365 Days to Alaska by Cathy Carr

I've been reading some really good middle grade novels recently.  This was definitely one of them. 

Of course, it doesn't hurt that I love Alaska and am fascinated by bush life.

The settings, characters, and emotions were all really well drawn.  The writings was good.  The author drew me into the story and kept me engaged. 

And I loved the crow.

I will absolutely read more by Cathy Carr. 

Rating: 4.5 stars. 

Cover:  Lovely

Frederick Sound and Stephens Passage, Alaska

If you're on an Alaska cruise and your captain or cruise director is kind enough to tell you when you'll be sailing through Frederick Sound and Stephens Passage, get out on deck beforehand and stay out the whole time.  You may see nothing but beautiful scenery.  Or...if the weather is decent and luck is with you, you may see lots of whales!  It's a common feeding ground for them, so it's not unusual to see some, but this last August we saw more than I'd ever seen before in one place.

Most weren't super close, but there were so many.  They don't live in pods, but they do sometimes travel together while feeding, and we saw three of these big groups of 8, 10, 12 individuals.  Incredible.  Plus various others alone or in pairs.  We saw spouts, humps, tails.  We saw breaches!  And for the first time, I saw fin slapping.  The breaches and fin-slapping were far away, small even in my binoculars, but it was fantastic.

Some pics:

A nice fluke

Blow this up and try to count how many you see.

A humpback's humped back

Breaching

For tips on having your own budget adventures in Alaska, read my travel guides:

Cruising Alaska on a Budget; A Cruise and Port Guide
Hiking Alaska from Cruise Ports; Hikes, Walks, and Strolls

     

Humpback Whales off Vancouver Island

On our August Alaskan cruise, we saw quite a few whales.  One of the best days was our first at-sea day out of Seattle, cruising up the west side of Vancouver Island.  It was beautiful.  

We also saw a parade of sunfish, which are strange creatures that look like dead shark heads floating by (no good picture, sorry).

If you go, spend a lot of time on deck with camera/binoculars.  You may be lucky like us, you may not.  But you'll never know if you don't sit outside watching.  

For tips on having your own budget adventures in Alaska, read my travel guides:

Cruising Alaska on a Budget; A Cruise and Port Guide
Hiking Alaska from Cruise Ports; Hikes, Walks, and Strolls

My Writing Published in 2019

Here's a roundup of my fiction and non-fiction published in 2019:

"Salvage Operations" in Leading Edge Issue 13 

The leader of an unsustainably small space colony must weigh the value of peace vs population.  

And that cover art?  Done for my story!

"Foreign Bodies" reprinted in Deep Magic Spring 2019

A medical mystery set on the same ill-fated space colony as "Salvage Operations."

"Night Watchman" in Hippocampus May 2019

An essay about the night watchman in town where I lived in Mexico.

"The Hot Dog Strand" in THEMA Summer 2019

A short story about a strained friendship, plots of revenge...and a hot dog stand.

Hiking Alaska from Cruise Ports; Hikes, Walks, & Strolls

A guidebook for anyone who wants to lose themselves--very temporarily--in the extreme beauty of Alaska.  

Purposely Bad Worldbuilding:  Mini Contest #43 winner at On the Premises

This is a fun bit of microfiction I wrote with the express purpose of being the worst 75 words they read.  And don't worry, winning this sort of contest for terrible writing is a compliment.  You have to know what you're doing to write this bad.

"Radish Hunting" in Animal Uprising
Another tale set on the distant colony of New Eden, where a pregnant woman longing for beef turns her eyes on the resident "unicorns."   

"The People Upstairs" at Twenty-Two Twenty-Eight, November 2019

A nice bit of flash fiction I don't want to spoil for you.  Read it free.  

    

Gavan Hill Trail, Sitka

This summer in Sitka, Alaska, I'd planned to take the Indian River trail, but the info people told me there were too many bears at the moment to make it prudent to hike alone...without bear spray.  So I disappointedly decided to take the Gavan Hill Trail instead.  What a happy turn of events!  I LOVED it. 

Getting to the beginning of the actual trail was flattish and pretty (and rainy):

Then started the stairs, so humbly:

Then a little less humbly:

Then a few not-stairs:

Then some boardwalk stairs: 

And some ropes to help you:

And finally, the reward (well, in addition to the rewards of the climb itself and the beautiful greenery): 

It would have been even more stunning on a blue-sky day, but I liked the misty effect too, and my pictures don't really do it justice. 

I was going to be late meeting my party back in town, so I unfortunately couldn't go further, but next time I would love to. 

On the way back down, I tried counting stairs (and stair-like things, and stone steps).  I think I got to about 1800.  Fantastic day! 

Highly recommended trail. But...if you don't like stairs, you might not like it. 

