States – Page 7 – Wandering Dawgs

Lens Artists Photo Challenge # 227 – Home Sweet Home

December 4, 2022December 4, 2022Posted in Georgia, Nature, PhotographyTagged Coastal Georgia, Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge, home sweet home, Lens-Artists, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Photo Challenge, Savannah21 Comments

If I had a visitor from another country who wanted to see my home country in a week or a month, where would I take them? This is the challenge Tina has given us.

I live in the United States. Many visitors from other countries are surprised by how huge it is. It would take more than a lifetime to see it all.

Instead, I will take the time we have to see the many beautiful sites in my home state of Georgia. There are mountains, farmland, friendly small towns, the Okefenokee Swamp, historic cities, barrier islands, salt marsh, beaches, lakes, and the city of Atlanta.

I’m not sure we could even cover the entire state in one month but we could give it a good try. We’ll start our tour in coastal Georgia where I live. We would visit at least one of the three inhabited barrier islands that can be reached by road, go on a dolphin tour to look for Atlantic Bottlenose dolphins, walk on an uninhabited island that can only be reached by boat, and take a ferry ride to explore Sapelo Island or Cumberland Island National Seashore. We would catch blue crabs from the local waters and steam them for a delicious meal, snack on boiled peanuts, and feast on low country boil with shrimp fresh from the sea.

We would visit historic Savannah and enjoy a family style lunch at Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room.

We could take a ride to Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge to see nesting egrets, herons, and woodstorks in the spring. We could continue farther south for a boat ride through the Okefenoke National Wildlife Refuge.

We would take a road trip on back country roads to north Georgia. We would stop to explore Athens, the home of the University of Georgia, go to the top of Brasstown Bald, and look for waterfalls. We would pass by fields of cotton, corn, and pecan orchards along the way.

We would take another road trip to see the western part of the state and stop to explore Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain and President F. D. Roosevelt’s Little White House in Warm Springs. We would drive by peach orchards and watch the sunset at one of the many lakes in Georgia.

There is so much more to see in Georgia. Sadly, I don’t have photos of some them. In Atlanta we could see the World of Coca-Cola, the Georgia Aquarium, Centennial Olympic Park, Stone Mountain, the President Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum and the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site. We could visit the Providence Canyon, also called the grand canyon of Georgia in Lumpkin and beautiful Rome in northwest Georgia, and too many more places to name.

I can’t end a post about Georgia without including the University of Georgia Bulldogs football team. Go Dawgs!

Georgia Football Barn Sign, Tennille, GA

If you would like to see more about my home state of Georgia please visit visit this post I did a a few years ago Wandering Around America One State at a Time – Georgia.

Many thanks to Tina for her Lens-Artists Challenge #227 – Home Sweet Home

2022 Alaska and the Inside Passage – Part 8 – The Inside Passage to Vancouver

October 27, 2022Posted in Alaska, British ColumbiaTagged Alaska and the Inside Passage, British Columbia, Inside Passage, Vancouver, Viking Cruise, Viking Ocean Cruise, Viking Orion15 Comments

August 29, 2022 – After our exciting bear watching excursion in Ketchikan we returned to our ship for an early afternoon departure from Ketchikan.

We enjoyed a late lunch ending with Success Cake, our favorite dessert.

While enjoying a delicious Italian dinner at Manfredi’s that night we watched a Canadian Pilot boat pull along beside our ship. Both vessels were moving as the Pilot boarded our ship.

August 30, 2022– Cruising through the Inside Passage from Ketchikan, Alaska to Vancouver, British Columbia was a perfect last day at sea.

By afternoon the sun was shining and we finally saw blue skies. It was a perfect day to sit on the sun deck and take in the spectacular scenery as we cruised south.

August 31, 2022 – Our ship arrived in Vancouver in the early morning. We disembarked about 9:30 a.m. and said goodbye to the Viking Orion and our amazing Alaska adventure.

September 1, 2022 – A little more than 24 hours after we left the ship we arrived home exhausted but very happy travelers.

2022 Alaska and the Inside Passage – Part 7 – Bear Country and Wildlife Expedition in Ketchikan

October 18, 2022Posted in Alaska, Birds, WildlifeTagged Alaska Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary, Alaska and the Inside Passage, Alaska Raptor Center, black bear, Eagle Creek, Ketchikan, totem, Viking Cruise, Viking Ocean Cruise, Viking Orion11 Comments

August 29, 2022 – Shortly after the ship docked in Ketchikan we boarded a bus for a scenic drive to Herring Cove in the Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary. The tour started with a nature walk on an easy path through the forest to raised boardwalks beside Eagle Creek. Our guides Bryn and Claire were on the lookout for Black Bears that come to the creek to fish for salmon. We learned Eagle Creek is named for the many Eagles that are often seen there. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any that day.

The scenery was spectacular and we found bears! There were eight bears sighted including three cubs. Some of the bears were walking through the dense woods and others were far off at the edge of a field. I saw seven of them but was only able to capture this adult black bear feeding on berries and wading in the creek in search of salmon.

