The first “big excursion” of our 2017 Alaska trip was a guided journey by boat, on foot and by canoe to the Davidson Glacier, a few miles south of Haines. Cheryl found this tour online, and as soon as we
Glacier Point Wilderness Safari (VIDEO)
Hike to Smuggler’s Cove in Skagway, AK
Skagway, once a Klondike gold-rush boomtown, today thrives mainly on tourism. We’d been here twice before on Alaskan cruises, so we’d done many of the day excursions in the area. After spending all day yesterday exploring the downtown Klondike Gold
Laying Low Before Heading North
In the almost two months since we left the Los Angeles area, we’ve been on a steady march up the West Coast. The longest we’ve stayed in any one place during that time was one week, and many of our stays have been only two or three nights. We knew that we needed to be near Seattle for a flight back to Dallas for a few days in early May; we chose that location so that after we returned, we’d be ready to cross the Canadian border for our summer trip to Alaska.
The Washed Ashore Project: Saving the Seas With Amazing Art
We stumbled upon what initially looked to be an unassuming art gallery in Old Town Bandon-by-the-Sea on the southern Oregon coast. Once inside, however, we realized that it was actually much more than that. Huge sculptures filled the space, and when we looked at them closely, we realized that each of them was made from thousands of pieces of trash!
“Ambassadors from Another Time” in Redwood National and State Parks
This past Monday, we continued our exploration of California’s redwood coast (and checked another national park off our list!) at Redwood National and State Parks. John Steinbeck called the redwoods “ambassadors from another time”, and he was right.
Feeling Small on the Avenue of the Giants
One of our “must-sees” in northern California was the tallest living things on earth are the Coast Redwoods, sequoia sempervirens. Sixty-five million years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the planet, groves of these stately trees covered much of the northern hemisphere. The ice age and subsequent changes in climate and topography eliminated most of these giants,
Hiking in Patrick’s Point State Park, California
With heavy rain in the forecast for the next several days, I decided to spend the afternoon exploring nearby Patrick’s Point State Park, a densely tree- and meadow-covered headland that juts into the Pacific Ocean. The entrance to the park is just a few hundred yards down the road from Azalea Glen, so I walked there from our house.
A Trip Back in Time at Historic Wireless Station KPH
We took a photo of the tree tunnel, and then checked out the Art Deco building. Why were all those antennas still here? On the right front of the building, we found our answer. We stumbled on an unassuming door, pulled the handle, and walked 80 years back in time into historic Radio Station KPH.
“Experience Comes from Bad Judgment”: A Nail-Biting Drive Through San Francisco
As I headed into the turn, I remember saying out loud, “I sure hope I don’t regret this.”
Danger, Will Robinson, danger!
Yeah, I regretted it almost immediately.
The Science Behind Pixar & Space Shuttle Endeavour at the California ScienCenter (VIDEO)
This past Saturday, we ventured into downtown LA for the first time to visit the California ScienCenter. In addition to CSC’s permanent exhibits, we were especially interested in the special exhibition “The Science Behind Pixar”, as well as the new pavilion dedicated to the decommissioned Space Shuttle Endeavour, OV-105. The Science Behind Pixar is a fascinating 12,000 sq. ft. interactive exhibition that showcases…