A Day on the Water, Juneau, AK, June 2011

Juneau is an incredible place.

Some people can become claustrophobic given the fact that due to the mountains and water surrounding us, you can’t easily just pick up and leave. However, those same mountains and water provide such an incredible array of things to do and see, with most things being within a 20 minute drive from wherever you are.

Case in point: a halibut fishing trip. Not only did everyone come home with plenty of halibut and enough shrimp for a great dinner, but we saw whales, eagles, beautiful scenery and… a snailfish. It was a completely awesome day. Enjoy the photos!

New York, NY, June 2011

Ah, the City That Never Sleeps. They weren’t kidding when they gave New York City that nickname! Anytime you want anything, you’re pretty much guaranteed to find it if you’re willing to look. Stamps at 10pm? No problem. Hamburger at 6am? No problem. Grasshopper tacos before a Broadway show? NO PROBLEM! (Yes, I ate grasshopper tacos before seeing The Book of Mormon. Want to try the best grasshopper tacos, accompanied by the best guacamole, washed down with the best tequila? Go to Toloache!)

The only other thing I want to say about NYC is about its people. I think they get a bad rap sometimes for appearing to be rude or uncaring. It’s not that they’re rude OR uncaring, there’s just a lot of people in NYC, which means there are a LOT of weirdos. What better way to screen people than to appear uninterested? Once you get past that defense mechanism, NYC’ers are the best. Yeah, there’s a different timing there, mostly rushed, but… it’s all worth it. I thoroughly enjoy New York City and its people every time I go.

Last thing – all of these photos were taken with a point-and-shoot Panasonic DMC-TS2 ruggedized camera. It’s awesome.

Skinner Building Fire, Juneau, AK, August 2004

Anyone else remember where they were when the Skinner Building in downtown Juneau, Alaska, became The Pit?

I remember I’d been out on a hike to Windfall Lake – it was a hot, clear, sunny summer day, with temperatures pushing 80. It was awesome. Then I got home and had a weird message on my answering machine (who uses those anymore?) saying to come downtown. I had no idea what was going on, but as I rounded Norway Point, I noticed a strange haze and starting picking up the smell of smoke. Then I got past the high school and found out really quick what was going on. Luckily, I had my camera with me, so I parked and started taking photos.

It was a weird scene. People gathered anywhere you could see anything, passing rumors about how the entire downtown area was going to burn down because everything is connected by underground wooden pilings, etc. Luckily, that didn’t happen. The Juneau-Douglas Fire Department did a great job of preventing the fire from spreading even to the next building, which was physically connected to the Skinner Building. So while a bad deal, it could have been worse!

Kona, HI, January 2011

I’m going to keep this short: if you’ve never been to Hawaii, go. All the good things you’ve ever heard about it are true. Here’s proof.

Summer 2010

It was a beautiful summer in Southeast Alaska!

To show you just how beautiful it was, here are some random photos taken in Juneau and Haines this year. We had a ton of sunshine, warm weather, and awesome sunsets. There were a few rainy days in there too, of course. We are in a rainforest, after all.

Mt. Roberts, Juneau, AK, June 2010

On Sunday, June 6, 2010, it was sunny and warm here in Juneau and I decided to hike up Mt. Roberts and stop at the tram. I made it to the tram and neither felt like stopping nor going back down the mountain, so I kept going. I made it to the cross (if you’re not familiar with Mt. Roberts, there’s a large cross planted in the ground a decent hike away from the tram) and still neither felt like stopping nor returning to the bottom. This cycle continued until I found myself first on top of Gastineau Peak and then finally, legs burning, on Roberts Peak, 3,819 feet above the world around me. 500 photos and couple of sore legs later, I present the 23 best of the pack below. Enjoy!

Gastineau Channel, Juneau, AK, June 2010

A panoramic view of Gastineau Channel and Douglas Island as seen from from Mt. Roberts.

Roberts Peak 360°, Juneau, AK, June 2010

360 degree view from the very top of Mt. Roberts at 3,819 feet. Gastineau Channel, Gastineau Peak, Last Chance Basin, and Sheep Mountain are visible.

Coachella @ Indio, CA, April 2010

I attended this year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and WOW. People everywhere. 75,000 – 100,000 to be exact. Amazing to see 2x to 3x the population of Juneau all in one place. The people-watching opportunities were equally amazing – for example, I saw a hula-hooping unicorn, a blue man, and a panda bear. And I hadn’t even had anything to drink. Proof of the blue man can be seen below.

The weather was awesome and my burned shoulders are evidence of that. 90 degrees every day, sunshine, and a nice breeze in the evening.

There were a ton of great bands playing, but I won’t go into too much detail here. I’ve written reviews of the three days at Coachella over on the website for CTRL-ALT-Juneau, my radio show (which you should listen to if you like any of the bands that played at Coachella!). Suffice to say it was a great music festival – enjoy the photos!

Mt. Hood, OR, February 2010

I just returned from a short trip to Vancouver, WA, for the sole purpose of getting some snowboard time in at Mt. Hood Meadows.

One word: AWESOME.

This was definitely one of the better personal trips I’ve taken. In fact, I was having so much fun that I didn’t want to come home. Great people, great mountain, great food, great scenery… Couldn’t have asked for more. (Well, maybe a tiny bit of fresh powder would have been nice, but I’m not complaining.)

I did manage to get a 360 degree panorama from about 7,000 feet up Mt. Hood, but it needs a little bit of massaging before I can post it. Keep an eye out for it next week!