At the end of July every year, one of the greatest shows in aviation starts in Oshkosh, Wisconsin – EAA's AirVenture.  This year I was hoping to have my dad along in tow, but that just didn't work out.  Instead, I went up by myself for "Warbird Friday."  The weather had been somewhat cloudy and rainy f=during the week, but Friday was a gloriously beautiful day with very few clouds in the sky, bright sunshine and unlimited visibility.  A great day to head to an airshow.

Since I was going on Warbird Friday, you can assume that I'm there primarily for the classic military aviation planes.  You'd be right, and my favorites are the WWII aircraft.  It is always a treat to see the B-25s, P-51 Mustangs, and all the other aircraft, but the excitement is seeing them fly.  As part of this year's show, the only flying B-29 in the world would be at this year AirVenture.  FiFi (which I had seen the previous week at DuPage Airport would be flying in the Friday afternoon airshow.  That was something I wanted to see, but little did I know I would have further surprises in store for me.

In addition to the old warbirds, there are plenty of other aircraft to take a look at – commercial, current military, homebuilt, experimental, and other aircraft types.  This year another star attraction besides FiFi was Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

I spent the day looking around at the aricraft, admiring the detail that the planes carries, many of them looking like they just fly a WWII sortie.  I was awestruck by the attention that is given to these aircraft – not from a maintenance perspective because that's a given – but from a reverence to pay homage to the machine and the men who flew them in combat.  The further surprise came later in the day when I got to witness not only FiFi fly, but also an F4 Corsair and a P-38 Lightning.  These planes had been at other AirVentures I have been to, but I never got to see either of these aircraft types fly before.  It was an additional treat for the day.

Overall, I had a great day, as evidenced by the pictures below.  If you have a chance to visit EAA's AirVenture in the future, I would highly recommend it.  Even if you don't fly or have no interest in flying yourself, but have interest as an "aviation enthusiast" you will have a great day (or days as AirVenture is a week long event).

Enjoy the images below.

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Here's another panorama image I just cobbled together.  This is a view of Monaco and the harbor as viewed from Monaco-ville.  I took these images on my last day in town before heading to Nice and then home.  Unfortunately, most of the days I was there were cooler and rainy – not warm and sunny as pictured here.  Off to the left you see some of the old fortifications of Monaco-ville, moving to the expanse of the city-state of Monaco (the most densely populated country in the world) and then the bright waters of the Mediterranean.

Over the walls of the 16th century Spanish fortress of El Morro looking toward Old San Juan.  I was playing with some images and a new photo stitching program and decided to give the panorama view a shot.  The image didn't turn out too bad, I only see one real error in it, but it's still a pretty cool image.  This was the view that Spanish defenders inside El Morro saw if they were facing an attack from land.

So a friend of mine recently asked if I had any pictures from San Juan, and I answered – Yes, I do.  However, I've just been too lazy or busy to put them up.  Well, I'm trying to rectify that now, so here are some images from those few short days on that very pretty island.

I went down to Puerto Rico to help with an iPad deployment, and I was busy for much of the working hours.  Now while I did not have lots of time after work, I would have been able to see some sights in the evenings before the sun went down, however, it was an unusually stormy few days with lightning and thunder that reminded me of home.  Thankfully, the last full day in country I was about to visit Castillo de San Cristobal – a Spanish fort built in the 1600s to defend the landward approaches to San Juan city.  The harbor of San Juan was recognized by the Spanish as a very important anchorage for their merchant ships, so defense was needed.  This massive fort complemented the older fort protecting San Juan harbor – El Morro (built in the 1500s).  The images below show shots of both forts and some shots of old San Juan.  Hope you enjoy.

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Earlier this month, I traveled on business to Europe – Monaco specifically. I was looking forward to it, but when I got there the weather was less than spectacular. I was able to venture around the small principality and took some pictures. Due to work and the resulting problems that arose during the short time I was there, I really didn’t see much outside of the Fairmont Monte Carlo and the Le Meredien hotels. Although the walk between the two was beautiful – against the Mediterranean water front – it was soggy some of the time due to the rain.

During my short stay, I saw Monacoville – where the Prince resides – the Monte-Carlo Casino, and the marina. It’s truly a beautiful area of the world. And if you do go, stop by McCarthy’s Irish Pub for a Guinness!

