North to Alaska

6 August 2023, home

In 36 hours, my next plane takes flight. One of my longer trips - three weeks, covering six parks (including four I've never seen before) - beckons, and the adventures seem more extreme.

My April (kayaking sea caves), May (extreme whitewater rafting), and July (backpacking) trips all had tours that concerned me and worried Sue, so why should this be different? The day after I arrive in Anchorage, I'll fly off to the wilderness for three days of camping in grizzly country. If I survive that, I can look forward to flying above the Arctic Circle, hiking on a glacier, kayaking in wilderness, and flying with the US Mail.

I already have reservations for two more parks in September, leaving me with five to finish. I should knock those off in October... unless fate intervenes. Fate, in the form of our dysfunctional, partisan Congress, where radical members have already threatened to shut down the government if their demands aren't met. Does that mean the parks will shut down, or just the visitor centers? I have no idea.

Just one more stress to add in my worry bucket.

But for now, I've assembled a few more Inspigraphs to share with you.

A few pictures from Mt. Rainier inspired captions. The first pic provided the basis for the title of the second post from the backpack adventure:

Last year at Yosemite, a fallen tree returning to the soil kicked off a theme of the circle of life. A downed tree in Spray Park resurrected that line of thought.

Okay, time for a little whimsy.

Hearing someone talk about how weekends passed so quickly, with another Monday morning ready to grind you up (I used to have times like that!), pushed me to look through my photos from Cataract Canyon to illustrate that concept.