Roadie: Victoria, British Columbia

View from the Harbour Pathway, Victoria, British Columbia. (7/4/19)

Just as we spent Canada Day in Juneau, Alaska, we spent Independence Day in British Columbia, Canada. It was a very brief stop and the final port of call on our seven day Alaskan cruise. The cruise ship dock is located at Ogden Point, a 35-minute walk to downtown Victoria. As you might expect we were beginning to miss home, but we're still game for a self-guided walking tour of Victoria, British Columbia. Our boat was docked for only 4 hours so it was a nice low-key way to conclude what had been an exciting six days.

Aquatic life beside the cruise ship on our way to Victoria, British Columbia. (7/4/19)

Look closely and you'll find the outline below water of a dolphin that swam
beside the ship. (7/4/19)

A humpback whale exhaling. (7/4/19)

View from our patio of neighborhood to the left of the Ogden Cruise
Ship Terminal. (7/4/19)

View from the Harbour Pathway. (7/4/19)

(7/4/19)

Close-up of sweet peas, a flowering plant, not the vegetable. (7/4/19)

View from the Harbour Pathway. (7/4/19)

One of the garden areas in Beacon Hill Park. (7/4/19)

The British Columbia Parliament Buildings home to the Legislative Assembly
of British Columbia. (7/4/19)

Close-up of giant sequoia outside British Columbia
Parliment. (7/4/19)

Close-up of the Knowledge Totem Pole carved by Coast
Salish artist Cicero August. The pole was originally created for the
 1994 Commonwealth Games. (7/4/19)

(7/4/19)

(7/4/19)

Community garden in James Bay Village area of suburban Victoria,
British Columbia. (7/4/19)

Community garden in James Bay Village suburban Victoria,
British Columbia. (7/4/19)

Roadie: Women's Rights National Historic Park

The Wesleyan Chapel, site of the First Women's Rights Convention in 1848. (10/8/18)

Though less than a sixty minute drive from our home in Rochester, New York, Anne and I had never been to the Women's Rights National Historic Park. During last October's Columbus Day long weekend, we took our day off from work to drive out to nearby Seneca Falls where the "park" is located. As (relative) locals, and residents of the hometown of suffragist Susan B. Anthony, it is easy to overlook local historic sites in one's own backyard, even those with such significance to Unites States History. More a series of interconnected museum displays than a traditional "park" (no hiking shoes required!), there is quite a bit to take in over relatively short square footage that comprises the Visitor's Center and nearby sites. The town of Seneca Falls, the basis for Bedford Falls from It's A Wonderful Life, includes a quaint Main Street with other tourist sites to investigate.

Inside the restored Wesleyan Chapel. (10/8/18)

Declaration Park lies between the Wesleyan Chapel and Visitor's Center. (10/8/18)

The Waterwall on which the entire text of the Declaration of Sentiments 
and it's signers are inscribed. (10/8/18)

Green space at Declaration Park. (10/8/18)

Entrance to the park Visitor's Center at 136 Fall Street
 next to the Wesleyan Church. (10/8/18)

Juliette Gordon Law (right), founder of the Girls Scouts of America. (10/8/18)

Display depicting the history of Girl Scouting. (10/8/18)

Replica of The Declaration of Sentiments. (10/8/18)

(10/8/18)

The First Wave statue exhibit inside the entrance of the visitor's center. (10/8/18)

Me with statues of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Frederick Douglass. (10/8/18)

Displays leading to the second floor of the Visitor's Center.(10/8/18)

A myriad of images, artifacts and media representations 
documenting Women's Rights Movement. (10/8/18)

(10/8/18)

One of many engaging pieces for clarifying
necessity for equity. (10/8/18)

Incredible photography capture reality that these
historic events are not really ancient history. (10/8/18)

These pictures taken during our trip do little justice to the scope and power of the displays and sites at the Women's Rights National Historic Park. Each display includes quite a bit of great reading offering a wide range of perspectives on the Women's Rights Movement from both participants and those impacted. Having recently read and analyzed the Declaration of Sentiments with my students, it really is incredible that it took another 70+ years for women to fully gain the right to vote nationally. The images, statues and site at the Women's Rights park serve as powerful reminders of how far our nation has come relative to delivering equity, and in light of recent political environment, how far there is yet to go.

