Green Island lighthouse

The mists of July

Reall beautiful, eh?

did they forget me?

beware of the rocks!

crashing waves cannot stop the Walkabout

leaving Alaska is difficult

can we get through that small opening?

Shore duty disaster in the mud. John and Buddy had a good laugh!

Hi Folks,  This may be our last blog since internet is really hard to find in British Columbia, as is phone service. We are in the "outback" so to speak, and along with its incredible beauty is remoteness.  We anchor in little inlets and harbors each night, sometimes waiting for calm weather.  The photos are not as magnificent as in Alaska, but there is a huge difference in the weather:  sun and no rain.  We will hopefully sail into Port Townsend on or around the 28th if weather permits. Then the big move to Seattle for a year while John does his work at Seattle U.  It's been the trip of a lifetime, and we both feel sorry to see it end, but realize that our window for doing it was perfect and are so glad to have seen and done it all.  See you soon!

July 4th in Petersburg

Virginia, Doug and Kathlyn from the Penguin

Notice the hot dog at the end!

Big boys have fun, too

It's quite an event here on the 4th of July. They have so many children....fishermen with long nights!  Here are some photos of the two-day event.  The log roll is this afternoon - next post!  What a great spirited little town.

We have enjoyed several days of extraordinary sunny days here in Sitka with nothing to do but to have fun.  We signed up for a jazz cruise to benefit Island Institute, and who was the captain but Rob Sanderson and the gorgeous deckhand, Kai Wallin from PT!  What a great surprise.
The next day we signed up for their eco-tour of surrounding islands, and they pulled out all the stops by ordering every conceivable animal for us to see.  We attended the tiny UU Fellowship meeting, and I had a walk through the most beautiful spot - the Russian cemetery in an old growth forest - which I shall never forget.  We attended two classical concerts in Centennial Hall, and enjoyed the museums, etc. here.

Mama and baby orcas

Mt. Edgecomb

A cormorant party

part of Lazara Island bird sanctuary

Captain Rob

Sitka and background

Sitka Sunset

Kai says hi

John braves ice water to loosen screw

Did you forget about me out here?

OK, what's for dinner?

I miss you, Jan!

Another sunset

A group of sea otters lulling about in the seaweed

Today our transmission arrived so John is installing it now and I am forbidden to take a photo of that!  We will move on to Chatham Straight and hot springs this afternoon.  Love to you all, Carol

Glacier Bay and on to Sitka

Hi Folks,  We are in beautiful Sitka, waiting for our brand new transmission to arrive from Seattle. Yep, it was damaged along the way, so John took out the old one (at great effort and travail) and will install the new one (piece of cake).  So, it's provisioning, laundry, shopping, a concert overlooking the Sitka waters and mountains, and site-seeing for a few days.  Jimmy left us for a flight back to Phoenix and 107 degrees and Stephanie.  We will miss his wonderful presence and help.  We celebrated last night with a huge helping of just-caught-by-our-fisherman neighbor-king salmon and birthday cake.  That boy is going places!
Here are some photos, no particular order but you'll get an idea of the travels.  We are doing really well, and Buddy continues to be a loyal and happy little guy.  No, he never learned to "go" on the boat.  Love to you all,  Carol

Mist and rain in Glacier Bay

Captain Jimmy

Beautiful reflections in flat water

Big bear munching on the low-tide beach

And his friend

Jimmy caught a crab!

Where's my mom?

Jimmy eats his crab!

Noisy eagles waiting for their dinner

Sea lions on Marble Island in Glacier Bay

They smell 

And they yell at each other

 We'll try to post before we leave, but after
that we won't be in contact until Ketchikan again.

Eagles in Hoonah - they are everywhere!