Funny, Jan...she would probably do the same thing I did...take 500 photos of flowers! You know, I have tried to remember, but I doubt that she ever traveled very far away from her own mountains. She only went as far as her feet would take her.....
Thought this was kinda cute....
Gita, I have been to AK as well, and also have a sister who lives there with her significant other. They are both pilots, and they have a flying business. He does the flying and she takes care of most of the paperwork.
I went there in 1994 and did many hikes, sometimes alone and more often with my sister. We encountered a bear on one hike, or I should say I encountered it. My sister was ahead on the trail, and I heard a crashing in the bushes next to the trail, on the downhill side that scared the holy living you-know-what out of me. Next thing I knew there was a bear about 50 to 100 feet away from me, standing on his hind legs. I kept yelling out "go away, bear!" and backed slowly up the trail till I could no longer see him. My sister didn't come closer to investigate. Well, I did not see that bear again, but our senses were on high alert after that. We were hiking to a cabin of a friend of hers to feed her friend's dog, and the only way to get there was by hiking or ATV. We decided to hike for the exercise. Since then I'm really hesitant to go hiking in bear country.
Anyhow, Dawn (my sister) lives in Central, north of Fairbanks. I was there from the end of April to the beginning of July. Still snow on the ground and rivers and lakes still frozen when I arrived. Couldn't believe the mosquitoes there in summer! Awful!
Alaska is beautiful, but not where I would want to live.
Oh, and I loved Northern Exposure as well. Didn't get into it till after visiting AK. It was actually filmed in Washington state.
Victor, I also loved your foggy Acadia picture. Would you mind if I used it as an desktop background picture? I love foggy scenes. I love walking in the fog. Wouldn't want to encounter a bear in the foggy woods, though!
Karen
Good idea, Nance! I saw that it was in syndication at some point, but I don't stay up late and it was on pretty late, so I just passed it by.
Karen - that is pretty scary about your bear encounter in AK. Yikes! Glad he left you alone!
Gita! I met that bear. and there was a huge stuffed grizzly in the lobby of our hotel in Anchorage.
Martha
Yeah! There is a HUGE bear also at the Anchorage airport! It is in a big glass cage.....I think it is a record-size......
Here are our Cousin and her husband just arriving after traveling for 2 days (ling layovers in airports....) from Latvia.
That's my Sister on the left--and me on the right. This was in 2006.
More nice shots. Sure, anyone can use the photo. I don't want to see Alaska from a cruise ship - on land for me. Too much would be missed with a ship. As is, it would really take a number of trips to do the state justice. The national parks there are huge!
Everything there is Huge, Victor. Wild daisies were as tall as I am .
Even makes Texas a bit jealous?
I am in AZ - lots of rocks here. I'll try to snap some today.
I don't think texans believe in Alaska.
Nice shot, Gita! You and your sister have the same nice smile!
Funny, Nance!
Victor - you are so generous!
Thanks Louise. Don't ever try to pull a piece of fresh pie away from me though!
OHHH, I just realized that I lied. Sorry. The brain froze, but when I read about "bear at Anchorage airport" it hit me that DH and I saw that bear when we had a lay-over there on our way to Japan. Sometimes the brain is more frozen than thawed. lol
Actually, Victor, I might just consider doing that if it's a flavor I like. I have been fairly warned!! LOL
Big discovery today as I walked down our dirt road to take a photo of a fungus on a tree that looked cool.....embedded in the road are some really beautiful and colorful stones. I pried out 2 pretty rose/purple stones. DH thinks I might be a nuisance to the town if I look too closely!
Here's the stone wall that runs along the road at our house. It goes back to the 1700s and it has huge old maples along the wall, some of which have given up the ghost......
YES! Lets get back to STONES!!!!
Sorry I sort of "hijacked" the Thread with my AK pictures......
nuts....
You just didn't visit the right part of AK--to fall in live with.
Anywhere between Anchorage and Homer-----with all the small side-trips and awesome places to see--and you would change your mind.
This is something I fell in love with--The fragrant Sitka Rose.......
Gita
The ancient Russian settler's Cometary.....
Charter fishing for halibut.....
The quirkiness of the home of the FAMOUS "Eagle Lady" (you can Google her...) on the Homer Spit. She has been feeding tons of fish to the Bald Eagles in the frozen winters for 20-some years...Still does it. She is 80-some years old!
And--a MUST SEE--The renowned Norman Lowell Art gallery about 20 minutes drive outside of Homer! He, himself, is there every day. His paintings are of all sizes--but his specialty seems to be gigantic oils of the Aurora Borealis. VERY beautiful place--PLUS--you can walk through his Gardens--where everything is just beyond colorful.
It is the only place I have ever seen a BLUE Poppy!
Last picture--with continued apologies for NOT posting ROCKS!!!!
I will "cease and desist" after this......holding my breath.....
Thanks gita! we can always use a few new plant pictures. There were lots of mountains, glaciers and rocks in Alaska. We took a couple of boat tours and the tour hugged the coast for a while so we could see the birds and seals on the VERY BIG ROCKS!
I didn't say you should go on the cruise Victor, just your wife! If she takes the boat from anchorage to Vancouver and back again, that should give you enough time to hike over great portions of the state!
Martha
Oh I forgive you Gita, thats a blue flower!! If I'm not mistaken it's a Himalayan Blue Poppy. Beautiful!
Nice pics, Gita. However, I don't think I would change my mind about AK. Great place to visit, but I can't stand winter. I prefer endless summer, but not too hot. I really loved AZ, and am hoping to someday move back. Summer was too, too hot, but winter was like paradise to me. I miss the sounds and smells of the desert, the gorgeous sunsets, the big thunderstorms and flash floods. I miss all the beautiful rocky places, the wide open spaces, the colors of the the canyons and deserts. Yes, Alaska is beautiful, but my heart belongs in the deserts of the southwest.
Oh, and what a gorgeous poppy that is, Gita.
Here are a few AZ pics with rocks, taken by my sister Dawn, the one who lives in Alaska.
Karen
That last picture is of a rock formation called the Needle, taken from the top of the Peralta Trail, which I have hiked with Dawn. That is one great hike. Here are more pics along that trail.
Karen
The Needle again.
Some really cool rocks.
The Peralta Trail is in the Superstition Wilderness, where treasure hunters still try to find the Lost Dutchman's Mine. This wilderness area is loaded with great trails. I used to love hiking there.
Here's another great place for hiking, and the views go on and on. The Grand Canyon. Now these are some rocks!
Rocks used in a building at the Grand Canyon.
More of the same building.
Thought I would throw in a purple cactus.
My sister Dawn in AK has been working on a big project for some time now with rocks. She's incorporated them in her gardens making raised beds, stairs and patios. She has gathered all of these herself from the surrounding area. Plenty of nice rocks for the taking up there.
Here is a view of her gardens from upstairs.
Karen
Here are more pics from her yard.
Karen
A rock patio and new wood deck that she made herself.
A view of the gardens from her new wood deck.
Another view from upstairs.
And yet another upstairs view.
One of the paths with delphiniums and fireweed.
A pathway she made.
Here's her log cabin. She and her significant other, Ronnie, made this place themselves, and no kit!
This is a place close to Dawn's called Ketchum rocks. I visited there. We saw a mother bear and cub one day from the car while driving there.
Dawn's 2 little woofers, American Eskimos.
