Independence Day Celebrations in Cartago

Demonstrators chant against the the approval of the Central America Free Trade Act Friday during pre-Independence Day celebrations in Cartago, Costa Rica, east of San Jose. Costa Ricans will vote in a referendum Oct. 7 to approve or reject the controversial trade pact with the United States.


Costa Rican president Oscar Arias watches pre-Independence Day festivities Friday in Cartago, Costa Rica. He later gave a speech, highlighting Costa Rica's 186-year Indepencence from Spain, as well as the upcoming CAFTA referendum, Oct. 7.


— Christopher

Downtown San jose, Costa Rica

This downtown pedestrian street runs for about four blocks through the center of San Jose´s governmental complex and near the National Museum. I take the bus to work every day and walk through this to get to the office of the Tico Times.


Temperatures stay between 75 and 80 here in winter (it is early winter right now), and every other day, more or less, we have torrential rains for an hour to two hours.



- Christopher

Downtown Juneau Views

The golden dome and cross of the St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in Juneau, Alaska shimmer as Mt. Jumbo looms in the distance. This 113-year-old church is the oldest continually functioning orthodox church in Alaska. This church played an important role in building a relationship between the native Tlingit clans and the settling Christian community beginning in the late 1800s.

— Christopher

Daaaaaaa.....BEARS, da bears, da bears......

You just gotta love the bears......

Black Bears Stealing the Show At the Glacier Visitor Center

A female black bear catches a sockeye salmon in Steep Creek near the Mendenhall Glacier. She soon disappeared into the bushes to share it with her two young cubs.

The black bears (some cinnamon and some black in color) have been stealing the show lately for all of the cruise ship tourists who visit the glacier. We can count on their appearance pretty much daily on the Steep Creek trail near the visitor center. Some days there are five and most of the days, the mother black bear brings her two one-year-old cubs to the creekside to feed on the spawning sockeye salmon. People love it.


— Christopher

Mt. McGinnis: Steepest Hike Ever, But Breathtaking View

I got off early the other day and decided I would finally scale one of the area mountains that I have wanted to for some time now — Mt. McGinnis. The trail gains nearly 3,500 feet in five miles and was one of the steepest, most difficult hikes I have done (not counting the Inka Trail in Peru). The very tip was clouded over, so I stayed only about 300 feet below the summit to rest and set up for the panoramic shot. I met my friend and coworker, Dan, at the top and we took in the stunning vantage point. All of my muscles ached for at least a few days.

From left to right: A view up the Mendenhall Glacier from the back side of McGinnis; center, the terminus of the glacier flows into Mendenhall Lake and points toward the valley, where most of the 31, 000 residents of Juneau live; to the right in the distance is Douglas Island and Auke Bay.


This is a view from the Mendenhall Valley, where we live. On most days, we can see part of the mountain, and rarely is the summit clear of clouds.

— Christopher

Interested in Photos?

We have had a number of people who expressed interest in Christopher's Alaska photos. If you would like to purchase signed 5X7($6) or 8X10($8) prints, rather than purchase the digital copies online, please contact Christopher at photogchris@yahoo.com to request the print(s) you would like and form of payment. Postage is included.

All of the photos from this blog are available.

Cheers

Bears at the Mendenhall Glacier

A two-year-old cinnamon black bear lies in wait after being chased up a tree by a sow. The mother bear was fishing with her two one-year-old cubs when this young male interfered in their activity near the Steep Creek Trail in Juneau.

As tour guides, Julie and I visit the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center at least three or four times a week, usually more like six. Viewing the glacier is less interesting as the summer goes on. But now that the sockeye salmon are running (to spawn) in Steep Creek, the black bears are out in force. This is a recent development out here in the last week or so. I have seen the mother (sow) with her two year-old cubs feeding on salmon twice in as many days. This happens directly below the elevated boardwalk on Steep Creek. Today the mother chased this young male up into this tree to protect her cubs and then calmly meandered out of sight, only to return to the trail, walk right underneath us (me and about three dozen visitors) and catch an unsuspecting salmon about 30 feet in front of us in the stream. Pretty cool stuff. And, just think, I get to see this nearly every day.

— Christopher

Beads of water accumulate on a blade of grass during a rainy Juneau day.

I was already soaked today while riding home from work, so I stopped to photograph the rain drops accumulating on the plants and blades of tall grass along the bike trail that we ride home each day.

A transient orca surfaces for air while traveling through Stephen's Passage near Juneau, AK.

Julie and I went whale watching with one of our tour groups. They found a group of these orcas that does not travel with the rest of them. Apparently they had just killed a sealion when our boat arrived in the area.


— Christopher

Summer Dogsled Camps in Juneau

The dogs at a summer doglsed training camp near Juneau, AK await being chosen for the 14-dog team to pull a 10-person cart. About 120 dogs — some of which will run the famous Ididerod sled race through the Alaska interior — live at the camp during the summer tourism season.

Most of our drivers don't get to do this trip. They gave me a van and I followed another driver up into the hills near Thane (three miles south of Juneau), where we passed by the ruins of the Alaska-Juneau Mine. The road opens up into this valley about 800 feet above sea level, where people experience the summer training camp for dogs and mushers who will run the Ididerod this year or next.

— Christopher