States – Page 8 – Wandering Dawgs

2022 Alaska and the Inside Passage – Part 1 – Anchorage and Seward

September 10, 2022September 26, 2022Posted in Alaska, Tourist Attractions, WildlifeTagged Alaska and the Inside Passage, Alaska Sea Life Center, Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, Anchorage, Seward, Viking Cruise, Viking Ocean Cruise, Viking Orion15 Comments

August 19, 2022 – Our latest Alaska adventure began when we flew from Savannah to Atlanta and then to Anchorage for a two night stay in Anchorage. We made it to Atlanta on time but sadly the flight to Anchorage was delayed for 7 hours. We landed at the Anchorage airport about 2:00 am, took an Uber to our hotel and tried to get some sleep.

*View of Anchorage from our hotel room on the 13th floor*

August 20, 2022 – After a few hours sleep we spent our day in Anchorage exploring the downtown area and enjoying two delicious meals of fresh Alaska seafood. The Aurora Show with fantastic photographs and narration about Aaska’s Great Northern Lights was wonderful. There was a park with a beautiful garden nearby. A grilled cheese and King Crab sandwich at 49th Street Brewery and dinner of Alaskan halibut and chips at Humpy’s satisfied our longing for some fresh Alaska seafood. Alaskan beer went great with both meals. Did I mention it was raining most of the day and night?

August 21, 2022 – We woke up to another rainy day. After breakfast we boarded a tour bus for the scenic drive to Seward where we would board our ship the Viking Orion.

Along the way we stopped to see some bears, musk ox, and other wildlife at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center near Seward. From their website: “The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (AWCC) is a sanctuary dedicated to preserving Alaska’s wildlife through conservation, education, research and quality animal care.”

Once aboard the ship in Seward we enjoyed the first of many delicious meals, unpacked and wandered around the ship before dinner.

August 22, 2022 – After a leisurely breakfast we sat on our balcony enjoying the scenery. A bald eagle was perched on a light post close by. If you look closely at the header photo at the top of the page you can see the eagle on top of the light pole.

*Bald Eagle perched on lamp post in Seward Harbor*

Later we rode a shuttle bus to the Alaska Sea Life Center, a nonprofit organization that has an aquarium and also does marine research, education, and marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation. This stellar sea lion was as interested in us as we were of him.

*Stellar Sea Lion – Alaska Sea Life Center, Seward*

If you are interested in reading about our 2013 stay in Seward please visit Glaciers and Wildlife in Seward.

Next up – exploring another port and a day of scenic sailing.

Wandering in the Last Frontier

September 7, 2022Posted in Alaska, Birds, Glaciers, Travel, WildlifeTagged Alaska and the Inside Passage, Bald Eagle, Black Bears, Coastal Brown Bears, Sea Otter, Viking Cruise, Viking Orion16 Comments

We fell in love with Alaska nine years ago when we traveled from Georgia to Alaska and back towing our fifth wheel trailer. We’ve been wanting to return to the Last Frontier ever since.

Our wish finally came true at the end of August this year. This time we flew to Anchorage, took a tour bus to Seward and boarded the Viking Orion for a 10 day cruise ending in Vancouver. We returned to a few places we had visited by RV and saw some amazing new places. The scenery was stunning and there were many wildlife sightings.

These are just a few highlights of our journey.

*Turnagain Arm between Seward and Anchorage*

*Brown Bear at Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center on the Seward* *Highway* *in Portage, Alaska*

*Humpback Whales bubble net feeding – Icy Strait Point, Alaska*

*Sea Otter Cub on Mama’s stomach – Sitka, Alaska*

*Inside Passage somewhere between Ketchikan, Alaska and Vancouver, British Columbia*

Lens Artists Photo Challenge # 215 – Planes, Trains and Automobiles – and the places they take us.

September 5, 2022January 22, 2024Posted in Alaska, Road Trip, RVing, TravelTagged Alaska Cruise, Favorite Quotes, Lens-Artists, Ocean Cruise, Planes Trains and Automobiles, Viking Ocean Cruise, Viking Orion27 Comments

The journey not the arrival matters
T. S. Eliot

John from Journeys with JohnBo has challenged us to focus on our journeys and the modes of transportation that got us there.

