado Springs was the Air Force Academy and the famous chapel on the grounds there.





Once we left Colorado Springs, out next stop was Great Sand Dunes National Park. What a great photo opportunity! It was windy and the clouds were on the move, changing the scenery of the sand dunes minute by minute.






The next day we spent at Mesa Verde National Park. There is a lot to see there and the history lesson provided by the Park Service is enlightening. The habitation of this area by Native peoples and the mystery of the abandonment of location made for a very interesting day.





Next was a ride on the Durango & Silverton narrow gauge railroad. I have to say this turned out to be a lot of fun riding along the river and seeing the golden aspen trees.




Our two final stops came the next day. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park has been on my list of places to see for a long time. It is exceptional in that it is really difficult to photograph and yet a place that you want to be able to share in photos. Its landscape is like no other in Southern Colorado that we saw. I could have spent more time there.


And our final stop was Colorado National Monument. Apparently this is a location that attracts fewer visitors as the location is quite remote from other parks in the area. The road through the Monument is winding and takes your breath away at some spots.



We ended the trip back in Colorado Springs after 5 days of wonderful weather, landscapes and history lessons. Hope you enjoy this selections of photos.

Getting Started

I enjoy traveling so much and am starting this blog so that I might easily share the pictures taken on my trips. This is the first posting...so here we go! This picture was taken at Great Sand Dunes National Park in September of 2010. More to come...