Friday, February 8, 2008

Sitka and Good Bye Alaska!

Sept 29

The Ferry continues. Decided to leave Sitka & go on to Washington. As much as I wanted to stay, I just didn't want to stay an entire week in the rain. John is really temperamental these days. If he stays this way I'm going to press on alone. He seems to be getting better. The inside passage is strikingly beautiful. Miles and miles of deep valleys filled with water surrounded by dense spruce covered mountains. I wish the skies were some other color than gray. All my pictures are going to be dull in color. The composition will be fantastic & possibly breathtaking, but the colors will be flat. I am shooting color now. Every time I shoot color, I get nervous. What I need to do is write down exposures & such. Thoughts of what to do with my life consistently fill my thoughts. Where am I going to live? What am I going to do? How will I pay my bills? How can I afford to travel? It's driving me crazy. Do I stay in Minneapolis working two jobs barely surviving? Even with two jobs I may not make enough to pay rent, bills & and repay my college loans.

It was a sad day deciding to leave Alaska. John was really getting tired of the rain and feeling the same pressures as I was regarding his future. We decided to press on. Again, looking back I think we made the right decision. Granted, I have the pictures, journals and memories so I know what is ahead of us in Washington and Oregon. Amazing stuff for sure.

If you have never taken a ferry through the inside passage, you don't know what you are missing. Many will probably think of a cruise ship with fancy food and swimming pools. Not so with the Alaska Ferry. Many, many adventurers use the ferry as a water taxi getting from point A to point B so they experience another adventure. It is relatively cheep and all the adventurers camp out and sleep on the back deck of the ship.

As we sat on the back of the ferry talking with other folks leaving Alaska, we were treated to some astounding views of the islands, valleys, mountains and forests. This was a time where we met many great folks with great stories. It was also a time of great reflection.

With that, I leave you with these photos taken while on the ferry. When you look at them, realize that this is color film. I can't imagine what this would have looked like in the sun or with blue skies. That said, I still find the remarkably accurate of our time in Alaska. Peaceful. Overcast. Stunning beauty.





Good Bye Alaska! Thank you. I'll be back someday.

3 comments:

Jason said...

WOW, Those pics are incredible! Hate to see the Alaskan journey end. No doubt you will return someday.

john Foley said...

Awesome blog, pictures, and fun journal. I'm also humbled and blessed by your friendship and Living Stones being honored on the gnat blog page. Check it out: I even titled my sermon in honor of our breakfast: "A Colossal Love".
Here's to the creator of Alaska and great bike minds like Mr. B!

Guitar Ted said...

Yeah, those pics sure are a dead ringer for black and whites. Something about that sunshine that we all gotta have, isn't there?

A certain sadness here on this post. Must have been a watershed moment in your life there when you left Alaska.