Nerstrand Big Woods State Park

On Wednesday, I rode down to Nerstrand Big Woods State Park. What drew me there was the waterfall the DNR website mentioned. Unfortunately, with the drought in recent months, the waterfall has become a trickle.  Still, the fall colors were pretty in the afternoon sun.  There were Indian tinker toy plants everywhere, reminding me of childhood field trips.  A large hornet's nest caught my eye. I made sure to steer clear of that!  The picture I took of it was zoomed all the way out with my DSLR lens.

You can read the DNR's pamphlet for more information on the history of the Big Woods in Minnesota.

Autumn Leaves

I decided to take it easy and stick close to home on Tuesday after my jungle gym exercise on Monday.  These are just a few of the lovely leaves gracing the parkway in south Minneapolis. 

Climb, Climb up Sunshine Mountain

 

A panoramic view taken with my iPhone.

No mountains were involved, but that song was the first thing I thought of when I reached the summit of the Mille Lacs Kathio State Park 100ft. fire tower yesterday.  For all the spectacular views, those 137 steps to the top were well worth it!

A zoomed-in view taken with my Nikon DSLR.

It didn't matter which way I looked; the trees were happy and glowing.

Nikon DSLR shot.

View of the fire tower taken with my Nikon DSLR.

I was concerned that my rebuilt knee would be really grumpy after climbing and descending all those stairs.  I took it easy on the way up by taking one flight of stairs at a time and then relaxing on each landing for a minute.  

A sign at the bottom stated that only 6 people were allowed at a time.  You would be right if you think the structure looks a bit spindly.  When I arrived, 6 people were already at the top.  I saw 3 people waiting at the bottom.  Two were waiting to climb, and one lady was waiting for her party at the top to come down.  She wasn't able to climb because she would have severe vertigo on the way down.

Once the group at the top started to descend, the 3 of us started our ascent.  I'm not afraid of heights, but I do have a fear of falling.  Each flight of stairs was reinforced with stiff wire mesh, so I wasn't scared of falling off the side but possibly down one flight.  I kept an iron grip on the railings.

In the little boxy room at the top, there was a lot of shaking due to people climbing and the wind blowing.  Hold it together, Spindly Tower!  I was concerned that all my pictures would be blurry due to the 'bouncy house,' but I needn't have worried.

137 steps up meant 137 steps down.  I steadily descended without any rest stops or mishaps.  I was pooped by the time I reached the bottom and joined my friend on a bench for a little while.  It wasn't until we were ready to leave and I started walking that I realized my legs were like Jell-O.  Dear legs, thank you for letting me know how out of shape I am.  Apparently, they think they need to keep reminding me because my quads have been screaming at me ever since I woke up today. 

Katydid Incognito

 

Katydid did not fly.

Katydid didn't ask why.

Katydid glows so bright.

Katydid by camera light.

Katydid likes the corn.

Katydid tries to keep warm.

Katydid, but did she really?

Katydid, I'm being silly.

~original poem by Elisabeth Howard 2024 

(I know you're impressed.  Ha!)

Bumbling Along

 I love Nyjer flowers and bumblebees.  It's always great when I have both in the backyard.

Looking for the Whales

 Alaska Cruise Trip Day 5 – Juneau

After our interesting morning at the Dawes Glacier, we headed to Juneau to watch whales.  

In Juneau, we boarded the St. Elisabeth (what an excellent name for a boat!) and boated out to the North Pass of the Favorite Channel. 

A few whales were blowing geysers and "tooting their horns" while a dolphin pod frolicked near them.  There were no spectacular breaches, but it was still exciting to see whale tails.  Parts of whale bodies would slide in and out of the water like sci-fi sand creatures.  

The tour guide said the whales winter in Hawaii to have their young and then swim to Alaska for the summer.  It was still early in the season when we were there, so there was not as much marine life to be found.

When I think of whale watching, I think of the A-ha song, We're Looking for the Whales.  I can hear that song in my head when I look at today's featured pic.

Meandering Runoff

   Alaska Cruise Trip Day 5 – Heading out of the Endicott Arm.

Along the way, we saw many places where spring runoff was carving paths down the mountains.

Dawes Glacier

  Alaska Cruise Trip Day 5 – The Dawes Glacier.

Thirty miles from the beginning of the Endicott Arm Fjord, we arrived at the Dawes Glacier.  

