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Fort Worth’s Parade of Lights
Fort Worth has an annual Parade of Lights, appropriately enough sponsored by TXO Energy. It travels around Sundance Square, the centerpiece of downtown Fort Worth. Quite a nice place, actually, with lots of restaurants, bars and stores. We arrived mid afternoon to avoid the traffic rush, got some local scenery in, and stopped in for a Margarita and snacks.
We paid for reserved seating, simply because we didn’t want to bother with carrying chairs, finding a spot, etc. etc. and that worked out quite nicely. No rush, just get to your seats and enjoy the parade, Here are a few pictures.
Tarrant County Courthouse at sunset
A night view from our seats, looking up
Title sponsor float
Many lights
Snowman in lights
Well lit displays
A guy on his bike (with lights)
Manu guys on one bike, probably “lit up”
Hey, it’s Santa! End of the Parade.
Alaska: Juneau and Seward
We managed to get a few miles walking in during our northbound visit to Juneau. But the southbound trip, as well as the transfer in Seward, was so rainy we didn’t even get off the ship.
We really wanted to find some eagles in Juneau, and took a trip via local bus and walking to the Salmon Hatchery. We were told that the presence of much dying fish attracts eagles. But when we got there there was a sea lion hunting in the sound, so no salmon, and no eagles. Except one juvenile. Until we got back on board, and there, on the shore, one was watching us….
We did have an interesting experience. This area has a lot of Russian influence, and we had a very good lunch at a Russian restaurant. Wish we could remember the name of what we had….
The trip to Juneau has some spectacular scenery
Early morning arrival at Juneau
There, on a shed roof, a juvenile eagle….
A hunting sea lion, searching for prey
Lots of dead fish being collected for disposal
And here are live ones in the pens, trying to get out
Along the docks
Local art work
There, next to the ship, an eagle!
Alaska: Hubbard Glacier
Our cruise took us close to the Hubbard Glacier, through an ever increasing iceberg field. Eventually it reached the face, quite a magnificent sight. But also sounds… you can hear the ice cracking and breaking, and huge pieces calve off with a sound like a cannon. The ice that breaks off is about 400 years old.
The glacier is 76 miles long and 7 miles along the front, and is one of the few that is still advancing. The face of the glacier reaches heights of 300 feet… plus more below water level. It was foggy, rainy and cold but the cloudy conditions actually emphasized the blue. The blue color is caused by the extremely dense ice formations.
Ice bergs are growing in size
Some take on wild shapes
Some carry dirt that is 400 years old
Eerie, being on a boat in the icebergs!
It was cold on deck!
Face of Hubbard Glacier
A different side of the face
Entrance to Russel Fjord
A clloser look at the face
Another view
Alaska: Icy Strait
Icy Strait Point is located on Chichagof Island, 1.5 miles away from the town of Hoonah. It is built around the restored Hoonah Packing company cannery complex. It features beaches, nature trails, museum, boardwalks and docks. It has some of the best whale watching in the state of Alaska, as well as a many bears. And, you can ride the world’s largest zipline, about a mile long and 1,300 feet altitude drop.
We enjoyed an early morning walk through the nature trail, followed by a walk to the old Hoonah town. We were lucky enough to see eagles, including a nest with two chicks. They were just about ready to leave the nest and fun to watch (but hard to photograph!) Also, we watched native artists carving doors for their new Lodge.
Early morning sunrise
Us with ship in background
Mother eagle keeping a watchful eye on her chicks
Eagle, landing
Eagle, master of the skies
Showing the old tools
Carver at work
Kayakers on a trip
One, two, three, four…..
Local plants
Romola found a friend
Ship and cannery museum
Old vs. new
A peaceful lake
1867 Baseball game
At Fort Vancouver, WA there is an interesting re-creation of an 1867 baseball game. It is based on an documented game between the Portland Baseball Club and the Vancouver Occidentals. Teams are in full authentic uniforms, and many spectators are also in period costumes.
The game itself is played in accordance with 1867 rules. That means, no gloves, fly balls may be caught on the first bounce, pitcher throws underhand to the batter and many more differences from today’s game. Here are some images.
The timekeeper arrives
More arrivals
Fans arriving
Mother and child
The scoreboard is set up
Warming up
Team strategy session
The cannon starts the game
It’s a hit!
Fireworks at Fort Vancouver
One of the benefits of volunteering at Fort Vancouver is being able to get a ringside seat for the 4th of July fireworks. No small thing; the annual Fort Vancouver fireworks are rated in the top 10 in the country.
This year, we were asked to also assist in the firewatch, which means outside the fort walls, right near the launch point. In fact, we had to stay clear of the road for fire trucks, if they were needed. What surprised me how much fire was on the ground; all that fireworks and dry grass makes for a good bonfire! But nothing was out of control, and they were quickly suppressed.
We did get a spectacular view of the fireworks. And yes, we were so close we had to wear ear plugs.
Spectacular bursts
Going up!
Truly spectacular
Multiple starbursts
Starburst
Quite a few fires on the ground
Antelope Canyon, Utah
We were scheduled to spend one night in Page, AZ on our trip from Farmington to Zion. When we got there I was surprised to see that we were right next door to Antelope Canyon, someplace I have always wanted to visit. I called to get a reservation (you have to go in with a Navajo guide) and luckily one was available the next morning!
Terrific visit. It was a wild ride in the back of a pickup, 10 minutes at highway speed and 10 minutes through the sand. But it was definitely worth it! Here are a few pictures.
We went to the canyon in one of these pickups
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“Blood Moon” in Dallas
On April 14, 2014 we had a “Blood Moon” in Dallas. This is a total eclipse of the moon, but just the shadow of the edge of the earth. It turns the moon red, causing the term “blood moon”. This is seen by some religious groups as a sign the end is near, other attribute many nasty things to a rather normal phenomenum.
The red light occurs because Earth’s nitrogen-based atmosphere filters out blues, leaving reds, which refract around Earth onto the moon. And if conditions are really favorable, it turns anywhere from bright red to rust-colored.
It was a cold and windy night, and to capture the final red color I needed a long exposure. The wind cause camera shake, and so the last image is somewhat blurry. But you can see — the blood moon.
Earth shadow start to cover the moon….
Further….
Further….
Further….
A bit out of focus, but here it is – the blood moon
Tulip time at the Arboretum
It’s tulip time at the Dallas Arboretum so we joined Stacy and Dallas for a nice picnic lunch and tulip viewing session. We had a great time until rain eventually drove us out. But the colors of the tulips, and the large plantings and layout, were beautiful. Some images:
Contrast between tulips and flowering trees
Varied colors
Singling one out from the group
Pansies hold their own
In honor of my birth country — orange tulip
Unique purple tulip
Red tulip closeup
Green pistils
A lonely white tulip
Inside a tulip
Laninga's Travel Blog 