A follow up to the Denali post from yesterday. September 2016.
The T -Shirt I Didn’t Buy
Tag: Denali
Alaska – September 9, 2016
My sister and I were lucky we were in the 30% of visitors who can actually see Denali. Our first day it wasn’t visible. The highest peak in North America. This view was taken from the train headed back to Anchorage.
Earth, Air, Water and Fire
Erica V. at WordPress writes about the photo challenge she created- elemental
“For this week’s challenge, explore the classical elements of earth, air, water, and fire. How do you capture something invisible like air, or the movement of water?”
Denali from the train
Rainy windshield
The wind captured by the flag in Florida
Snow and ice Highland Park Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
Falls in Washington with my sister-in-law
Homer Alaska
St. George Island Sunrise
Rushing water in Alaska
Train ride to Denali
Burning Basket in Homer Alaska
Maura running across a field at the farm in Crestline, Ohio
Hard to feel the heat of the desert in a photograph- Arizona
and one of my favorite songs Fantasy by Earth Wind and Fire
New Horizons in Alaska 2016
Horizons- the unpeopled versions
All new horizons in Alaska this September.
My sister and I ‘d never been there before.
The Quest for Sock Yarn in Alaska
Alaskan sock yarn was the quest. And this was the place to find it.
I ‘d researched on the computer from Pittsburgh, prior to our trip.
Knitty Stash is the home of Alaskan Yarn Company , right in Homer, Alaska where we were headed.
Gorgeous hand painted sock yarn with special Alaskan colorway names that invite you to knit your Alaskan experience, right into a pair of socks ( or shawl, cowl, etc) “Our Alaskan color way: Kachemak Bay, Lupine, Arctic Autumn, Northern Lights and Fireweed and Denail Autumn and High Bush Cranberry” You can click here to see what they look like knitted up
Yarn store number three on the great Northwest adventure.
You meet the nicest people. My friend Lisa and I went back on Tuesday night and watched the three women use spinning wheels, turning fiber into yarn.
Meet shop owner Jules and her sweet dog Ruby.
Jules made the knitting artwork out of duct tape with the help of a friend! Weatherproof..
You can see some of the colorways on the wall in this shot. I focused on Jules so the background a bit soft focus.
My quest was satisfied and I mailed some skeins the next day. It was here, waiting for me when I got home. I’ve wound one colorway already. Will keep you posted.
Here are the colors close up, borrowed from Knitty Stash site so you can see how lush they are.
I did not take the yarn photo below, but I wish I had bought all the colors and taken it! Thanks Jules.
p.s. If you missed my 4/27/16 post on The Satisfaction of Sock Knitting you can read it here
Alaska Railroad Conductor
Meet Will H. Our conductor on the train ride from Denali to Anchorage. Army veteran. They even slowed the train so we could photograph Denali and two other mountain ranges which were all completely visible on a beautiful clear day.
Although we are back in NYC and I like to keep the blog in RT, now that computer access/internet is available, I want to post some photos I had in my real camera not iPhone.
And We Thought We Were Lucky to See Denali Yesterday
Today’s iPhone shots taken on the train today
weekly photo challenge:edge of mountain touches sky
Will upload regular camera soon
Train Ride to Denali
Mary and I got a cab to the Anchorage Railroad Depot, checked in our tagged bags, drank a delicious coffee and waited to board the glass roofed train to Denali.
At the start of the train ride there were just nine of us and then 58 joined us at Talkeetna. It’s now the end of the season that started in May.
We decided to get breakfast after an early start
Mary ordered the reindeer/ egg scrambler skillet.
Chef Malachi cooked our breakfasts to perfection! Delicious.
Jerrica tended the bar at the front of the car
Our conductor A.J. He has to get off the train to manually switch the tracks so we could wait on the side as another train passed, going south.
Matthew our excellent server on the left and Crystal our knowledgeable tour guide.
Both of them made it a fun and memorable adventure. The train ride is about eight hours. We didn’t knit or nap, didn’t want to miss a single second.
(Good sports to let me photograph them, thanks!)
We saw a pair of Trumpeter Swans who mate for life.
Their young ones were swimming on their own
After the lunch crowd left the dining car and went back upstairs, I enjoyed a Forest pie with rhubarb, apple, blackberry and strawberries topped with vanilla ice cream. Matt asked if I wanted a lot of whipped cream or a little. 🙂
Everyone was so nice, the scenery so incredible. Andy took a photo of us at the table too, which was great for the memory book, but unfortunately I did not take his pic.
We highly recommend the train tour.