Ketchikan has lots of hiking trails, and many of them are close to the town. We went hiking on the Rainbird trail this afternoon. Ketchikan is located in a temperate rainforest, and the Rainbird trail goes through that temperate rainforest ecosystem right to the side of the town. The trail is located in an area that was last logged over 50 years ago, so it does not have the old growth trees, but it is pretty none the less. The northern trailhead warns that the trail is not maintained, and they are not kidding. We lost the trail a couple of times. The southern half of the trail is maintained and is much easier to hike.
Tag Archives: Photography
Alaska State Ferry: Bellingham to Ketchikan
I have started a three week vacation in Alaska, which will involve planes, trains, ships, buses, cars, and perhaps a helicopter and raft. Thirty years ago or so, I cruised the inside passage with my family, but this time I wanted a little more time to see the southeast area and interior. Thus, the cruising will take place on the Alaska State Ferry. I took the ferry from Bellingham, Washington to Ketchikan, Alaska, which is about 38 hours or so of travel. The ferry cruises the inside passage. There was a map in the cafe that shows the route, and in two different places, the route can go either in the open ocean or the inside passage. It is not clear why one is chosen over the other, and the crew (that interacted with the passengers) didn’t even seem to know, but presumably the navigation crew knew. In any event, our route was entirely the inside passage, and a lovely route it was. It was a nice way to travel. I spent the entire time reading and taking photos along the way. Below are some photos I took along the route. Note that basically all of these photos are of British Columbia, Canada and those of the water we passed through.
Comet NEOWISE
Last Thursday after seeing so many fantastic photos of Comet NEOWISE, I made the last minute decision to head to the mountains to try to get some photos for myself. I went to Shenandoah National Park to take photos along Skyline Drive where I could get away from most light pollution and also get a clear horizon view. I also spent two night playing with all the different settings on my extremely high-tech and complicated camera. Even with the owner’s manual, I still was playing around with it. I did finally get a few photos with which I am happy. However, there are still some things I am trying to figure out in terms of how to get photos like others get. Without further ado, here are my photos.
Bellagio, Italy
My final full day in Italy, and Bellagio was the final city to visit. Lake Como is essentially the shape of an upside-down “Y”, and Bellagio sits where the three arms come together. The name came from Latin meaning “two lakes” because it sits between two arms, but really since it sits where all three come together, I think it would have been better named “three lakes” but whatever. Anyway, it is a tiny little village on a steep hillside right on the water. It is a favorite tourist destination, and it is a cute little village to spend a day. Besides being cute, it has amazing views of Lake Como and the surrounding hills. You can even see snow-capped mountains in the distance. Like many towns in the area, the streets are made of river rock, which is not real fun to walk on, but it certainly lends to the charm.
Como, Italy
Bergamo, Italy
Today, my tour group left Verona for Como. We spent a couple of hours in Bergamo along the way. The new area of Bergamo is in the lower (elevation wise) part of the city. The older part of Bergamo is on top of a hill surrounding by a wall because everything old seems to be surrounded by a wall in these parts. I now believe I understand just how much the Romans were all about the walls. Bergamo is a cute little town that has two real important parts. First, it has a gorgeous chapel that is a mausoleum for a rich military man named Bartolomeo Colleoni, who evidently switched sides between Milan and Venice, and importantly is not to be confused with the fictional Corleone family of The Godfather. [Our tour guide was clear on this point.] Second, it was the birthplace of Pope John XXIII, and the cathedral has a permanent exhibit about this including his coffin, but not his body.
Sirmione, Italy
Today, my tour group visited Sirmione, which is a little town at the end of a tiny peninsula in Lago di Garda (Lake Garda). There is a well preserved castle there and an archeological site from the Roman era. There are also many hotels and spas in between. Climbing to the top of the tower of Castello di Sirmione provides amazing views of the lake and surrounding area including the mountains to the north. The archeological ruins appear to be of a pleasure villa at the very end of the peninsula, so it seems the area has been used for the same reason since the Romans.
Verona, Italy
Yesterday, my tour group arrived in Verona, and today I had the whole day to explore it. Verona is a lovely, old city. It has remnants of when it was part of the Roman Empire, and it also has Venetian influences, as well as others. The city is the setting for Romeo and Juliet, and it fully embraces it. [It is also named in the title of The Two Gentlemen of Verona and part of its setting, but the city doesn’t seem to care about that.] According to our guide, Romeo and Juliet seems to be a mix of myth and truth. There were two families who lived here named Cappello and Montecchi, and there may have been teenagers from those families who committed suicide after falling in love. Short stories were written about it, and supposedly Shakespeare used those as starting material. Interesting note, Juliet is very popular here, and people write letters to her, and everyone goes to see a balcony that did not exist before Shakespeare that was supposed to be hers. [Juliet having a balcony seems to be partially a translation issue, as in the play, she was probably opening her window shutters.] Anyway, Romeo doesn’t seem to be nearly as popular as Juliet. Hardly anyone writes him letters. Poor Romeo.
Besides Romeo and Juliet, the old part of Verona is lovely to walk around. The Adige River flows around the old part of the city, and walking along it provides lovely views of the city and surrounding area.
Trieste, Italy
Today my cruise visited Trieste. Trieste is an interesting city. The more touristy area near the water feels far more like central Europe, especially Austria. This makes sense since the area was part of the Austrian empire until after World War II. Further away from the older part of the city, the city loses much of its charm as it looks like a modern European city.
Our group visited an old church on top of a hill close to the city center where there are some Roman ruins. We also visited a Nazi concentration camp, Risiera di San Sabba. I am not posting any photos of that as the visit was a little overwhelming. The we wandered through parts of the older city center with its beautiful buildings.
Caterpillar Conga Line
While on a hike today in Sistiana, Italy, I saw an entire convention of caterpillars. One group was marching in a conga line on top of a wooden fence. The other group was further down the same length of the wooden fence and were gathered together in a mass. I have never seen anything like it. If anyone can identify these caterpillars and state if this is normal behavior, I would be happy to learn about it.