Family man, food/wine/craft beer, travels, the arts, NASA/astronomy, Ohio native/Ohio State alumnus, believer, perfusionist/cardiac surgery/ECMO, views mine. đź’™
Joined October 2015
- Tweets 19,961
- Following 586
- Followers 4,163
- Likes 45,108
1,830 Photos and videos
Denali is cloudless only 5% of the time; the morning I flew 80 miles to it was pure blue skies. 4 couples in the Piper Chieftain meant I sat in the co-pilot’s seat. Amazing views from 12,000 feet of Denali, Kahiltna Glacier, & surrounding peaks. Also saw the climber’s base camp!
5
1
26
845
Denali National Park and Preserve. 6M acres. Spent 2 days here, including a bus ride 40 miles into the park. Lots of wildlife plus majestic scenery. Pristine wilderness. Got a great view of Mount Denali when the clouds dispersed. Not to be missed!
7
29
802
On the way to Denali State Park is Talkeetna, Alaska. It’s a small eclectic community with interesting shops, places to eat, and an informative museum dedicated to early history of this area. It’s worth a stop. You’ve gotta try some of the local fireweed ice cream!
3
18
300
North of Anchorage off highway 1 is the Eklutna Historical Park, an ancient Athabaskan settlement that blends Native Alaskan and Russian Orthodox cultures. In this old graveyard families built colorful spirit houses for their dead, then left to slowly return to nature.
1
10
175
Anchorage is the starting point for more adventures. View of the city from Earthquake Park, commemorating the 1964 earthquake that was so devastating to many parts of Alaska. A nice place to learn of its history and take a long walk on paths through the foliage.
1
10
238
Traveling by bus northward from Seward we go around the eastern end of the Turnagain Arm of the Cook Inlet. This arm has the largest tides in the US, up to 40 feet! We stop at the Alyeska Resort in Girdwood, to ride the tram for a terrific view of the area. It’s cold up there!
14
334
Toasting an end to a wonderful cruise to Alaska with Viking, with this very nice Second Growth from the ship’s bottle selections. 2017 Château Léoville Barton, which pairs just right with my lamb shank entree (and the crab mac & cheese). Tomorrow, northward we go! Cheers!!
4
1
44
2,086
A 6-hour boat ride from Seward & Resurrection Bay to Aialik Bay in the Kenai Fjords. A amazing zoological display of an abundance of wildlife, the most of our trip to Alaska. A pod of Orcas off the starboard side, oh my! So cool.
4
1
20
647
So there’s a bar on the boat. I’ll have a bourbon on the rocks please. Can you use 400 year old glacial ice?
6
1
70
2,615
I’ve not seen anything like this. 7 miles wide, extending into the mountains 70 miles, & a 300 foot towering face! Looks great from the ship 7 miles away. From a small boat 1/4 mile from it’s crazy. So impressive. Witnessed occasional ice calving, amazing! The Hubbard Glacier!
3
1
48
1,227
If you’re ever in Skagway, Alaska, DO NOT MISS the 3-hour train ride that’s “White Pass Summit by vintage rail car”. A leisurely ride in the mountains that ascends to 3000 feet. Spectacular scenery. Worth your time!
6
6
54
1,429
Went fishing for halibut in Juneau. A very nice 5-hour excursion. Sadly I didn’t catch one of the fish, but the boat ride was great. Happened upon a large colony of sea lions, and that was really cool. A fun way to spend the day.
4
37
595
Dinner at the Chef’s Table on Viking Venus. A set dinner that changes every 2 days. Multi-cultural themed dinners with wine pairings. The food very good and the scenery from the window constantly changing. Quite nice!
5
1
53
2,447
When you’re in Alaska in the middle of nowhere, and there’s a crab shack………..
12
4
85
1,431
A welcoming ambassador to Icy Straight Point, Hoonah, Alaska!
4
2
36
610
Icy Straight Point at Hoonah, Alaska. Docked for the afternoon. What a great place to take a boat ride to see Humpback whales!
2
35
577
Leaving Wrangell, Alaska a brief area of mist casts this magnificent triple rainbow off the starboard side of the ship while we were enjoying dinner!
3
28
624