We came out of the forest and walked to the Alaska Raptor Center where we were introduced to these three birds. The birds were rescued after receiving injuries that would prohibit them from surviving in the wild. The mission of the Alaska Raptor Center is to promote and enhance wild populations of raptors and other avian species through rehabilitation, education, and research.

Ketchikan is home to the most standing totem poles anywhere in the world. A native master totem carver told us how the totems are made before we walked outside to see some of the finished totems.

With about six cruise ships in port the town of Ketchikan was crowded with people as we rode back to our ship. There wasn’t enough time for us to explore the town.

Spending our last day in Alaska seeing bears, raptors, totems, and the town of Ketchikan was a great way to end our Alaska adventure.

Next up – A final day at sea

2022 Alaska and the Inside Passage – Part 6 – Wildlife Cruise and Crab Feast in Sitka

October 12, 2022October 14, 2022Posted in Alaska, Birds, WildlifeTagged Alaska and the Inside Passage, Bald Eagle, humpback whales, Sea Otter, Sitka, Viking Cruise, Viking Ocean Cruise, Viking Orion13 Comments

August 28, 2022 – Our ship docked in Sitka just a short walk from where we boarded a boat for our wildlife cruise. Once again it was raining off and on all day.

Our captain took us through a narrow passage where we had a close up view of tree covered islands. Our guide was a naturalist who pointed out interesting things to see like the orange starfish in the next photo.

When the rain began I went back inside the warm, dry cabin. This humpback whale came up right outside my window.

The captain slowed down for a closer look at these sea otters. Some were just floating around and others were diving and playing. They are so cute and fun to watch.

As we traveled to Fin Island Lodge for lunch we spotted this American Bald Eagle hanging out in a tree close to the water.

We ate our fill of Alaskan crab, salmon, and prime rib with all the trimmings. Lunch was followed by a campfire on the beach where we roasted our own marshmallows to make S’Mores with locally make chocolate bars.

We boarded the boat for a ride back to the cruise ship dock where the rain was coming down in buckets.

The historic town of Sitka is located a few miles from the cruise ship dock. There is a shuttle which runs back and forth to the town. Sadly, there wasn’t enough time to visit the town. I did manage a few minutes of shopping at some of the shops at the dock.

Next up – Our last Alaskan port and more Alaska Wildlife

2022 Alaska and the Inside Passage – Part 5 – Searching for Coastal Brown Bears in Haines

October 4, 2022October 18, 2022Posted in Alaska, WildlifeTagged Alaska and the Inside Passage, bear cub, Chilcoot River, Coastal Brown Bears, Fish weir, Haines, totem, Viking Cruise, Viking Ocean Cruise, Viking Orion18 Comments

August 27, 2022 – We spent a week in Haines in our RV back in 2013. It was – and still is – our favorite place in Alaska. What’s not to love? This small town has friendly locals, few tourists, breathtaking scenery, and abundant wildlife.

Our ship was docked with a great view of the small boat harbor, the RV park where we camped in 2013 (in the above image) and historic William H. Seward. The tide was low when we arrived and we could see eagles on the beach.

This tender took us on a five minute ride to the shore.

Our excursion for the day was called the Chilkoot Valley Wildlife Safari. My goal was to see bald eagles and coastal brown bears.

Our transportation for the day was a 24 passenger tour bus driven by our driver and guide Cydnie. She drove up the hill from the dock to take us through historic Fort William H. Seward, a National Historic Landmark. This location was chosen as the site for a fort in 1902 and was the only permanent army fort in Alaska from 1925 to 1940.

Our first stop was a bridge over the Chilcoot River where we had a great view of the river. Sadly there were no bears but we spied a pair of Bald Eagles in a tree.

Our next stop was to see the Chilcoot River fish weir which is used to count the number of salmon swimming up the river. Someone spotted three bears on the weir!

Off we went in the van to get a closer view of these three Coastal Brown Bears. It was a mama bear and her two cubs.

After watching the bears for a while we continued on to Chilcoot State Park where we took in the gorgeous view of Chilcoot Lake and kept a constant lookout for wildlife.

As we passed by the fish weir again on our way to our next destination Cydnie stopped the bus when she saw this bear cub right by the road. I was lucky to the be on the side of the bus where he was and captured a few images of him. When he stood up to show us how big he was it was time to leave. Mama was in the river watching the whole time.

A picnic area next to the Lynn Canal was a perfect place for lunch.

Our tour continued on another highway to the mouth of the Chilcat River where we hoped to see more bald eagles. There were no eagles to be seen and we returned to the ship. By this time the tide had come in and we could walk back to the ship.

Watching the bears in Haines was one of my favorite experiences of the whole cruise. When we got back to the dock there wasn’t enough time left to explore the town. Even so, it was a great day. One day isn’t enough to experience this wonderful coastal town.

If you are interested in seeing more about our 2013 stay in Haines please visit Taking the Alaskan Ferry to Haines or Laid Back in Haines, Alaska or Fresh Crabs for Dinner

Next up – Another wildlife cruise and a crab feast