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In February, I traveled to Las Vegas, NV for a business event. I was part of a team that was supporting some iPad efforts for our largest deployed iPad base. While the days were long, some of us managed to escape in the evenings for some sight-seeing. Here are some images from that week. I’ll try and tag them later.

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I woke up before anyone else and waited for a while before taking a shower and getting ready for the day.  As soon as I was done, I made sure my bags and everything were in order before I headed out the door as my sister and Rusty headed off to work.  I was lucky to avoid paying for a rental car by borrowing one from Rusty’s parents.  They loaned us a Dodge Durango that they had available, so I hopped into that and headed down Seward Highway for Portage, AK.  The drive down was peaceful enough considering there had been a fatal accident on it the day before.  Clouds still loomed over the mountains and at one point a light mist covered the windshield.  The clouds made for some pretty dramatic shots.  I went past most of the turnoffs along the Turnagain Arm because I wanted to get to Portage, do my stuff and then be back in Anchorage to take my sister to lunch.  Soon I was turning down the road that leads to Portage and as I did, the clouds parted slightly and let the sun shine through.

Once in Portage, I visited the Begich, Boggs Visitor Center to get a map of the area and the see the available trails.  While I was there, one ranger was telling a family about an interesting trail while the other ranger told me about a fish watching platform where you could see salmon coming upstream.  After leaving the visitor center, I walked to Lake Portage and took some shots of the surroundings. For some reason I love this valley – it has a little bit of everything.    After viewing the lake, I decided to hike the Byron Glacial trail.

I drove the short way to the trail head and parked.  While there I noticed two things – I was the only one there and would probably be the only person on the trail and there was a sign on a board by the start of the trail warning hikers that there were bears active in the area.  Now, I know that the chances of me running across a bear were minimal, it was still a risk.  But the weight of wanting to hike the trail and set foot on the icepack tilted the scales toward me going.  So, remembering what I had learned earlier in the trip – that the human voice was the best deterrent against a bear attack – I started singing out loud.  It’s safe to say that my singing probably chased pretty much anything away with its paws to its ears, but it worked for the hike out to the end of the trail.  I took some time to admire the view, explore around and take some pictures.  Once I was satisfied, I started to head back, using the same strategy I used coming out.  This worked well until I met a group of seven people on the trail.  They probably heard my bad singing but only said a polite hello as they passed by.  Once out of range, I continued to sing.  Toward the end of the trail I met a family of four who again said nothing about my singing but asked how much further until the end of the trail.  Once past, I continued until I come to the trailhead, signed out on the sheet that rangers could use to try and locate my body and went to the car.

After looking at my cell phone I determined that I had enough time so I headed to the Williwaw Campground area to go to  the fish viewing platform.  At the fish viewing station, I was able to see a couple of salmon trying to make their way upstream.  They were under the platform and were trying to swim against the current.  They made a slow go of it but they progressed.  Other salmon were visible farther down the stream working their way up.  A couple who was watching the salmon spotted me taking pictures and offered that there were more upstream along the path.  I thanked them and then headed down the Williwaw nature trail for a bit, peeking at the stream and taking pictures as I went.  I had the polarizing filter on my camera so I was able to peer through the water to get some good pictures.  Since I didn’t have time to go salmon fishing on this trip, I “caught” some salmon with my camera.  Once I satisfied my craving for photographing salmon, I headed to one of my favorite areas – Moose Flats.  Moose Flats contains a small lake that is bordered by trees both living and dead and has a spectacular view of the mountains behind.  This area is usually so peaceful, and it was again for me today.  The contrast of the living trees with the dead, preserved trees that were killed in the 1964 earthquake are reminders of the cycle of life.  The water is so still that it acts as an almost perfect mirror of the surrounding mountains.  This area just strikes me.

Once I decided to leave, I realized that this was the last of wild Alaska that I would experience during this trip.  I was now heading back to the big city of Anchorage to have lunch with my sister.  Once back in town, I had lunch with my sister, got the tour of where she works and met her boss.  I was also able to spring her for the rest of the day to help me grab some last minute items.  During my trip to her work, I realized that she has made a life for  herself up in Alaska and has worked hard in her job.  She has gained not only the respect of the people that she works with but also the love of Rusty’s folks.  We headed to some shops and then headed downtown.  After accomplishing my purchasing objectives, we headed to Glacier BrewHouse to have a drink.  She had a coke and I had their Imperial Blonde (aka Ice Axe Ale) – it had a little bit if a kick to it (9% alcohol), but it was smooth.  After that, we headed back to her place to grab my bags, head over to her in-laws house for a halibut dinner and conversation and then I was off to the airport.

