Joelle & Blossom

Joelle was sleeping on the couch on her blanket one night when Blossom came out to join her.  They immediately started grooming each other and cuddling.  Of course, I ran to get my camera!

Joelle Relaxing on Chair

Here's Joelle (Mom's cat) on one of her favorite blankets on the chair.

Joelle and I have an...interesting...relationship. The very first night I met her (Thanksgiving of 2009), she jumped in my lap and stayed there for hours while I watched TV. Flash forward a year and she's hissing at me every time I try to pet her (and sometimes when I'm just in the near vicinity!)

She's fine when my mom pets her, just not me (or my sister). We do seem to have some temporary truces when she rubs on me, lets me pet her, etc. It's usually when she wants something from me, though (like playing with her or letting her outside).

We keep saying that one day we're going to have to consult a pet psychic or a cat whisperer to figure out what the heck is going on...

Stained Glass Door

Just before my dad passed away, he and my mom ordered some new custom front doors (wood with two stain glass panels). They weren't ready or installed until after he died, but they're in now and they caught my eye this afternoon.

These photos are all taken in natural light (no flash).

Through the Desert

I drove through the Arizona/California desert areas today. I've always wanted to stop and take photos of the sand dunes, but it is either crowded, hot as $%#@, or the light is bad. Also, I was never sure where I could get photos without the power lines in the way and usually am not in the mood to explore.

Today, it was still hot and quite bright, but I wasn't feeling rushed, so I decided to stop and explore! I also stopped along the winding road to get the rock shot.

Sunrise Photos

Amazingly, I was awake at sunrise this morning. As usual, though, it meant I hadn't been to bed yet. That's generally the only time I see sunrise. As I peeked outside, the clouds and light looked interesting, so I went out to take some photos. Here are a few of my favorites I took from my backyard.

Estrella Mountains & Sunset Over White Tanks

Leaving campus the last few weeks, I noticed a nice view of the Estrella Mountains and made a mental note to make sure to take some photos at some point in the future. I decided to head out to do some errands when it cooled off. I didn't make it far before I noticed a nice sunset in the making, so I made the first u-turn I could and went back for my camera. I decided to head for campus to get both some sunset shots over the White Tanks and a shot of the light at sunset on the Estrellas from the vantage point I noted before. It inspired me to try to get some better shots from closer in the future.

Here are the results from today!

Record Heat Sunset

We set the record for how hot is was today (118 degrees!!)  I didn't even venture outside until sunset to get these photos.  Even then, I didn't venture further than my backyard.

Rays of the Sun

I stayed late grading in my office today.  When I finally left (after it got too hot in my office), it was just around sunset.  I had planned to find an air-conditioned location to continue grading, but as I walked to the car, I noticed the rays of the sun filtering through the clouds.  I decided to make a brief stop at home to take some photos.  I got slightly distracted by a neighbor, but here are some of the shots I got when I finally made got to take the photos...

Alaska Trip Wrap Up & Crew Photos

Whether you’ve read my recaps or just looked at my photos, I’m sure you can tell that we had a fabulous trip! Every time I have explored a new place, it has impacted my life. I have to say, though, that I don’t think a trip has ever affected me quite so much as this one did. The passengers and crew on the Safari Quest were a large part of that, so I wanted to post one last wrap up post to thank the crew and my fellow passengers for the wonderful week.

Here are some photos of the crew taken throughout the week by Karl and other crew members.

Sean, the Captain of the Safari Quest

Dirk, the Safari Quest's Engineer, and Sean

Dirk riding to the rescue on his unicycle!

Karl, our expedition leader aboard the Safari Quest, out in a kayak

Karl carrying Mom across a river so her shoes wouldn't get wet

Denee, the Safari Quest's first mate (and our skiff driver for many of our adventures!), on the bridge

Denee on the back deck

Alexandra, the Safari Quest's pastry chef & Bob, the Safari Quest's chef in the galley

Alexandra constructing her fabulous Glacier Cake

Sarah, the Safari Quest's hotel manager, Angela, a steward aboard the Quest, and Brittany, a steward aboard the Quest

Angela & Brittany at the bar in the lounge

Alaska Trip: Some Videos

I finally have gone through my videos and here are some of them (though most aren't very good). I'm not sure how well this will work as this is my first time using the camera and uploading the videos.

I apologize in advance for the shakiness and for any background noises/commentary that doesn't really apply to the video itself.  Click on the 4 arrows at the bottom right corner to view any of the videos full screen.

Humpback Whale

Quick Look around Margerie & Grand Pacific Glaciers

First attempt at a 360 degree view in skiff out by glacier

View of Margerie Glacier with some info in the background (if you can hear it)

Cracking Glacier & info on height of glacier in background

Different perspective of Margerie Glacier as we're returning to the Quest

Margerie Glacier Calving 

Nowhere near as amazing as in person-- it's a bit hard to see on this video-- look towards the far right of the glacier.  You can spot the splash of it falling in the water easier probably

Oh, and pardon our excited exclamations :-)

The brown spot moving along the beach is a brown bear spotted as we were leaving the Margerie & Grand Pacific Glaciers

Bear on beach at Tidal Inlet

Bear wrestling a stick

Alaska Trip: Day 9

Still miss being out on the water on the Quest, but today was a good day!  We had a wonderful Jeep Tour today with our guide Molly.  Mom and I were the only 2 who signed up, so we had our own personal tour!  I am so glad we went because we got to see a lot more of Juneau (both in Downtown and “out the road”).  We had learned from the narrative in the seaplane the day before and from our guide Molly that though there are roads in Juneau, the only way out of Juneau is by boat or plane!

We made a few different stops along the way and of course I took photos when I could.  We had great visits to the Shrine of St. Therese (where we almost interrupted a wedding and also saw a whale off shore), the University of Alaska-Southeast, and a private area with a local ranger stations where we walked up to the reversible falls for a local salt chuck (containing both salt and fresh water).  We ended the tour at a salmon hatchery for a brief visit.

Photos below and as always click to enlarge!

Juneau-Douglas City Museum

Alaska Fisherman's Building

Totems on campus at University of Alaska- Southeast 

Chapel at Shrine of St. Therese

Near the chapel at Shrine of St. Therese

Pillar for lights at entrance to island with chapel

Labyrinth at Shrine for St. Therese

Reversible falls at Salt Chuck

 

Hollow tree stumps

Entrance to Salmon Hatchery in Juneau