Roadie: Dawes Glacier, Alaska

Into the Endicott Arm. (7/1/2019)

It's been two weeks since our return from an Alaskan cruise and I am beginning to miss it. On days such as today, where it is forecast to be 90°+ and humid, pictures of our Alaskan trip bring a sense of calm cool. Ironically during our time North, their temperatures were at historic high. When our ship was near the base of the Dawes Glacier (pictured below) we heard what sounded to be an extremely loud thundercrack. It was the ice falling away from the face of the glacier. Given the rate of climate change, and its obvious impact on the world around us, that may very well be the sound the world makes as it dies. Sorry to be a bummer; fortunate we had an opportunity to see it before it diminishes too much more.

Dawes Glacier terminates in the waters of Endicott Arm and together these two sights are classic glacier visits for those travelling to Juneau.

Anne and I up at 6 a.m. to view scenery as the ship heads down 

Endicott Arm to the Dawes Glacier. (7/1/2019)

When turning, many vantage points from all directions came
into view. (7/1/2019)

Seals on ice could be seen on floating ice as we approached the glacier. (7/1/2019)

The deeper the blue hue, the older the ice; that is a very old
piece of ice to the lower left hand corner! (7/1/2019)

Former parts of the Dawes Glacier, now set adrift. (7/1/2019)

The water, full of varying degrees of minerals and other things due to 

glacier melt, seems to change color. (7/1/2019)

Mountains and valleys without end. (7/1/2019)

Dawes Glacier stands over 200 feet tall, with another 250 feet of glacier hidden below water. Tourist ship captains who commonly travel this area are trained to maneuver the ship to make two complete turns on a dime, slowly spinning what he called “doughnuts” so that no matter where you were on the ship, at some point during the spin all guests will be facing the glacier. Our captain was no different, and did an excellent job delivering on his promise.

The Dawes Glacier. (7/1/2019)

Close. (7/1/2019)

Closer. (7/1/2019)

Closest! (7/1/2019)

Making our way back up Endicott Arm
and on to Juneau. (7/1/2019)

(7/1/2019)

Roadie: Glacier Bay National Park

In the background, the Mendenhall Glacier. (7/1/2019)

Don't ever become so jaded that you begin to think that you can see too much incredible natural scenery. After 3+ hours whale watching, we took a quick bus trip to Glacier Bay National Park and Reserve, an American national park located in Southeast Alaska west of Juneau. The park is also part of the Tongass National Forest, a fact which offers a sense as to the size and scope of Tongass--our earlier stop in Ketchikan took us to a different corner of the same rainforest! Still feeling the natural high from the wind, waves and humpback whales, vibing with the glacier and waterfall from a distance was still easy to do.

Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget Falls both of which empty into
Mendenhall Lake. (7/1/2019)

Glacier Bay National Park and Reserve is yet another wonderful
national park. (7/1/2019)

The Mendenhall Glacier... catch it now before its gone. (7/1/2019)

There is a trail that takes one to the base of Nugget Falls, and closer to the Mendenhall Glacier. Given the short amount of time we had in the park--and that those we were traveling with being too tired to take the 2 mile trek, Anne and I opted to view from afar with our family. Like all the national parks and sites we have visited there were many smaller things, in this case lichen and birds, that were as interesting to observe as the park's headliner, the Mendenhall Glacier.

Nugget Falls to the immediate right of the Mendenhall Glacier. (7/1/2019)

My brother-in-law and my brother. (7/1/2019)

(7/1/2019)

The "Tern Stop" was a pick-up/drop-off point for visitors as well
as an indicator of things to come. (7/1/2019)

Arctic tern sitting on its nest with a friend. (7/1/2019)

Arctic tern offering a friendly reminder. (7/1/2019)

(7/1/2019)