I am grateful for all the many places that planes, trains, automobiles, trucks, ships, boats, ferries, and buses have taken me. I have been fortunate to see most of the United States, several Canadian provinces, parts of Mexico, several European countries and several Caribbean countries.

For this challenge, I am focusing on our two journeys to Alaska. Our first visit to Alaska was in 2013 when we traveled from Georgia to Alaska and back towing our fifth wheel. Henry drove the truck 14,454 miles during our 106 days on the road.

We just returned from our long awaited second trip to Alaska. This time we flew to Anchorage and rode a bus to Seward to board the cruise ship Viking Orion for a 10 day cruise to Vancouver. We traveled in luxury and saw several new places we couldn’t visit by road.

Below you can see the two major modes of transportation from our two different Alaska journeys. Both journeys were spectacular with amazing landscapes and lots of wildlife.

While our truck was our main mode of transportation on our first Alaska adventure, we had to take a couple of ferries to get where we wanted to go.

We took the truck and RV on the Alaska Ferry from Skagway to Haines

There were places our truck couldn’t take us so we took a plane ride and landed on a glacier, took a ride on the Alaska Railroad, and took three amazing wildlife cruises.

This year, after two cancellations, we finally were able to take our Alaska cruise the end of August. Our journey involved planes, moving sidewalks in the airports, a beautiful ship, an Uber, sightseeing buses, a tender ride, two wildlife cruises, and lots of walking. It was wonderful seeing Alaska from the water. We really enjoyed returning to places we loved the first time as well as seeing places that were new to us.

Stay tuned for more from our latest Alaska adventure!

Many thanks to John of Journeys with Johnbo for his Lens-Artists Challenge #215 – Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #203 – Local Vistas

June 18, 2022Posted in Georgia, Lighthouse, PhotographyTagged Atlantic Ocean, barrier island, beach, Coastal Georgia, Favorite Place, Georgia Coast, home, Lens-Artists, Local Vistas, salt marsh29 Comments

The Georgia coast is about 110 miles long and includes 15 barrier islands, miles of salt marsh, the city of Savannah, historic towns, and beautiful beaches. Jekyll, St. Simons, Sea and Tybee are the only islands accessible by car. The rest of Georgia’s islands can only be reached by boat. Cumberland Island National Seashore and Sapelo Island can each be reached by ferry.

Tybee Island is Georgia’s northernmost barrier island. Just 20 minutes east of downtown Savannah, Tybee is a popular tourist destination with miles of beach, many fun restaurants, the tallest lighthouse in Georgia, and Fort Pulaski National Monument and Cockspur Island Lighthouse nearby.

South of Savannah, St. Simons and Sea Island are the next islands that can be reached by road. With miles of beach, a village area by the fishing pier, Ft. Frederica National Monument, and golf courses, St. Simons is a popular beach destination.

The southernmost island that can be reached by road is Jekyll Island. Jekyll Island was once the winter home for many of America’s wealthiest families. Visitors to Jekyll can see many of these historic homes, ride bikes on its many bike trails, and enjoy its beautiful driftwood beach. Jekyll Island is owned by the state of Georgia.

Most of Sapelo Island is owned by the state of Georgia and is one of the barrier Islands that can only be reached by boat. A ferry runs from near the town of Darien.

Ancient Live Oaks dripping in Spanish Moss, spring Azaleas, salt marsh, waterways, shrimp boats, fresh seafood, and wild life are all part of what makes coastal Georgia so special.

Many thanks to guest host Anne of Slow Shutter Speed for this week’s Lens Artists photo challenge #203:Local Vistas.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #199 – Mechanical/Industrial

May 20, 2022May 20, 2022Posted in Alaska, PhotographyTagged gold dredge, gold mining, Gold Rush, Klondike Gold Rush, Lens-Artists, Mechanical/Industrial, Photo Challenge25 Comments

For this challenge, John asks us to feature mechanical and/or industrial images.

The discovery of gold is an important part of Alaska’s history. Several year ago, as we traveled around Alaska, old abandoned dredges and rusty machinery gave us a glimpse of some of the old machines that were once used to mine for gold.

Dredge 8 in Fairbanks is a popular tourist attraction. Other mining equipment is on display and at the end of the tour visitors can pan for gold.

The Pedro Dredge in Chicken shown below is a National Historic Site. The rusty machinery in the header image is on display at the Chicken Post Office. We drove by an active mining operation near there.