Alaska, Day Seven-A, Skagway

 

Before one goes exploring, one must have coffee.

Eureka!*  We found it!

And amazing cinnamon rolls.

* "No, Eleanor. We are not in Eureka.  That's in Northern California."  "Oh, I see.  You understand the meaning of the word eureka...

I FOUND IT!"

Infirmary Mound and Blogtober Day Three

 I didn't realize until yesterday, October 2nd that Blogtober was happening.  Coastal Ripples mentioned it.  So I decided I would give it a try again this year.

In comments on Friday Fave Fives,  a couple of people asked why Infirmary Mound used the word 'infirmary'.  I didn't know.  What did I do?  I looked it up.

Evidently, in 1850 a Poor House was established at that location. Later, the name was changed to The Infirmary.  Why was the word mound added to it?  It is also the site of an ancient burial mound built by an Ancient Native American culture.  There are many mounds all over the state of Ohio.  In fact, just 3.5 miles from Willow's Cottage there is a UNESCO World Heritage Site called Great Circle Earthworks and Museum.

So that's why the park is called Infirmary Mound Park.

A few photos from the years we have walked and hiked there. (The park is 316 acres!)

The actual burial mound is not very high any more due to centuries of erosion from farming and plowing done there.

The Fairy Trail is located there...

I could post dozens more photos of the fairy trail, but I don't want to bore you.  If you want to view more, THIS LINK will take you to a post I wrote in 2021 about the Infirmary Mound Fairy Trail.

First October Faves

 Now I'm convinced that Fall is truly here.  It's October!  And it's Friday.  It has been an active week and I have hardly even been on my computer much.  Time to hit a pause button and relax a bit and think about the blessings of this week.  Friday Faves Fives is my way to do that.

1.  I am thankful for sunrises and sunsets.  In a book that my Art Girls friends and I are reading, the author reminds us to notice how God shows us every day the beauty of His creation.  We have decided to share our sunrise and sunset photos with each other.  I sent them this one which I know I have posted here before.

2.  I am also thankful for rainy days.  Like today.  The rain replenishes our ground and garden so I don't have to water it.   There is something about rainy days that makes me feel it is okay to relax a bit.  Tea and a book and my knitting.

3.  I am thankful for my Art Girls friends.  Years ago, we all five lived in the same town in California and enjoyed our times together painting, knitting, discussing books, visiting art museums.  Then three of us moved away.  But we still maintain our friendships via texts and zoom meetings

4.  Two hikes this week with Mia and the dogs.  One of the hikes was at the county park Infirmary Mound.  The area is quite hilly and much is covered with forest.  There's a lake which we walked around.  Two or three miles here is definitely a workout.  This photo doesn't show just how high the hill was where we were standing.

5.  I am thankful that my daughter-in-law Jennifer  (PAL's mom) encouraged me to join Well Read Mom book club.  I am reading books that I would never have added to my list.  This month's read is So Big by Edna Ferber.  I am enjoying it and I don't think I would have ever read this book if the book club hadn't chosen it for the October read.

I hope you have found time this week to relax and remind yourself of the beauty around you.

Falling for Fall Faves!

 It's late Friday evening.  I'm late posting Friday Fave Fives.  (follow the link to join us!)  But it's still Friday...  we had another busy week here at Willow's Cottage.  Right now as I am writing this, the sun has set and we are sitting around our firepit enjoying our first autumn bonfire.

Here are my Fave Fives for this week:

1.  It's FALL!  AUTUMN is my favorite season of the year in Ohio.  What's better than a warm cup of coffee in a cup decorated for fall?

2.  I enjoyed a morning with Mia my nurse daughter at one of our favorite coffee shops.  Coffee and knitting.  That's the best way to spend a morning.  Eleanor joined us and convinced me to purchase her a yummy coffee cake.  I told her she had to take it home and share it with The Professor, which she did.

3.  Another wonderful way to spend a morning is to get  ourwalking exercise of three miles with Mia and our grandson Liam and the grand-dogs.  Liam had Monday off from high school and Mia wasn't working a twelve hour shift at the hospital.  And the weather wasn't raining.  And another morning, The Professor and I walked with Mia and the dogs.  All in all, the walks were great exercise and a great time with our daughter.  And a bonus was spotting a deer in the woods along the path.

4.  The house trim and facia painting is finished!  I really need to get a photo of the new blue shutters and front door.  We are very happy with the color we chose.  And our friend did a beautiful job.

5.  Last Sunday The Professor and I met our friend Thuy who flew in from Oregon to do the Walk for Sarcoma with other friends who have survived this horrid cancer although they have suffered the loss of one or both of their legs.  We know some of the women in the photo because they were members of the US Amputee Women's Soccer Team.  Our connection is that Thuy, who we have known for more than twenty years because she worked at the high school where Mia was a student, was one of the coaches for the team.  These women are heroes and we were honored to walk with them to help raise money for Sarcoma cancer research.  (Do you know what sarcoma cancer is?  If not, click this LINK to learn about it)

That's it for Willow's Week.  Was your week filled with blessings, too?  

Alaska, Day Six

 Early in the morning, the host of our Air-BnB drove us to the ferry terminal on the other side of the bay.  Where were we headed on the ferry?  Skagway!

The Alaska Maritime Highway System is a ferry service that takes cars, trucks and passengers around the southern coastal area of Alaska.  Our voyage from Juneau to Skagway took about five and a half hours.

What does one do on a five and a half hour ferry ride?  Stand outside in the bow of the boat and take photos!  Are you ready for a total photo overload?

Eleanor was so excited!

I could never get bored with the beautiful views.  Blue sea.  Craggy snow capped mountains.  Forests of evergreen trees.

Leaving Juneau.  The ferry terminal is north of Downtown, nearer the airport.

Passing the area where the Shrine of St. Therese is.

    

 Sentinel Island Lighthouse in the Gastineau Channel

Built in 1901 and activated in March 1902 to provide safety for all the Klondike Gold Rushers navigating the inside passage.

We continued sailing north and came upon another lighthouse about thirty miles north of Sentinel Island.  Eldred Rock Lighthouse.  Built in 1905 with an octagonal frame.

I won't bore you with the other six photos I took of this beautiful lighthouse.

The ferry system is well run.  And the cafeteria served quite tasty food.  During our times of sitting inside, we met a lovely couple from Israel sitting near us who, like us, travels independently and makes their own plans for transportation and accommodations.  When we were outside or in the cafeteria, they would keep an eye on our luggage, and we did the same for them.  That's another benefit of travel--meeting people we would never encounter in our daily lives.

The only town we stopped at on this ferry route was Haines.  Vehicles and passenger unloaded and others loaded at the ferry terminal which was about four miles from the actual town.

The last leg of our journey was from Haines to Skagway through the Chilkoot Inlet.

Nearing Skagway at the north end of the channel.

We arrived in the afternoon on an unusually sunny day.  We disembarked and made our way along the boardwalks and streets to our hotel room, unloaded our bags and went searching for dinner.

Alaska, Day Five-B

 In the late afternoon, The Professor and I decided to walk up the hills to Cope Park.  Gold Creek, which empties into the ocean channel near the whale fountain, flows from above Downtown Juneau.  Cope Park is bordered on the north side by Gold Creek passing down the mountain.  Seeing the creek was worth the steep walk up to the park.

Where Gold Creek runs down into the channel...

As we walked back to Downtown to eat dinner in one of the wonderful restaurants, we passed these flags which decorated the streets.  Just another beautiful reminder of how proud the people of Alaska are of their 'forty-ninth' state.