Little House in Southeast Alaska

There is no place like home, and my childhood home in Southeast Alaska is no exception. My folks live in the same place they purchased as young pioneers, moving from California to Alaska in the 1950s. The house was tiny, with an oil stove and chemical toilet. The front yard was comprised of stumps and brush, and the backyard was a rain forest that ran up the mountain to the ice field. The view was spectacular – of the channel, Douglas Island, and the beautiful snow-capped Chilkat Mountains, visible when the clouds lift.

Home Sweet Home - my childhood home is full of wonderful memories

They added on rooms over the years, as three kids were added to the family. Together they built a bathroom, a utility room, a living room, bedrooms, another bathroom, and a mud porch. Now it is a cozy, snug place that is just the right size for two, or a family visit. Additional changes include a highway built in the channel (forming a lake in front of the house), a subdivision in the back of the house, and a beautiful Alaskan garden in the front yard. The spectacular view down channel remains.

Fabulous view down channel

Gardening in Southeast Alaska is a brief, intense activity that takes advantage of long days, lots of rain, and occasional stints of hot, sunny days. Drainage is a major consideration, blue clay soil provides its challenges, and mold strikes soggy plants some years. We had the pleasure of enjoying the fruits of their labor on one of those beautiful, summer days.

Mom's stump	Bluebells
Asteraceae	Petunia
Columbine	Unidentified
Forget-me-nots	Daisies
Starflowers	Iris

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Wildflowers on the Alaska Highway

We saw some beautiful wildflowers on our trip from Anchorage to Skagway. The summer season is brief in Alaska and Western Canada, so flowers put on a short, colorful blitz to accomplish propagation. Many of the plants are miniature, with more energy going to reproduction than height

Here are some of my favorites. The Artemisia was not in bloom, but was fun to see the dwarf version of a familiar plant that grows in California. The tender conifer bough and cones looked so fresh and appealing. The masses of yellow dandelion, pink fireweed, and blue lupine were spectacular.

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)	Chiming Bells (Mertensia paniculata)
Wild Blue Flax (Linum lewisii)	Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium)
Artemisa (Artemisa alaskana)	Arctic Lupine (Lupinus arcticus)
Unidentified – conifer cone	Unidentified – yellow

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Some of these are documented on the Alaska Wildflowers website: http://www.alaskawildflowers.us/

Alaska Adventure – the Alaska Highway

Last June my husband and I had the pleasure of helping our newly married son and daughter-in-law move from Anchorage to Juneau, Alaska. She flew ahead to join my folks in Juneau, and look for an apartment. We packed up a U-Haul truck and their station wagon to drive from Anchorage to Skagway, and then take the Alaska Marine Highway System from Skagway to Juneau. We had last visited Anchorage in 2012 to see our son’s art show (see Memories of Anchorage and the Art Show).

I was enthusiastic about the 750 mile drive, as a chance to spend time together, and see some spectacular Alaskan scenery. We set out, armed with maps, Miss Nuvi (our name for the Garamond GPS), and the Milepost 2014 edition (the classic travel planner that documents Alaska and Western Canada milepost by milepost).

Glacier and spruce forest vista

 

It is hard to beat the sweeping views along the Glenn Highway from Anchorage to Tok, with its glaciers and rivers. According to Alaska Trees and Shrubs (by Leslie A. Viereck and Elbert L. Little, Jr.) this is an open, low growing spruce forest, which includes bogs and is underlain by permafrost. The trees are stunted—a tree with a 2 inch trunk (5 cm.) may be 100 years old. We had dinner at the Eureka Lodge (Milepost 128), and stayed at Nelchina Lodge (Milepost 143.3).

Copper River

 

But then, the scenery from Tok to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, with its big sky and closed spruce hardwood forests, which includes birch, and quaking aspen, is a close rival. We had dinner in Tok at Fast Eddy’s (Milepost 1313), and stayed at Buckshot Betty’s in Beaver Creek, Yukon (Milepost 1202).

Cabin at Buckshot Betty's

 

It started raining as we approached Whitehorse (we saw a double rainbow), and kept raining through the night. We stayed at the High Country Inn in downtown Whitehorse, and had dinner at The Deck right in the hotel (Milepost 918). I have great memories of camping near Whitehorse as a girl, and going into “the big city” for hamburgers at A&W Root Beer.

Kluane Lake

Emerald Lake

 

The high country outside of Whitehorse is also beautiful, with its great sweeping vistas, beautiful lakes, and bracing wind. High country gives way to dense coastal spruce-hemlock forests as you descend into Skagway, the legendary jumping off point to the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898. We walked around Skagway, which was bustling with cruise ship foot traffic, and enjoyed coffee in a Starbucks that shared space with a jewelry store.

