Below you'll find a list of all posts from August, 2009
Carnival Cruise Ship Carnival Spirit leaving Vancouver, Canada.
It is only 6 months until Vancouver hosts Winter Olympics! I understand they are going to bring in a couple of cruise ships to help meet the demand for lodging.
We rented a small boat and followed two cruise ships as the departed Vancouver and passed under the Lions Gate Bridge. It was fun even though the light was only so so.
Go here to see more of our Vancouver Canada photos.
Whistler Village, British Columbia, Canada.
One of the great things about Whistler is the lack of automobiles. The stores and restaurants in town don’t face the roads, but instead, they front a large network of walkways known as the Whistler Stroll. That coupled with a convenient bus service make having a car not only unnecessary, but almost a liability. We were sure glad we hadn’t rented one!
The gondolas leading up either Whistler or Blackcomb mountain are found at the end of this walkway, so even if you are skiing or downhill biking, you can still walk from most hotels.
See more Whistler photos.
Empress Hotel, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
Here is nightime view of the Empress Hotel. Here are more Victoria, Canada photos.
Looking across the Inner Harbour at the historic Empress Hotel.
We are hitting the office pretty hard right now, so I thought I would share a few more photos from our recent Canada trip. This is another one from the beautiful Inner Harbour area of Victoria. And yeah, that is how the spell harbor in Canada.
Check out more of our Victoria, British Columbia, Canada photos.
Seward, Alaska
Seward, just before sunset Sunday night. A cruise ship just out of sight at the dock to the left was preparing to leave. My plan was to wait here to capture the ship as it moved out the bay, but I had a little change of plans.
You see when I hit the ridge, I became a bit uncomfortable when I noticed a large amount of bear scat in the patch of berries on the ridge- it was obvious something much larger then me also enjoyed the area! Having left my bear spray with Janine a quarter of a mile away back in camp didn’t help!
I eased up to the edge of the cliff and looked down below me – all clear. As I often do, I quickly became engrossed in the process of taking photos and never saw a black bear slowly climbing the ridge just below me. By the time I saw it, it was way too close! Because the sun was directly behind me, and I was working quietly, the bear never saw me either – I did a quick “hey bear”, and it was clear it was just as shocked to see me I was him! It quickly dropped down into the alders and out of sight. It happened too fast – I didn’t get a photo, but it was just the reaction I was looking for.
After I waited a while longer for the ship to leave, the bear re-emerged on the next ridge over – the one you see in this photo. Once out of the alders, the bear just stood there and stared at me! It stood motionless for a long time, just staring – I figured it was staring out of curiosity, but as time went on, I started becoming uncomfortable. Eventually, it turned and began climbing the ridge – sharpe eyed viewers can probably see it in this wide angle image. It was at this point that I decided a Seward photo without a cruise ship was good enough, and hiked back to camp.
See more Alaska photos.
Mount Marathon, Seward, Alaska.
Here is another photo from Sunday night on Mount Marathon.
Check out more Alaska photos.
The Bowl, Mt Marathon, Seward, Alaska.
The trail locally know as the “Mt Marathon trail to the bowl” has really become popular in recent years and for good reason – it rocks!
The trail begins in Seward at 1st avenue and Monroe, just keep following Monroe up the mountain. After leaving town, the first section winds through a stretch of beautiful tall tress that help make up the temperate rain forest. Once you climb up out of the rain forest, you are rewarded with some wonderful views of the City of Seward and Resurrection Bay. After a bit more climbing, you eventually reach a cool little alpine valley where a clear stream twists, turns and waterfalls through fields of wildflowers and colorful boulders – some of which you can see in yesterday’s Mt Marathon post. Then, after climbing the final stretch which is made up mostly of a long snow field, you reach the Mt. Marathon bowl you see pictured here. This was captured at sunrise Monday morning.
Fireweed amazes me! That stuff can grow where few, if any other plants can survive.
See more of our Alaska photos and pictures.
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