Open Thread – Turn Again
~Beluga Point, Cook Inlet, Alaska It’s an interesting day in Alaska history for one of our favorite bodies of water here in the 49th State. On April 12, 1794 Captain George Vancouver and his ships entered Cook Inlet and discovered it was not a river. I know. You are thinking to yourself, “But April 12th was yesterday.” And technically, you are right. BUT, I am actually sitting here typing this way back in yesterday your time. So for me it’s actually April 12th. And all this is just a fancy justification for the fact that I’m a day late, but…
Open Thread – Windswept
This beautiful icy windswept scene was captured from a pull-out right on the Seward Highway, heading south from Anchorage. This particular spot is called Beluga Point, named for the formerly plentiful beluga whales that could often be spotted from the shore. Now, the animals are rare and the subject of a lawsuit by the State of Alaska to keep them off the endangered species list. They can still occasionally be seen, looking at first like whitecaps out in the frigid waters of Cook Inlet. The views from the Seward Highway are absolutely spectacular, contributing to its official designation as a…
Chuitna Coal Hearing in Kenai Draws a Crowd (updated*)
*A little episode of premature posting. All photos are now here. The “Magic Bus” pulled out of the parking lot in midtown Anchorage packed to the gunwales. People came out on a weekday evening, with the threat of an impending blizzard in Turnagain Pass, knowing they wouldn’t be home until well after midnight, to give public testimony on an issue that will impact every Alaskan, and that most have never heard of. Despite the fact that the specific project addressed by this petition is across Cook Inlet, and local residents of the area only amount to a couple hundred, the ramifications…