Skagway street scene

View from the Skagway ferry terminal in Southeast Alaska

 

We drove our vehicles onto the ferry (expertly guided by the crew), then staked out space in the forward lounge to enjoy the spectacular Southeast Alaska scenery and relax after three days on the road. The terrain is too rocky for a highway, so the marine highway system of ferries and ports is a civilized way to travel. We arrived at the Auke Bay ferry terminal around 9:30 PM (still light), checked into our hotel, and reunited our son with his beautiful bride. Someday I hope we can all make the trip together!

Sundial Bridge in Redding

On our trip to Bend, my husband and I stopped off in Redding, CA to visit the Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay Exploration Park on the Sacramento River. The footbridge is a suspension bridge, and working sundial. It was designed by Spanish architect, Santiago Calatrava, and opened on July 4, 2004.

Entrance to the Park and the footbridge

Sundial Bridge is situated in a lovely forested, riparian area, which is green with beautiful oaks and understory. The landscaping is a great combination of water wise plants and grasses, and the natural riparian plants along the water's edge.

Green oak mixed forest

 

We spent a couple of pleasant hours admiring the architecture, strolling over the bridge, and investigating the construction. We saw many bird nests on the bridge, and many birds in the water and on the shore.

Sundial Bridge casting a shadow

Glass panels - warm by day, and lit by night

 

The Turtle Bay Park offers many recreational opportunities. Day camp and nature programs for kids, a place for pets, trails, an arboretum and botanical garden, museum, coffee bar, and gift shop. It is a great place for locals, and conveniently located off Interstate 5 near Highway 44. Next time I plan to visit the gardens, and view the bridge at night!

Riparian Refuge

Some of us took a family hike at The Old Mill, along the Deschutes River that winds through Bend. Old Mill is the site of Shevlin-Hixon and Brooks-Scanlon lumber mills, which opened in 1916 and operated for nearly 80 years. Since they closed, the land and river have been restored, and the area is now used for recreation, shopping, dining, and entertainment. The brick buildings, with their three distinctive smoke stacks, remain as key structures of the shopping center.


A bank beaver home, overlooking the Deschutes River and The Old Mill

We took the Mill A route (the red hike) which took us north around the Les Schwab Amphitheater, by the dam near Colorado Avenue which is under construction, and south past the Old Mill. The Colorado Dam Safe Passage Project will provide a safe way for kayakers to travel up and down stream.

Colorado Dam Safe Passage Project

We passed by protected riparian areas on both sides of the bank. The marsh teamed with birds, butterflies and other signs of life. We saw a bank beaver home, but no sign of the resident.

Colorful flags

The trails are very popular with hikers, bikers, and runners, and the river is used for various water sports including kayaking. They can also be used for less ambitious activities, like a nice family stroll!

 

Beautiful Bend: 2015

I love to visit my sister, brother-in-law, and nieces and nephews in Bend, Oregon. On two previous visits my nieces, Sarah and Thea, graduated from high school. This year, my nephew, Joe, graduated. As before, family from Alaska, Oregon, and California descended on Bend to attend the ceremony and celebrate this milestone and accomplishment!

Antique farm gear

Recall my sister and brother-in-law are gentlemen farmers, with a 30-acre spread in Eastern Oregon. The place looked beautiful as always. A few  cattle roamed the green acreage and stopped to graze, or rested in the cool dirt during the heat of the day. They have plenty of fresh grass to eat, and fantastic scenery all around.

Happy cows

Late rains, and an early warm season conspired to make Bend especially green and beautiful this year. Even the Bureau of Land Management land that borders the property was green with temporary grasses. At night, frogs chirped their chorus, by day birds. I love the big sky, and puffy clouds.

The BLM land is lush and green this year

We saw beautiful sunsets, and moon rises; and experienced temperate weather by day, with cool temperatures at night. Best of all, we had the chance to catch up on everyone's news, and spend time together. It was a treat to see my brother and folks from Alaska, as well as extended family from all over Oregon. What a great family (and one more graduation to go in a couple of years)!

Sunset view of the Three Sisters

 

Kaiser Pocket Garden in Oakland

Anything that is a distraction while visiting the doctor can be a good thing (don’t get me wrong – I have wonderful doctors)! This small pocket garden in the Oakland medical complex is a great example. It is really just an alleyway that cuts between several building between Howe Street and Piedmont Avenue.

Alleyway transformed into a pocket garden

This alley is different – boasting redwood trees, plants that do well in shade, and a small picnic area. The effect is a cool and calming walkway between two busy streets in a bustling medical center. This may not be the ideal environment for the redwoods, but they seemed to be thriving and growing well.

Clivia miniata (Natal lily, bush lily) - a shade loving native of damp woodlands in South Africa

 

I’ve reported on Kaiser landscaping projects before (see Kaiser Medical Center in Oakland, and Kaiser Meditation Garden in Pleasanton). I like their innovative approach to making something beautiful out of what would otherwise be utilitarian. Good inspiration for all of us.

Young redwoods growing between buildings