Yes, the scenery was beautiful, but I was expecting something else.  TV shows always show zoomed-in views of glaciers, highlighting their majestic size.  But what my eyes showed me when we arrived was a Minnesota shopping mall parking lot at the end of March after a very snowy winter.  Except the "snow" at the glacier wasn't dirty gray with shopping carts sticking out of it.

About the time I was thinking these thoughts, the ship narrator reminded us that we were still half a mile away from the glacier at this, our closest point in the journey.  Our perspective was distorted.  In actuality, that wall of blue glacier is over 600 feet tall and half a mile wide!

As the ship was slowly turning around to leave, we heard cracking noises from the glacier.  One giant piece calved off, and my husband saw it just as it hit the water.  

Blue Beauty

 Alaska Cruise Trip Day 5 – Nearing the Dawes Glacier in the Endicott Arm Fjord.

The sun was out, and the ice was more plentiful the closer we got to the glacier.  This was the view behind us.

Here is a close-up of the chunk of ice floating in the middle of today's scenic view.  It is such a pretty blue color, especially with the sun shining through it.

Side-swiped

     Alaska Cruise Trip Day 5 – Nearing the Dawes Glacier in the Endicott Arm Fjord.

If you look closely at the rocky surface of the mountains, you will see deep scrapes, like they were side-swiped.  Well, they actually were!  Those are the marks the glacier left behind when it passed through this area many moons ago.

Sky and Ice

    Alaska Cruise Trip Day 5 – Nearing the Dawes Glacier in the Endicott Arm Fjord.

There were more and more glacier chunks the closer we got.

Beauty of the Fjord

   Alaska Cruise Trip Day 5 – Nearing the Dawes Glacier in the Endicott Arm Fjord.

As we neared the glacier, the scenery became even more beautiful. The mountains became more rocky, with almost no trees.

Chunky

  Alaska Cruise Trip Day 5 – Approximately 24 miles into the Endicott Arm Fjord.

As we approached the glacier, we saw increasing amounts of glacier flotsam floating in the fjord. This was an especially large chunk with an interesting honeycomb pattern.

Syrupy

 Alaska Cruise Trip Day 5 – Approximately 22.5 miles into the Endicott Arm Fjord.

As we get closer to the Dawes Glacier, the water becomes even more beautiful.  Just this side of frozen, it looks like ribbons of candy.

Reflections

  Alaska Cruise Trip Day 5 – Approximately 7 miles into the Endicott Arm Fjord.

There were breathtaking dual views of the morning sunrise, in the sky, and in the water. The calm, syrupy-cold water was perfect for reflections.

Floating Down the Fjord

 Alaska Cruise Trip Day 5 – At the mouth of the Endicott Arm Fjord.

Thursday's main event started at 4:30am, as we entered the 30-mile-long Endicott Arm Fjord.  I slapped on warm clothes, grabbed a blanket, and went out on our patio to watch the beautiful scenery float by.

The air was crisp, and the water undulated like a vat of syrup instead of splashing.  Fog hovered at various heights.  It was so quiet and peaceful.  This 30-mile trip to the Dawes Glacier was one of the best parts of the trip.  More to come.

Mountain Sunset

 Alaska Cruise Trip Day 4 – Sunset At Sea

Wednesday closes with a beautiful cotton candy sky and blazing sun streaks skipping across the mountains.

Amade

 Alaska Cruise Trip Day 4 – Evening At Sea

The evening entertainment was a theater show called Amade.  Celebrity's description of Amade: "Experience how Mozart and the work of other classical composers inspire, evolve, and connect to modern music."

Farewell Skagway

  Alaska Cruise Trip Day 4 – Skagway, Alaska (still)

Pulling out of port and heading onward to our next destination.

Skagway Small Boat Harbor

 Alaska Cruise Trip Day 4 – Skagway, Alaska (still)

As we returned to the ship, we continued admiring the beautiful snow-capped mountains.

A Beautiful Day in Skagway

 Alaska Cruise Trip Day 4 – Skagway, Alaska (still)

After the train trip, we bummed around Skagway for a while – a small, quaint historic town with buildings from the gold rush era.

Laughton Glacier Trailhead

Alaska Cruise Trip Day 4 – Skagway, Alaska (still)

Still on the White Pass Scenic Railway, northeast of yesterday's blog location, near the Laughton Glacier Trailhead. 

