How I’ve Spent My Summer and a Lesson Learned

Early fall in Bend……beautiful

Since it is now Oct. 2 and fall weather has blown into Bend, I guess I better scurry along on the review of how I spent my summer.  Don’t worry, I’ll be briefish and will illustrate with lots of photos.

But first, I learned an important personal lesson this summer. R and I are volunteering for a congressional campaign. I applaud anyone and everyone who volunteers for a campaign, fulfilling their civic duty.  We’ve worked on a fundraiser, including attending meetings, generating lists of attendees, communicating with the campaign. Other times we handed out literature and buttons, at events and while marching and protesting and also entered tedious fundraising data — lots and lots of data, multiple times. And donated money and asked others to donate. While I believe deeply in this candidate  and will be canvassing for her and working to get out the vote, you know what…..volunteering for a campaign isn’t very interesting to me and it is lots of …grunt work. Though we both feel satisfied that we’ve volunteered, R really likes it better than I do. Nonetheless, Go Jamie!

What was interesting about summer…..

We both love music, especially concerts in the summer. The season started with a trip to Portland to hear James Taylor and his fabulous band at the Moda Center. 

Bad photo of James but he and the band sounded great. I love seeing older performers rock.

The Taylor concert was followed by concerts in Bend, including Jackson Browne, Steve Martin & Martin Short and the Steep Canyon Rangers, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow as well as listening to our grandniece perform on the kids’ stage at 4 Peaks. In September we headed to the Sisters Folk Festival for the first time.

Steve Martin with his band. Another poor photo but a great performance

We also kayaked and kayaked……

Kayaking with Lynne. Beautiful, isn’t it?

Cycled around, including on López Island, WA

The man planning our cycling route

We protested and campaigned and visited family. We served food at a homeless shelter and donated food to a pantry.

We made new friends, lost some friends, remembered those who passed and appreciated those we still have.  We traveled, to San Juan Islands, Victoria, BC, Vancouver, BC and parts of Alaska.

Stunning Alaska. See it soon. Climate change is harming this special place. 

We read and discussed books and played mahjongg, laughed, cried especially while watching the brave Dr. Ford and grieved for women everywhere. I guess it was a full summer. Now on to fall…..and then winter.

But first a final political note…..

Last Minute Booking + Low Expectations = A Pretty Good Trip

A meadow of wildflowers, Mendenhall Glacier in the distance…….what natural beauty

We booked a north bound Alaskan cruise, Vancouver to Seward at the last minute, just six days before departure. Having visited Alaska 20 years before, we sort of knew what to expect and came with a specific list of what we hoped to see — bears, whales, glaciers, sea otters and possibly puffins.

We also traveled with quite low expectations. While Holland America cruise line was not our first choice, we booked that cruise line because the ship spends the day in Glacier Bay National Park, a must see for us.

Overall, we enjoyed our trip but holding low expectations really made the trip.

Highlights —

While the locals complained that the sun had been MIA for almost a month, we experienced wonderful sunny, but chilly weather in Juneau.  Since August is a little late in the season for whale spotting, we weren’t sure we’d see whales. Happily, we were wrong.

Auke Harbor, Juneau. I could watch whales everyday.

When the whales weren’t putting on their whale show, the dazzling scenery, especially the clouds, kept the 16 of us on the boat exhaling “ahhhhhhh” as we gazed at the beauty.

Auke Harbor, Juneau

A Day in Glacier Bay —

At the entrance to Glacier Bay National Park, three park rangers boarded our Holland America ship. While one ranger, over a loud speaker, discussed the park’s history, geological changes, the impact of climate change, and pointed out the magnificent sights, two other rangers helped those of us on the decks spot wildlife.

While the glaciers are receding and ever changing, the bay is still stunning. Our photos can’t do the park justice.

In Seward, AK, the last stop on the cruise, we boarded a small ship for a five hour cruise of the Kenai Fjords National Park. That day was filled with adorable sea otters, sweet puffins, and views of the Harding Ice Field.

I love all otters, but these little guys were especially endearing.

Harding Ice Field

Next up, a quick review of life aboard the ship, including a summary of my food struggles.

But where did summer go?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of Vistas and Bears

A beautiful Ketchikan rainforest and the location for viewing bears — from a platform!

Outside the weather is foggy, drippy, and chilly, perfect weather for a cruise through the beautiful inside passage. As our ship glides past small wooded island after island, I step outside on our little balcony, attempting to capture the scene with my camera. The sky and water are perfectly matched in color, a gloomy shade of gray. My small camera is no match for this Alaskan landscape.

Twenty years ago, we took this same cruise, though we remember little of the passage. Alaska is vast, its size prohibiting meaningful overviews and instead begging small, curated views.

After much debate surrounding a small ship cruise versus a bigger ship versus staying on land only or figuring out a combination of the two, we opted for a somewhat big ship and a few days on land — all booked at the last minute. Prior to booking, we were specific regarding what we wanted to see — bears, eagles, moose, otters, whales of course, and glacier bay.  So far we think we made a good choice.

A black bear eating salmon.

A mama bear with cub looking for salmon.  Cub is about seven months old.

Later today, we’ll visit Juneau and watch whales. More to come.