After unofficially celebrating International Beer Day on Aug 5 with an Alaskan Summer Ale, we prepared for our adventure into Denali.  We were scheduled to leave the McKinley Chalet resort at 7:10 for a seven hour bus ride into the majestic park.  I was really looking forward to this since I was hoping to see a lot of wildlife.  I hoped I wouldn’t be disappointed.

The day started out a little cloudy but  all three of us were filled with excitement and energy to start the day.  We lined up in front of the resort to get on the bus and shortly it arrived.  We all  piled on and took our seats.  This was a full bus with only one seat available, one that the three of us could bounce around to.  Our bus driver/naturalist was very personable and knowledgeable about the park and its inhabitants.  We started through the taiga, the forested area, of the park.  This is the area that is below the tree line and is home to moose and the merlin, a small bird of prey.  The taiga is a heavily forested area of the world that is continuous across the northern continents.  Trees located in Denali are related to those taiga forest trees in Russia, Sweden and Canada.  The first animal that we saw , the willow ptarmigan, was in the taiga.  The willow ptarmigan lives in Denali year round and its feathers change to match the seasons, brownish in spring, summer and fall, white in winter.  Not only does its plumage help to disguise it, but feathers around its feet help to act as show shoes during winter.  As we approached the first rest stop, someone noticed something moving on the river bed below.  It was quickly identified as a porcupine.  This guy looked pretty big from the distance we were at but he was moving with some speed.  As we were looking around, I noticed another form in the distance and my sister confirmed what I was seeing, a grizzly.  The bus driver moved ahead into the rest stop so we could all pile out and take a look at the bear on the river flats below.  Luckily, this rest stop has the only man-made deck in the park.  We were lucky to not only see the bear, most likely a solitary male, from the rest stop deck but also as we drove away on the bus.  As we were leaving the taiga portion of the park we met the cute Arctic ground squirrel.  This little guy was as hyper as you’d expect, and he had his cheeks full with forage that he was storing for winter.

Once out of the trees, we are now in tundra.  This area is treeless and is home to many of the larger animals of Denali – grizzly bears, caribou and dall sheep.  The tundra contains small bushes, many of them berry bushes, and grasses.  These give sustenance to the animals that dwell there.  It was here in the tundra that we saw most of the wildlife that we would see during the day.  The first animal that we saw on the tundra was a caribou on the hills above.  This sighting was followed by a flock of dall sheep high up on the slopes.  The bus driver had to use maximum magnification on her video camera in order for us to see these sheep, otherwise they were just white dots on the green mountainside.  Shortly after the dall sheep spotting, we saw a sow grizzly with two larger cubs.  These bears were foraging for berries that were now in season.  The grizzlies in Denali are more vegetarian than their Alaskan coastal cousins, who have access to salmon.  This does not mean that Denali grizzlies won’t attack or eat meat, but it’s more likely that their diet will consist of mainly grasses and berries.  After spending some time watching the bear family, we continued on to witness nature in action.  Someone spotted a caribou on the river flats below us.  As we watched this caribou it took off in a short sprint; it looked spooked.  One of the eagle eyed riders we had on the bus noticed something else that moved, a wolf.  As the driver used her video camera, we saw that there were multiple wolves and that they were stalking the caribou.  We watched this fascinating display for a while until the caribou moved off and the wolves gave up the pursuit.  As we moved on, we also saw a pair of merlin flying around close to the road.  This small bird of prey hunts in the tundra and must have caught a meal close by since they didn’t want to leave the area as the bus rolled through.

