Tina’s challenge this week is to show interesting architecture – whether in our back yard or around the world.
My first three images don’t have anything in common except I like the architectural details of each of them. The image above is from the Art Deco District in South Beach in Miami. These next two are from two National Parks in the United States.
Quapaw Baths on Bath House Row in Hot Springs
Ahwahnee Hotel, Yosemite National Park
The rest of my images are of interesting houses of worship. The first is from Alaska and the rest are historic houses of worship in Savannah, Georgia.
Russian Orthodox Church in Ninilchik, Alaska
Independent Presbyterian Church, Savannah, Georgia – the movie Forest Gump begins with a feather floating up to this steeple
Congregation Mickve Israel, Savannah, Georgia – the third oldest Jewish Congregation in the U.S.
Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, Savannah – construction began in 1873
Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, Savannah, Georgia
Welcome to the next post in my series highlighting states we have visited throughout the years. I hope you will enjoy coming along for the ride! I will be featuring the states alphabetically and next up is
Alaska
Alaska became the 49th state on January 3, 1959. The capital is Juneau and it is the only state capital that can only be reached by air, boat, or birth. The largest city is Anchorage.
We spent 50 glorious nights in Alaska in the summer of 2013.
I loved meeting so many wonderful Alaskans and hearing their stories. Wildlife, glaciers, boat trips, a flight seeing tour, eagles, halibut fishing, Denali National Park, taking the RV on the Alaska Ferry from Skagway to Haines, and a train ride on the Alaska Railroad are just a few of the amazing things we experienced while we were there. Our favorite place was Haines. The most exciting thing we did was take a flight-seeing tour from Talkeetna to see Mt. McKinley and land on Ruth Glacier. The farthest north we went was Coldfoot, north of the Arctic Circle.
Pullen Creek RV Park, Skagway, Alaska
Waterfalls along the Klondike Highway
Arriving at the Haines ferry dock
Watching for whales in Haines, Alaska
Bald Eagle at Chilcoot Lake State Park, Haines, AK
Haines boat harbor
Deadliest Catch!
Mendenhall Glacier
The free George Black Ferry crosses the Yukon River from Dawson City to Top of the World Highway.
Poker Creek Alaska
The signposts show other towns named after chickens. Who knew there were so many?
The Pedro Dredge in Chicken is a National Historic Site.
Santa Claus House, North Pole, Alaska
Downtown Talkeetna.
We went really close to Mt. McKinley
Loving every minute of our time on Ruth glacier
Home of author Mary Lovel in Sherman, Alaska
The Alaska Railroad runs right behind our campsite
Such an amazing sight to see their tail
Stellar Sea Lions on day trip to Juneau
Calving on Aialik Glacier one
A pair of Orcas on Columbia Glacier tour from Valdez
There were Puffins in the water
Sea Otters on Columbia Glacier tour from Valdez
Wandering Dawgs at the Arctic Circle
A good look at the Alaska pipeline as it goes underground
Four of these fish are ours!
Mount Redoubt sunset in Ninilchik, Alaska
Anchor Point is the most westerly highway point on a continuous road system in North America
Our first moose sighting was this cow by a pond
Lukor liked it on top of his house
Polychrome Overlook, Denali National Park, Alaska
Caribou grazing in Denali National Park
Do you see the profile of a face on the right side of the rock?
Chunk of ice from the Columbia Glacier
Fireweed behind our campsite made the beautiful view even better
Mama bear looking for more fish near Valdez
Every day was memorable, every day was special, every day we saw something spectacular. Was it worth driving over 14,000 there and back? Absolutely!
To read previous posts about the states featured in this series just click on the state name: Alabama
Although we left Tok, Alaska almost a month ago, our memories of Alaska will never leave us. Here, in no particular order, are a few photos of some of our favorite places and adventures.
Our favorite place was Oceanside RV Park in Haines, Alaska where we could sit and watch for whales, watch eagles fly by, and watch the ferries and cruise ships sail by.
Cocktail hour whale watching with Ted and Ruthy
Bald Eagle at Chilcoot Lake State Park, Haines, AK
Deadliest Catch!
The most exciting and most memorable experience of the entire trip was the South Face McKinley flight-seeing tour and landing on Ruth Glacier with Talkeetna Air Taxi.
We went really close to Mt. McKinley
Loving every minute of our time on Ruth glacier
We loved all of the boat trips we took.
Whale Pectoral Fin on day trip to Juneau
Stellar Sea Lions on day trip to Juneau
Seeing ice calving on Aialik Glacier on the Kenai Fjords trip from Seward
A pair of Orcas on Columbia Glacier tour from Valdez
Sea Otters on Columbia Glacier tour from Valdez
Driving to the Coldfoot, sixty miles north of the Artic Circle was a drive to remember.
Wandering Dawgs at the Arctic Circle
Catching Halibut and watching the sunset in Ninilchik, Alaska.
Four of these fish are ours!
Mount Redoubt Sunset
Denali National Park.
Moose beside the road on the way out of the park
Lukor liked it on top of his house
Beautiful green valley at Polychrome Overlook
Another group of Caribou up on a ridge
Driving the Top of the World Highway, panning for gold, going for a train ride on the Alaska Railroad, watching for wildlife on the side of the road, seeing the Fireweed blooming everywhere, seeing glaciers off in the distance and up close are all highlights of the trip we will never forget.
