alexandriacardinals

June 25, 2008.  Juneau, the state capital.  I know that because I was a geography major.  I was a geography major because I always thought it was a good idea to know where you are (for no matter where you go, there you are) – and where you’ve been – and where you’re going.

The gang would meet up for dinner every evening – same time, same station – to discuss the day’s events and what we had all been up to.  We had our own dedicated sommelier, because we were just that special.  He had an assistant as well – something to do with our little peccadillos such as wanting our feet washed and our necks and shoulders massaged before dining.  Anyway, they were great guys with great stories about the life and times working on a cruise ship.  Wish I could remember their names.

[Can you imagine how hard it was to keep an eye on Crazy Dave in this place?]

[First stop, Mendenhall Glacier, part of Tongass National Forest, about 12 miles from Juneau.  The visitor center was built in 1962, when you could almost touch the glacier from the “front porch.”  The glacier has receded two miles since then.]

[Mendenhall Lake, created as the glacier recedes.]

[For those who would know her, doesn’t the photographer in the foreground look like Cindy Dale?]

[Pretty impressive – but where we’re standing is where the glacier used to be.]

[“I wish I had a glacier in my backyard!”]

[Perfect weather.]

[Ruthie & Anne checking for Dall sheep on the mountainside.]

[Crazy Dave garnish?]

[Great hiking.  We wish we could have spent more time here.]

[Well, maybe we don’t want to do any more hiking – that’s a bear in the tree!]

[Checking on the bear, who was next to where all the buses are parked!]

[This is Anatoli.  As reported, July 2, 2008: For all you basketball fans, Anatoli is not just famous for having his picture taken with Ruthie.  He is a history teacher at Juneau High School where he taught NBA All-Star, Carlos Boozer.  Carlos was a very good student, he said.  He moved to Juneau from Russia in 1992 and still has a very strong accent.  In the summer, he drives tour buses where he entertains the likes of us with history questions and great humor.  So, I guess it is true that you can see “a Russian” from Alaska.]

[Alaska State Museum in Juneau.]

[Out and about, seeking garnish.]

[As I recall, we climbed a lot of stairs in Juneau.]

[The Governor’s mansion.]

[The state capitol.]

[Looking for Sarah.]

[Always looking to pick up stray animals.]

[The shopping district.]

[Here you can see why there are no roads into Juneau.]

[Bill & I find what we were “shopping” for.]

[Ketchikan will be our next, and last, stop in Alaska.  Then we begin the long trip home.]

OK, the Alaska cruise has taken on a fan base all it’s own (and we’re not done yet) – or so they tell me.  But it was posted merely to fill a void in the home sports season (and to provide an e-diary for the participants and family).  Last night, sports intruded in our lives again.

The girls’ hockey team had their first home game in a while.  Last night we hosted the North Lakes (a/k/a, Pequot Lakes, et al) Lightning.  I think the pre-game consensus was this would be an easy game.  Well, it didn’t quite turn out that way.  As noted on the scoreboard, the game ended in a 2 – 2 tie, in overtime, though we outshot them 40 – 15.  When I got home I had to check Pequot’s record – they were a not so bad 5 – 9, but they were in every game.  The reason – they have an excellent freshman goalie who will keep them in games for the next three years.  She prevented us from scoring on breakaways and point blank shots.  Like a dominant pitcher in softball, a dominant goalie can control a game.

But the game low light was losing another player to injury.  Early in the first period, after a scrum in front of their goalie and after the whistle had blown, Alia Kopischke was knocked to the ice, and suffered what after game reports indicated was a concussion.  We couldn’t believe there was no penalty call.  Kalley Kragenbring has been out two weeks with a concussion and will be out at least another week; Britni DelCastillo was also out with a knee injury (bursa sac).  That’s three starting forwards – in a sport where a lot of teams only play two lines.  It’s not an excuse – as Sgt. Joe Friday would say, “Just the facts, ma’am.”

[Quinn Kragenbring (20) – No. 4 was a good player for the Lightning.]

