First Cruise Ship of the 2013 Season

Today was the start of the 2013 Cruise Ship Season in Juneau!  Our first ship in port was the Carnival Miracle - a whopping 963 feet in length with a capacity for 2,124 passengers. Needless to say, it's a beast of a ship, and you can see it all the way down the Gastineau Channel when it makes its way into port.

​Today's weather was typical for Juneau - and very unfortunate for our eager beaver tourists.  It seems like it's been raining for weeks.  We're in May already, and it's hard to believe it stopped snowing just three days ago. 

I have lots of friends who poke fun when tourists have to experience our bad weather, saying that at least visitors will get the "real picture" of Southeast Alaska.  But I wish our tourists could witness our rare bluebird days and our sunny moments - those times we locals know and love.  Not only is great weather good for boosting the local economy, it's good for the soul.  But for now, our warm hospitality will have to be the trade off.

From far away, the cruise ship looks more like a ​massive building than a seafaring vessel.

The umbrellas were out in full force today.  

View of the stern of the Carnival Miracle.

Awesome Alaska Aurora

Because of a solar event on April 12, the aurora borealis (northern lights) have been off the charts lately! ​The forecast by scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute was set at a level Kp 5, which means high auroral activity.  (I'm pretty sure a level Kp 8 is a sign of the impending apocalypse.)  Juneauites were able to take advantage of the rare occurrence: clear skies!

​Forecast map from the Geophysical Institute.

Here are a few of the shots I took on Saturday from Eagle Beach, 27 miles north of Juneau along the Glacier Highway.  All of my photos were taken on a 30 second exposure with a Canon EOS Rebel T2i.

I accidentally bumped my tripod (a big no-no in aurora ​photography) - and the photo turned out looking like there were two rolling hills in the frame, each with the aurora floating above.  Not a bad mistake if you ask me!

This was my first time seeing reds and purples in the aurora.  What an awesome sight!

​Writing in the sky with the light from my cellphone.

My friend, Becky, photographed the Northern Lights from another vantage point, the North Douglas Boat Launch.  She did an outstanding job capturing the night sky and the reflection of light on the water.

Choose Respect

Juneau's Choose Respect rally on March 28, 2013, was a reminder to us all about the harsh reality of violence against women in Alaska.  According to the 2010 Alaska Victimization Survey, 58 percent of women in Alaska have experienced intimate partner or sexual violence; 47.6 percent have experienced intimate partner violence; and 37.1 percent have experienced sexual violence.  The facts are bone-chilling.  And this tragedy has got to stop.

Alaska Governor Sean Parnell is ​one of very few governors who is focusing on reversing this epidemic.  In 2009, the Parnell administration began the "Choose Respect" statewide movement with a goal of ending the epidemic of domestic violence and sexual assault in Alaska.  In just a few short years, Governor Parnell's initiative has expanded to more than 120 communities across the state.  What was prioritized at the upper echelons of state government can be continued deep down into the fabric of this state. 

We need Alaskans to take a stand.  We need men, women, children... politicians, secretaries, oil execs... hunters, miners, mushers... fishermen, baristas, tour guides... Alaska Native men, village leaders, and elders... to all take a stand.  A stand to Choose Respect.

We need YOU.  Join us.