Transportation in Thailand

You may remember an earlier post that talked about a trip to Thailand.  After the wedding was over we still had a couple of days to enjoy the area.  So we drove to a nearby town, about an hour away, and found a little fishing village.  This photo is of the fishermen bringing in the day's catch.  It was in the early afternoon, and the temperature was in the 80s, but it was January so wool caps and gloves were in order.

We wanted to get to a nearby park and the easiest way was by boat.  So we asked these guys to give us a ride over.  We were a large group so we split into two boats.  We were dropped off on a sandy beach with a promise they would be back a few hours later.

Part two, tomorrow.

White Nights in Alaska

The white nights is something I had never experienced and I wanted to see what it was like for the sun to never set.  So off we went to Alaska during the last week of June.  About a week into our trip we made our way toward Denali National Park.  Stopping off at Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge, we were hoping to see a great view of Denali from the back patio of the hotel.  

Well, the view was stunning, but the cloud cover made it impossible to see the mountain.  But happily we continued to enjoy the scenery.  Slowly the cloud cover was starting to break and we waited to see if we could catch a glimpse of the great mountain nearby.  Afterall, we had traveled a long way for this sight.  

But while we had traveled a long way, our travels weren't exactly strenuous.  So I couldn't figure out why I was so tired.  Eventually I started heading back to my room and snapped a couple photos on the way.  When I looked at the captured photos on my camera display, the time stamp displayed.  This photo was taken shortly after 2:30am.

And that is the beauty of the white nights in Alaska.

Wild Flowers and Wild Horses

There are things that I love finding when out exploring.  Wild flowers are included at the top of the list.  These flowers were found in northeast Arizona, near the four corners area.  There's something to be said for something beautiful in an area that isn't classically pretty when examined at a micro level. I love the color of these flowers... such a vibrant coral color.

But wild horses are the best!  These horses are the first wild horses I had ever photographed.  There is something so beautiful about the horses roaming the country side, completely free.  This was a small group, less than 6, that would stick together often.  The rangers at a nearby National Park knew of the horses and would tell stories about them, but each horse was described by color or gender.  They had no names defining them.

Seward, Alaska

Seward, Alaska is just a few hours from Anchorage, Alaska and is a common end point for cruise ships, trains and cars.  So given the inaccessibility of many places in Alaska, this one has many transportation options.  

Another claim to fame for this town is the use of the site to rescue and rehabilitate the animals after the Exxon Valdez oil spill.  So the harbor was someplace that I really wanted to visit.  And I'm glad we did.  Off in the distance we could see this family of otters floating on their backs and playing in the harbor water.