[Heather Hvezda (22)]

[A flurry, but no goal.  I videoed the 1st 5 minutes, but nothing much happened.  We never really got it going in this game.]

[On the defense, Heather and Shanee’ Herd (40).]

[After Kalley was injured, Taylor Ellingson (24) was moved from defense to center on the line with Rachael Finley (15) and Alia.  After Alia got hurt, freshman Kaila Dewanz played left wing.]

[They scored first when we had a turnover in our own end that allowed an uncontested solo on net.  Shanee’ tied it up on an end-to-end rush from her defense position.]

[Shanee’ and Heather on the attack again.]

[As I recall, this was trying to explain why there was no penalty when Alia got hurt.]

[The Lightning’s young goalie.]

[Madi Houska (12), filling in for Britni, on the line with Shelby Iverson (38) and Becca Illies.]

[And Madi gets a shot off.]

[Rachael on the door step.]

[Careful, Rachael]

[Shelby goes to work.]

[Becca (37), with Shelby have been our hot scorers.]

[This is the future – behind the glass.  It’s great when the young girls come to watch the “old” girls play – and have their heroes.]

[Even young boys come to watch “old” girls play – that’s great, too!]

Melissa Drown scored to give us a 2 – 1 lead going into the 3rd period.  But for some reason, we came out really flat in the final period.  The Lightning scored early to tie the game and generally out-played us the entire period.  The Cards took total control of the overtime, but we couldn’t dent the net.

Also last night, the season-long battered and bruised boys’ hockey team lost 4 – 0 at Little Falls.  A stringer was present at the boys’ basketball game against a 17 – 3 Little Falls team and reported our Cards played their best game he has seen them play this year in winning 73 – 62.  And just when I thought I potentially had a complete posting for the day, the staff photographer uploaded his photos from the girls’ basketball game at Sauk Rapids last night.  So, here, in living color, they are:

[But first, Echo coverage of LT’s 1,000 point night.]

[The Cards built a 30-point lead and then everybody got to play.]

[Cara.  Made two 3’s.  Just what the Super Fans have been calling for.]

[Whitney.  Not catching the cold I just spent three weeks getting over?]

[The fan.  And a ref who apparently abondoned the game?]

[Jess.  In a bad place!]

[LT.  Binding yet another game-induced wound.]

[Jess]

[Dani.  Looking for some friends.]

[Kalley.  Looks good!]

[Kendra.  It’s HER team!]

[The fan.  He deserves a tribute.  And it reminds I have been in this gym before.  The Card boys played Elk River for the section final here several years ago – we should have won.  I remember experiencing extreme envy at the time over Sauk Rapids’ new high school.]

[The JV’s have taken over the game.]

[Kalley was player-of-the-game, with 15 points.]

[Dave took the opportunity during a TV time-out to work on his taxes.]

[Until the next game.]

However, to show our well-roundedness (“I heard that!”), the supervisor and I went to the second lecture at the museum marking the 150th anniversary of the 1862 Dakota (Sioux) Uprising.   The lecturer, Candace Simar, has now written three books on the subject.  The first, Abercrombie Trail, defines the eastern boundary of the conflict as along the stage trail from Minneapolis to Fargo – generally today’s I-94 – an area that includes Alexandria, and Fort Alexandria which was built at the time for the protection of the town people and the settlers.  Minnesota was the newest state in the nation at the time (granted statehood in 1858) – and marked the northwest boundary of the United States.  The Uprising led to the biggest mass execution in the country’s history, 38 Dakota were hanged on December 26, 1862 – a real black mark for the state.

[The supervisor with the author.]

[Well, as long as I was there, the Runestone.]

[Sue Engstrom provides perspective.]

June 24, 2008.  Skagway.

The first thing one does in Skagway is to get off your boat . . .

and get on the White Pass and Yukon Route train out of town.  The town fathers don’t want all these tourists – notice all the other big cruise ships in port – hanging around, clogging up their streets.  So, away we went – destination White Pass Summit, at 2,865 feet of elevation above Skagway, on the Canadian border.  Here’s the train ride:

[Up, up, and away!]