Every day was memorable, every day was special, every day we saw something spectacular.
Day 69: Tuesday, July 23, 2013. Alaskan Angler RV Park to Deep Creek Beach State Park, Ninilchik, Alaska. About 3 miles traveled.
We broke camp and moved to Deep Creek Beach State Park on the beach in Ninilchik. From our campsite we can see volcanoes, the ocean, and hear the waves crashing on the beach at high tide. I think I’m in heaven!
Our campsite at Deep Creek State ParkView of Mount Redoubt from our campsiteCamping at Deer Creek Beach, Ninilchik, AlaskaMount Redoubt erupted in 2009
The campground is located a short walk down the beach from the boat launch area in one direction and Deep Creek in the other direction. We spotted an eagle in a tree on the bluff across from Deep Creek so I headed down there to get a few pictures. He did a great job of posing for me.
Bald Eagle on Ninilchik BeachThis eagle was perched in a tree on the side of the bluff overlooking Deep CreekSame eagleAnother pose
After I got my fill of watching the eagle we noticed the fishing boats were starting to come in so we walked down to the launch area for a few photos and videos.
We watched them bringing in the boatsSkidders were bringing in the boats non stop
Here is a video of the skidder taking a boat out of the water.
Right after we got back to the campsite I got a call from Ruth Ann that Ted was going out on an afternoon charter so I walked back down to the launch area to see him off.
Ted waiting to board for his Halibut fishing tripTed boarding for his fishing trip. He caught his limit of 2 HalibutHeading out to the fishing grounds
A beautiful, sunny day to fish! Our fishing charter with A Fish Hunt Charters left from here in our RV park. We walked to the office at 6:45 to purchase fishing licenses and then traveled to the beach in a passenger van pulling our boat the Afishhunt II. Karen and Mike from Minnesota rode with us. Jonathan and Kelly met us at the beach. We would be fishing through the slack tide.
When we arrived in the beach the tide was going out and the sea was calm. A big relief to me! We boarded the boat by climbing up a ladder and sat in the cabin while the skidder backed us into the water. Captain Seth headed into Cook Inlet for our 45 minute ride to the fishing spot. We spotted a few sea otters on our way out and enjoyed the view of the volcanoes on the other side of the inlet. The sea was like glass. I couldn’t believe our luck!
After arriving at our fishing spot first mate Joey dropped anchor and gave us a lesson in Halibut fishing 101. The Halibut lie on the bottom of the sea floor so you catch them by bottom fishing. With a huge 5 lb. weight on the line and a baited circle hook, you let out the line until it hits bottom and wait for a nibble. In about 120 feet of water we had to let out a lot of line.
The limit on Halibut is two fish per person per day. If someone catches a fish that is too small, they can throw it back and continue fishing. When you keep a fish, it counts toward your limit. When you reach two, you give up your reel. The average size is around 20 pounds although some were much smaller and some were bigger. They all looked huge to me!
It didn’t take long before people started reeling in fish. Mike was enjoying the sport of catching the fish and also was going for a really big fish so he threw back about 12 before he kept his two. Everyone else threw back a couple before reaching their limit. Except me.
I caught my first fish before Henry caught his first!! It was a pretty good size so I kept it. It takes a while to reel in a big fish with 5 lb weight 120 feet from the bottom! It was hard. Joey was there to grab the line to pull it into the boat and get it off the hook. No question. I was keeping it!
I caught my second fish and turned in my reel before Henry caught his first fish! I grabbed my camera and my sandwich and enjoyed watching the action the rest of the trip. Kelly was hoping for a really big fish and threw back a pretty big one to continue fishing. After throwing back several small ones she was the last one fishing. She kept on going until she got a nice one. By then it was time to head back to the beach.
Our view while we fished was one of the volcanoes across Cook InletMate Joey bringing in one of the fishMy first Halibut!Captain Seth takes a break while Jonathan fishesOne of Henry’s fishKaren and Jonathon realing them inHalibut at the surface before bringing him in the boatCaptain Seth holding one of Henry’s fish
Getting out of the water is the reverse of being launched. The skidder backs the trailer into the water and the captain drives onto the trailer. The skidder pulls up to the beach, unhooks the trailer and goes off to get the next boat. It all happens really fast. We climbed down the ladder to the beach where our friends Ted and Ruth Ann were waiting to greet us. The excited fishermen piled into the van to go back to the campground for pictures and the cleaning of the fish.
Back on the beach after a great day of fishingFour of these fish are ours!With our fellow fishermen Mike, Jonothan, Kelly, and KarenMate Joey and a helper working on the fishCaptain Seth cleaning one of the fish in the front while mate Joey works on another one
A perfect day! Beautiful weather, calm seas, excellent crew, fun fellow fisherman. It was great.
Henry and I had 24.2 lbs of filets between us. We kept some and had the rest vacuum sealed, frozen and shipped home.
Ted and Ruth joined us for dinner. We followed Seth’s recommendation of dipping the fish in butter, wrapping it in foil with lemon and garlic and seasoning, and cooking it on the grill. Henry cooked it to perfection and I made some more red rice for Ted. A delicious feast to end the day.
Wandering Dawgs 