Life: Through the Lens

Getting back in the swing of things.  I began my teaching commitments this week, though my house is not clean, a mountain of postcards, brochures and maps have yet to find a home, and I am not even close to figuring out how I will organize, yet alone display, selections of photographs from our trip.  And that is life, isn't it? The trip seems a bit of a blur, as we work our way toward fall, but it is nice to have beautiful interludes close to home to give us moments of quiet and reflection.  Though we saw many wild animals, and beautiful flora everywhere we went, I love having the same opportunities close to home. It is always good to have that reminder that though travel and seeing new places presents opportunity for growth and adventure, there are also times when looking out your own window, or walking your own neighborhood, are just as rewarding. However, I am NOT sure I am quite ready to give up my summer to the unquestionable beauty and energy of

We have been home one week, and sometimes this trip seems like a distant memory already.   Schedules, events and the rest of our daily routine are infiltrating the interlude we had this summer. Did we really drive 13,000+ miles?!  The yellow highlighted area is the route we took West, and the green indicates our route home. From Alma, across I-80 and north via Vancouver. North from Vancouver to Dawson Creek, where the Alaska Highway begins.  Then NW across BC and Yukon Territory, and into Alaska. South to Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula. We are looking at photographs and remembering the early part of our trip, when we visited relatives and friends along the way. Vancouver, BC, and my nephew at his favorite coffee shop. The adventure grew from there, as we traveled North. There were times we questioned what we were getting into.....like when we encountered some insane road work.  Lots of roadwork.  This is actually a "good" stretch compared to a

Mackinac Bridge...last leg of our journey. Home.  Mail sorted.  Laundry about done.  Photos....those will take a little longer to count and organize.  Here are some statistics: He was just looking for a way to cross the road. Animal sitings Moose - 8 Elk - 2 Deer - 7 Free range cows - no count, too busy dodging! Black Bear - 11 Brown/Grizzly - 1 Bison - 93ish, in herds and individually, strolling down the road side Bald Eagles - approximately a dozen Antelope - 5 Wild Horses - in the neighborhood of 100 Stone Sheep - 3 Mountain Goat - 1 Swans - 30-ish Sand-hill Crane - 1 Trout/Salmon - no specific count Airplane Statistics Airplanes Flown - Piper-18 Supercubs -2; Cessna 172 with 180 HP engine conversion - 1 Alaska is the most flying-est state, with the most airplanes, in the nation.   It is one of the major sources of transportation. The border of Yukon Territory and Alaska. A section of the original Alaska Highway. Geography an

Fairbanks Cultural and Visitors Center What do we do when we aren’t focused on flying or fishing, you might ask?   There are SO many things to do and places to explore, we had to pick and choose a bit.   Quilt Shop in Anchorage There was shopping…I had to check out the local quilt shops and purchase my Row by Row kits!   It was really fun to see the similarities and differences between shops in the city, and those in more rural settings.   The commonality, of course, is the love of pattern and fabric and quilting. Quilt Shop in Fairbanks - my favorite of all I visited on this trip. Talkeetna - the smallest quilt shop I have ever been in! There has been lot of photography, of course.   Sometimes on my own, and sometimes with Daryl; we each like to photograph a scene in slightly different ways .  I do love to shoot wide scenics, but spend a lot of time looking for close-ups.  Daryl will choose the scenic over a close-up any day. We have also enjoyed learn