[Tunnel!]

[Early settlers to the area climbed this treacherous route, carrying provisions purchased in Skagway, because they heard White Pass had really good theater.]

[There’s Skagway, and the ocean, far below us now.]

[Not a trip for the faint of heart – which would, incidentally, include me!]

[Late June, but we’ve hit the snow line.]

[There’s Canada.  Pretty nice trip, eh?  A stirring version of “O Canada” was sung by all.  Then we tried to figure out how we were going to get back down.]

[Ray braves the elements for a photo op.]

[Almost back to town, this is Gold Rush Cemetery.  A local legend with a strange sounding name is in there – I’ve since forgotten?]

[Home]

[Time to peruse beautiful downtown Skagway.  For some, that meant shopping . . .]

[For others, that meant seeking a house of libations.]

[We initially compromised by seeing things historical.  Here’s an early White Pass theater buff.]

[Whatta backdrop!]

[Maybe it was Jeff Smith (strange sounding name?) buried in the cemetery?  More likely a competitor?  Oh yeah, his nickname was “Soapy.”  Maybe he was the settler who bathed?]

[Our token totem.]

[At last!  The Skagway Brewing Co.]

[Later, back aboard ship, modeling a new shirt from the above establishment! 🙂 ]

[Our final contribution to the local economy.]

June 23, 2008.  It’s all about glaciers.  We’re off to College Fjord, and Glacier Bay by Skagway.  My kinda stuff.  I’ve never had the slightest interest in “cruising” the Caribbean, or any other place where the idea is to bake in the sun.  This is just incomparable natural beauty.  It’ll knock your socks off – so you may want to consider garters before you start.

[Checking where we’ve been.]

[Ray and Rita, beside themselves with excitement!]

[I know I am!]

[Ray, Rita, and Ruthie just catching some rays as we head for the ICE.]

[Here comes someone who will ultimately become, as the supervisor says, just another one of my “girlfriends.”]

[You’ll just have to wait until the end of this post.]

[Making for the glaciers.]

[The weather was fantastic – with just the amount of chill I prefer.]

[Glacier, dead ahead.]

[Rush hour in the fjord – another boat!]

[Ray & Bill]

[Bill’s scanning the shoreline for bears.]

[There’s the glacier – at the end of the fjord.]

[There’s a feathered creature on that iceberg.  The ship is so big, it’s really hard to establish perspective.  The body of water we’re in is huge.  When we saw bears on the shoreline, they were just dots.]

[Almost there . . .]

[Now we’ll park . . . and watch.]

[Let the “calving” begin!]

[I’m watching a glacier “calve!”  Woo-woo!]

[Bill & Anne]

July 1, 2008: Tom,
I haven’t seen a smile like that on Bill’s face for quite some time. That retirement thing seems to agree with him. I guess you’ve heard that Carl Poleskey is retiring next month.
My new boss is 32 years old. George Carlin has died. My world has been rocked!
~ Greg Noonan
Contractor Industrial Relations Specialist
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Office of the Chief Counsel

[The way out.]

[Our last calf – we requested naming rights.]

[Just like Lake Darling – and I believe the last time I was beardless.]

[So long to College Fjord.]

[Now entering Glacier Bay.]

[A lot tighter in here – you could “almost” reach out and touch the glacier.]

[“This really is some incredible stuff.”]

[The glacier]

[Beautiful!]

[Leaving Glacier Bay.]

[Either a photo of the giant chess set, or the bikini model – this many years later, I really don’t recall.]

[Oh,  it was the background!]

Now, remember that small boat a while back bringing yet another of my “girlfriends?”  Well, here she is, as I wrote it at the time:

July 6, 2008:  Glacier Bay Park Ranger Adriana Cahill, shown here on the deck of the Sapphire Princess with a new “fan,” was the narrator for PBS’s program “Great Lodges of the National Parks,” about Glacier Bay Lodge, interestingly enough.