Soon, after some tight turns and narrow passages, we came to the spot where the bus was going to turn around and head back to the entrance of the park.  The road we traveled on is 92 miles long but we only traveled about 60 of those miles.  We turned around at the Toklat River, a glacially formed river that is known as a braided river.  Since this was the mid-way point of our excursion, we also got out and had the ability to hit the restrooms, stretch our legs and see the sights.  During this time, each of us noticed that it was getting hazier in the park – smoke from forest fires to the west and north of the park were filtering in.  The three of us went down to the river and looked at it and the surroundings; we even dipped our hands into the slitly water.  We visited the small visitor’s center that is there and then we boarded the bus to head back.  By now, the three of us were excited by what we had seen so far – but we hoped to see more.  Other riders took the opportunity to doze off – I guess they thought we wouldn’t see anything new.  Well, were they wrong.  We stopped at a small overlook that had a few trails that allowed everyone to admire the view and to take pictures.  This overlook showcased two glacial valleys merging together.  After re-boarding the bus, we looked out for a red fox that someone had spotted, and instead of finding it below the road bed, it was above us on the slope.  We watched this fox dig, burrow and then climb on the rocks.  This fox was much bigger than any of the foxes I’ve seen in the Midwest.  As we drove on, we came across the sow grizzly and her cubs again.  This sighting was interesting because a caribou suddenly darted across the road and into the hills on the other side of the road.  One of the cubs playfully chased after it.  We watched this bear family for a while since most people had hoped to see bears in the park.  We were lucky so far with three separate bear sightings.  The grizzlies were much lower than before, allowing us to get some good pictures of the mother and the cubs.  We were all fascinated not only to see the bears as close as they were but to also see the interaction between them, with one cub staying close to the mother, the other cub being more adventurous.  After visiting this bear family for a while, we continued on, taking in the scenery and looking for more wildlife.

As we moved on, we noticed a caribou on the slope above us, facing away from us.  It was dead still but then moved.  Our driver noted that at this time of year, caribou are perplexed by flies that swarm and bite them.  She said that sometimes caribou can be found on the road since it is cooler and the flies don’t travel there as much.  Sure enough, the caribou made a dash away from us and onto the road.  It ran away and then back at us on the road.  We could hear the clatter of its splayed hooves on the road surface.  This guy actually made a circle around the bus, giving everyone a great view.  We all felt bad that he was being annoyed by the insects but we were grateful for the up-close experience.    After making sure the caribou was safely out of the way, the bus continued on.  We saw more ptarmigan and caribou but nothing spectacular like the grizzlies or the caribou.  As we came back down into the taiga again, our bus driver noticed a form in a dry river bed.  Thinking it was a moose, she slowly backed up so we could all have a look.  Instead of a moose, it was a large dark grizzly. This was our fourth bear sighting!  That pretty much concluded our day as far as wildlife viewing went.

The park itself is beautiful and wild.  This protected environment showcases everything that the wild should be, life uninterrupted and untouched by the hand of man.  Although my experience in the park was great, the true splendor of the surroundings wasn’t evident due to the amount of smoky haze in the air.  My trip might have been a once in a lifetime excursion; it might not have been.  If it was, I will remember it for the rest of my life.  This trip isn’t for everyone, but for the people who want to do it, it’s an adventure that you will never regret.

I’m an official member of the 30% club – I just need my membership card and a ceremonial pin.  You’re probably scratching your head and wondering what I’m talking about.  Well, I saw Denali in all of its splendor as we were on the train north.  Since you’re likely to have only a 30% chance of seeing the mountain, I got lucky on my first try.  Let me tell you a little about this day.

We started out from Anchorage about 8:15 in the morning.  As the day dawned, we hoped for the best but didn’t expect too much.  There are fires burning to the west and north of Denali and smoke has been in and out of the area.  Besides being bad to breathe, smoke can also obscure vision, and each one of us wanted to see “The Great One” – Denali.  The best viewing of Denali is from the Talkeetna area since the mountain is toward the southern portion of the park.  So as we were going up, we all looked from time to time.  Once I looked out, there was nothing and then before you knew it, someone was calling out, “There it is!”  Sure enough, Denali (or Mt. McKinley) was visible, gleaming white in the brilliance of the sun.  I was lucky and persistent enough to be positioned well to get some pretty good shots of the mountain.  This is my first time (and may be my only time) to come to Denali and I was lucky enough to see the mountain.  Others have come numerous times and have not been able to see it.  We were extremely lucky that day!