 

Remnant River

 

Alaska Cruise Trip Day 4 – Skagway, Alaska

We pulled into Skagway Wednesday morning and took the White Pass Scenic Railway through the backcountry. This is a view of the East Fork Skagway River. At this point, it looks more like a trickle.

Alaskan Pecker Art

 Alaska Cruise Trip Day 3 – Icy Straight Point (still)

Who knew Alaskan birds were so artistic?

Alaskan Seaweed

  Alaska Cruise Trip Day 3 – Icy Straight Point (still)

Alaskan seaweed looks a lot more interesting than Minnesota seaweed, especially those little airbladders.

Icy Pier

 Alaska Cruise Trip Day 3 – Icy Straight Point (still)

We took the Transporter gondola into town, a small touristy spot with a long beach we walked down.

Icy Straight Point

 Alaska Cruise Trip Day 3 – Icy Straight Point

We docked at Icy Straight Point in Hoonah, AK.  It was drizzling while we were there; the only time it rained on our trip.  We took the Sky Glider gondola to the summit, but since it was so early in the season there wasn't much to do up there.  I read some comments on one site that said the trip to the summit was a 45-minute bus ride before the gondolas were built.  We came back down and took a different gondola into town.  The greenery was amazing due to over 200 inches of precipitation per year.

Mountainous Morning

 Alaska Cruise Trip Day 3 – Alaska

On Tuesday morning, we were finally traveling the waterways between the islands and archipelagos of Alaska, which run parallel to British Columbia, Canada.  According to GPS coordinates, this is a view of a portion of the east side of Baranof Island.  So far, the weather has been absolutely gorgeous.

Rock City

 Alaska Cruise Trip Day 2 – At Sea (still)

The theater performance on Monday night was called Rock City.  It was a cross between a rock concert, Cirque du Soleil, and the cheesy 1980 movie Flash Gordon.  It was fun and entertaining.  

Trading Sun-tanning for Blankets

 Alaska Cruise Trip Day 2 – At Sea (still)

It was bright and sunny on the cruise, but the temperature hung right around 50ºF/10ºC most of the time. I personally love cool weather—just cool enough for a light jacket or hoodie. The ship's pool area provided throw blankets in addition to towels. As you can see in today's image, most people were using ship-provided blankets and/or wearing jackets. There are a few people hanging out in the hot tub, too. 

Melting Pot

 

Alaska Cruise Trip Day 2 – At Sea

One of the things I enjoy about a cruise is the eclectic mix of people aboard. I'm suddenly thrust into the middle of a huge melting pot of people from around the world, each with their own languages, customs, and style of dress. 

The breakfast cafeteria was a madhouse with stations serving traditional breakfasts from several countries. People zipped and zagged from station to station with full plates, and I tried my best not to run into anyone.

More than once, I saw a large group, possibly from China or Japan, sitting together. They would gather finger food on several plates and then serve themselves family-style. One day, we were sitting at a table waiting for the changeover to lunch service.  The kitchen staff were busy loading up the stations with food and had plastic wrap on the outside to keep people from taking food early.  When that same large group came through and saw that there was a huge bowl of lychees at one of the stations, they went crazy.  They ripped through the plastic wrap and started grabbing lychees like it was a gold rush.  It took a while for the kitchen staff to get things back under control again.  The entertaining show was hilarious.

There were a variety of activities for the time we spent at sea. None of them interested us much, but it was fun to walk around, check things out, and take pictures.

All Aboard!

Alaska Cruise Trip Day 1 – Vancouver (still)

After we landed, we took an Uber to the embarkation building.  Three ships were boarding at once!  The line was pretty long, considering approximately 7,300 people were trying to board at the same time.  Surprisingly, the line moved fast.  If only the lines at the DMV would move that fast!

Next Stop–Vancouver

 Alaska Cruise Trip Day 1 – Vancouver

It was beautiful and sunny as we circled for a landing in Vancouver.  As I love bridges, I was enamored with this one crossing the Fraser River.  It's called the North Arm Bridge, and it runs trains up top and bikes and pedestrians underneath.  Vancouver and the surrounding area also have many skyscrapers and highrises.  

Cloudy Skies

It's time I started blogging about the Alaskan cruise we took May 12-19, 2024.  Before the butt crack of dawn Sunday morning, we hopped in an Uber and headed to the airport.  Being the night owl that I am, I was running on 2 hours of sleep, making for an addle-brained traveler.  But I was rewarded with fascinating and beautiful clouds all the way to Vancouver.