Silver Bay

Went out to Silver Bay to see the whales, sea lions and eagles. Saw all three, but alas and alack, nothing worth shouting about. They were keeping submerged for the most part (well, except for the lone juvenile eagle in the tree) as they swam about the bay. The mountains, however, were displaying their usual spectacular form.

Peace

Mendenhall Glacier

We took what we thought was going to be a day trip up to Juneau to take care of some business. As it turned out, we were caught in a nasty little storm, and had to stay overnight at the splendiferous Super 8 hotel near the airport. And when I write splendiferous, I really mean crappy.
Anywhoo, while waiting for our flight to be cancelled, we drove out to the Mendenhall Glacier a few miles from downtown Juneau and braved the elements to see the magnificent glacier. The sleet, rain, freezing rain, ice chunks, rising wind and the frozen, skating rink-like surface of the parking lot and stairs convinced us to take a look, then get the heck out of there. So we did. Spending time in the emergency room wasn't on our agenda.

The Mendenhall glacier is fed from the Juneau Icefield. The icefield is America's fifth largest, and blankets over 1,500 square miles of land, stretching nearly 85 miles north to south and 45 miles east to west. It feeds 38 large glaciers, including the Mendenhall.

View of the glacier from the observation area.

View from the lakeshore (as far as we dared venture).

Close up of the twisting ice sheet.

Peace

Sitka Light

Often, the light changes dramatically in Sitka. Snowing hard at 7:30 this morning for a few hours, then some sun and a bit of blue sky. About 11:30, the sky darkens again as more snow approaches.

Peace

Happy Thanksgiving!

Expecting another foot of snow last night (we've had 19"so far this month), but it didn't materialize this morning. Walking back from a friends house a few minutes ago (had a coffee tasting this morning!), the sky opened up and the snow started coming down.

 The pile of snow is getting big by the house!

Here comes the snow!

I am blessed to know you my friends, and I miss you all!

Peace

Icicles

The snow has stayed around due to very cold temperatures (for these parts). It got down to about 14 degrees last night, and more snow is expected. Folks say that this is not common for this time of year, so we must be benefiting from global warming!

Peace my friends!

Snow Pics

I went for a stroll up to the muskeg and down into the estuary to see what the first snow looked like. The weather changed about every 15 minutes: wind, snow, sunshine and more snow. Enjoy!

 It takes a lot of time for the muskeg fairies to stack the snowballs on the pine needles.

 Saw this little guy keeping out of the way of most of the snow.

 Snow is heading my way!

 Saw this otter taking a swim by the bridge.

 The estuary at high tide.

 Leads to the artesian well.

 Last of the green grass in the estuary.

Trees leaning precariously towards the river. They probably won't last another season.

Nature's jewelry.

Peace my friends!

First Snow

First snow (that sticks) of the season. We've had some light flurries, but nothing that stayed around. Today was a pleasant surprise.

Heading out  for a walk to the store! The snow is blowing sideways at this point, stinging our faces (my excuse for the blurry pic).

Peace