Sunday Meditations - Trip to Alaska, the Big Alone, Sketching and Just Being

"All Journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware." Martin Buber
Trip To the Big Alone and Sketching
We're back from a cruise up the Inside Passage to Alaska. I heard the ship naturalist refer to Alaska as the Big Alone, since he pursues a lot of wildlife and adventure travel that has included 2 years alone on a remote Alaskan island. Cruising is not like being alone in the wilderness, as it feels like a floating self contained good sized village moving from point to point. However the scenery was breathtakingly beautiful, silent and serene, taking me back into my center. Nature does that. I do find that taking a journey into nature, even if it's a walk in the yard or to a local park, there is a fulfilling nourishment to be had...

On this cruising journey, I packed my journal, a couple of pens, and very small watercolor set with niji water brush. I happily captured moments here and there. I sketched people, scenery, objects, etc, here are a few of them... The first set includes one of the "mustering" director going through the safety talk, a guitar player, and an audience at one of the many live shows.
The following includes two scenes as we sailed towards Juneau with the bottom one being a quick sketch of the Mendenhall Glacier. I loved the misty cloud veiled mountains and islands, the cool colors and crisp air. The Glacier had many shades of blues and greens and some browns, and definitely has been affected by global warming.
I may post more sketches later, particularly of some town sketches. Parts of them were overly commercial with way too much kitchy stuff, unlike my first Alaska visits some 20 years ago. But by walking and seeking we found the charming less touristy sections, the historical museums, and nature everywhere. I'm determined to get out into our own forests and mountains again on a more regular basis like I used to... as there is something to the falling away of all the unnecessary noise and things and busy-ness that is so refreshing to the soul.

The Beauty of Tracy Arm and Just Being
Our ship went into the Tracy Arm Fjord up to the spectacular Sawyer Glacier, many icebergs floating everywhere. Literally, this was a passage to another world. So here is a You Tube video from ggg11333 on Tracy Arm alone with lovely singing, a very peaceful serene video.



The You Tube video below "Juneau Alaska Icebergs Tracy Arm Adventure Bound" is a nicely made film copyright by William Duris and I like the music too, though I don't know what it is. He shows the glacier about 4 minutes into it and even got northern lights which I didn't see while there. I like that he includes the rain forests and wildlife.