The trip to Denali was completed by train on the Alaska Railroad.  This train takes about 7 hours to travel from Anchorage to Denali.  You can travel the route faster by car, but you don’t get to see and focus on the same sights.  You’d be worn out from about 5 hours of driving instead of having the luxury to read, converse, sight-see or just sleep as you travel.  Knowing me, I was sight-seeing all the way, baby!  The train trip was great and relaxing, allowing us to see a part of Alaska that’s not available from the road.  The rail cars have assigned seating but you are able to travel to other cars that have observation seats in them.  There are also open areas between the cars that make for excellent picture taking. The train also has a sit down dining car as well as a snack or bistro car.  Since we left shortly after 8 AM, we had breakfast at my sister’s place, but had lunch on the train – pretty good buffalo chili.  As interesting as the trip is, it can get a bit monotonous, so we all dozed off at least once.  I found myself standing for much of the trip in between the cars.  Here, you have the entrance to the car when it is stationary, but when the train is moving this gap creates a partial opening that allows you to see what is going on outside and allows you to take a look up and down the length of the train.  I found this to be exciting as well as a great way to enjoy the warm sun on my face.  I would recommend the method of travel to others who are thinking about heading to Denali.

So the comfortable train service and the clear skies that allowed me to see Denali made this a day to remember.  I hope to someday be able to make this trip again with my family but if not, I know that I have see the Great One and have stared upon its rocky face.

On Monday, I was on my own since my sister and her boyfriend had to work. I had known that before my flight up, so I booked a seat on the Phillips 26 glacier cruise out of Whittier, Alaska. After a good night’s sleep, I said farewell to my sis and headed off down the Turnagain Arm to Portage and the tunnel that connects it to Whittier. As I drove along the Turnagain Arm, I stopped and snapped some photos. As I was nearing Portage, I noticed a car that was parked on the shoulder. A person was standing on the shoulder and was looking at the water. Curious, I stopped and peered out at the water also. To my surprise, I saw a pod of beluga whales swimming up the main channel. I was able to get a few images on my camera – the belugas only look like white or gray humps in the water, but they were special none-the-less. I knew then it was going to be a good day.

The only way to get to Whittier is by boat or car. Boats arrive via the Prince William Sound. Cars have to come through a one-way tunnel. At the top of the hour, cars can go from Portage to Whittier for a $12 toll. At the half hour, cars can go from Whittier to Portage. Oh, by the way, trains use the same tunnel, so your schedule could be screwed by a train either arriving or leaving. I was able to make the 9:30 AM tunnel with no problem and I was shortly in Whittier, which gave me plenty of time to explore the town since I had never been there. Once I parked, I started my explorations around the town which isn’t really that big. I visited the local museum and took in the exhibits. I investigated the abandoned Buckner building (a former military barracks) and noted some of the graffiti. I walked up the roads on the hillside to find a great view of Prince William Sound. Lastly, I hiked some trails that led to several melt water streams merging together to form a creek. Once I followed the creek to where I parked the car, I saw that it was boarding time for the boat.

The Klondike Express is a powered catamaran that plies the placid waters of Prince William Sound, giving tourists a close up view of wildlife, glaciers and the overall majesty of the sound. Once on board and underway, we were served a fish and chips meal while a forest ranger narrated the opening segments of our excursion. We soon understood the differences between suspended, hanging and tidewater glaciers, and we were ready to view. It was a beautiful day on the sound, temperatures in the 60s and full sun, but the ship moving across the water at 46 mph creates a very cool breeze to say the least. As I walked outside, I donned my hoodie and set my camera to capture the sights I would see. There was plenty to look at – we saw birds, lots of sea otters and seals. The glaciers themselves were also very interesting. We got to see some of them, specially the suspended and hanging glaciers from a distance, but the tidewater glaciers were the coolest. We visited two different tidewater glaciers and you could tell when you were getting close, even if you couldn’t have seen them. Small icebergs and brash ice were in the water, signaling that a tidewater glacier was near. As we got closer, the boat slowed down and then finally stopped. As the engine sound died away, you could hear the ice groaning. Since a glacier is simply a river of ice, it is in constant motion even though it might not be apparent to us. It became clearly apparent when a section of the glacier fell away, calving off from the main glacier. With a groaning crack and a crash of ice into the water, the glacier became a little smaller. The visit to the tidewater glaciers was the highlight of the cruise. Soon we were heading back to port in Whittier. After the cruise I headed back to my sister’s place and rested for a few minutes before heading out for dinner to one of my favorite Anchorage establishments, Humpys. If you ever get then chance to to a glacier cruise, take it! It’s too great of an opportunity to let slip through your fingers.