If you go:

-Stairs.  Lots and lots of stairs.
-If you want good views, you don't really get them until you climb above the trees.  So, commit. 
-I recommend more than three hours. 
-You can access the trail via the Sitka Cross Trail and I walked with no problem right from downtown.  It's sometimes called the Harbor Mountain Trail, though if you go that far, you'll need even more time. 

For tips on having your own budget adventures in Alaska, read my travel guides:

Cruising Alaska on a Budget; A Cruise and Port Guide
Hiking Alaska from Cruise Ports; Hikes, Walks, and Strolls

Gastineau Peak Hike, Juneau, Alaska

As many times as I've been to Juneau, Alaska, I've never taken the Mt Roberts tram.  It seems rather expensive for what you get ($33 in 2019).  This year in August, however, my mom and I decided we'd splurge.

We took the tram up to the nature center and explored around there a bit.  Here's something to help you visualize the size of a brown bear:

Then we took the Alpine Loop (which, according to my mom, wasn't as easy as I'd promised).  She made it all the way to the cross, however.  Look at those views!

Then we parted ways and I headed uphill toward Gastineau Peak (which comes before the summit of Mt. Roberts).

More nice views:

Salmonberry snack:

Blueberry snack:

Mountain goat:

Beautiful grouse:

Black bear!!! 
He poked around for a long time in those patches of snow.  He even rolled around like a cat.  So cute (from a distance). 

Beautiful valley:

Marmot:
(one of several, and this one came so close I hardly even had to zoom for this picture)

What a fantastic hike!  I'm not sure if I've ever seen more varied and spectacular wildlife on a single hike.  Plus great views, wild berries...and very few people. What a great day.

For tips on having your own budget adventures in Alaska, read my travel guides:

Cruising Alaska on a Budget; A Cruise and Port Guide
Hiking Alaska from Cruise Ports; Hikes, Walks, and Strolls

Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park Visitor Center--Seattle Unit

Of all the museums you can visit in Seattle, this one probably has the longest name.   It's also awesome.

If you're interested in the Klondike Gold Rush or history in general, you'll love this.  And if you're in Seattle on your way to Alaska or the Klondike, just like the gold rushers, this will be of particular interest.  

The museum is extremely well put together.  I especially like how you can follow about six  historical characters' stories from Seattle to the Klondike and the aftermath of the Gold Rush.  I also love the "passport" they give you that you can stamp or do rubbings on at different stations.  The short film is excellent.  There are demonstrations, talks, and even walking tours.  The displays are good.  The signs are full of information about how life really was for these adventurers--not just dry facts and dates.  The museum is big enough to easily hold your attention for a couple of hours (or more), but small enough not to be overwhelming.  Just like its sister museum in Skagway, this is a fantastic place, made even more fantastic by the fact that it's FREE!  If you can, donate a couple of dollars to help support this awesome museum.  

Sobering statistics about who struck it rich in the Klondike (though many people who didn't find any gold at all talked fondly about how it was the biggest adventure of their lives):

Here's the wheel you spin to see if you would have been one of those lucky few:

I struck it rich!

Possible routes to the Klondike, all with pros and cons.  One station challenges you to decide which route you would take.

And here's a simple little packing list.  The Klondike Gold Rush was arguably the thing that turned Seattle into a thriving city.  Provisioning all those gold rushers was quite a boon for the economy.

Just imagine carrying all that up the Chilkoot Pass!  

For more on Skagway, Alaska and the Klondike Gold Rush, check out my article on Go Nomad: "Skagway, Alaska and the Yukon Route Railroad"

For tips on traveling to these places yourself, read my travel guides:

Cruising Alaska on a Budget; A Cruise and Port Guide
Hiking Alaska from Cruise Ports; Hikes, Walks, and Strolls

Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska

From my recent trip to Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska, mid August:

Sheer fjord walls carved by long-ago glaciers

Swimming-pool-blue water, the color caused by current glaciers depositing silt into water

One of the many waterfalls pouring into the fjord

For a bit of perspective, see that tiny-looking white boat on the bottom left?  It's not so tiny.  It's 143 feet long and has cabins for 54 passengers.

Views over the bow

Just another pretty view

Approaching Sawyer Glacier

Sawyer Glacier, impressive in white and blue.

We got far closer this trip than the first time we came. 

So blue and glassy on the far right side that I wonder if there was recently a big calving event there.  

Harbor seals hanging out on the ice.  Yes, those are all seals.

Here's a close-up:

And mountain goats

Sailing out in the afternoon.  A great day!

For more about Alaska...and how to see Tracy Arm for yourself, check out my books:

Cruising Alaska on a Budget; A Cruise and Port Guide
Hiking Alaska from Cruise Ports; Hikes, Walks, and Strolls