R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 151
August 24, 2016
Walking the Streets and Cathedral of Granada, Nicaragua
Calle la Calzada, Granada
Our tour’s first stop in Granada, Nicaragua, was for a stroll along the beautiful Calle la Calzada. This pedestrian street is lined with colorful buildings, statuesque street lamps, and tree-shaded benches. We started this stroll near the Guadalupe Church pictured below. This church dates back to the 17th Century, and it was once used as a fortress in 1856 by the infamous American military filibuster William Wallace. If a U.S. citizen wants to truly understand why to...
August 22, 2016
Golden Princess Reaches Nicaragua
San Juan del Sur Panorama
On March 25, 2015, the Golden Princess arrived at our next destination — the smallish fishing village of San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, on the narrow Isthmus of Rivas that separates Lake Nicaragua from the Pacific Ocean.
San Juan del Sur
Quaint San Juan del Sur has a population of less than 16,000. For our purposes this day it served as a jumping off point for a tour northbound that would include a trip to Granada and a boat ride on the 19th largest lake in the world,...
August 19, 2016
U.S. Fire Arms Mfg. Co. — A Look at the Premier “Colt” Model 1873 Single Action
U.S.F.A. Rodeo chambered in .45 Colt
Fans of my blog posts on firearms (by far my most popular) have probably guessed by now that I’ve recently been on a Western kick, most notably with Winchester lever action rifles and copies, and clones of the 1873 Colt Single Action revolver:
Winchester Rifles — Part 1 Winchester Rifles — Part 2 Firearms — Television Westerns from the 1950s Six Shooter Week — Uberti 1873 El Patrón Competition Six Shooter Week — Ruger Single-Six Convertible Fun Photo Frid...August 17, 2016
One Last Glimpse of Alaska and Her Glaciers
Today I present my longest (10:45) and most ambitious video to date. In order you’ll see:
0:20 Mark — Margerie Glacier in Glacier Bay, includes: An impressive ice calving event at the 1:50 mark and another at 2:02 2:15 Mark — Images of the Norwegian Sun transiting Glacier Bay with additional glaciers 3:42 Mark — Norwegian Sun’s sunset transit past the majestic mountains of Wrangell – St. Elias National Park with stunning images of snow-capped mountains bathed in the reddish glow of a sett...August 15, 2016
Departing Glacier Bay Aboard the Norwegian Sun
Wrangell–St. Elias
The Norwegian Sun sailed back out through the John Hopkins Inlet. Once again we passed by both the John Hopkins and Lamplugh glaciers.
John Hopkins Glacier
Glacier Bay
Lamplugh Glacier
One fun photo subject are the mini icebergs dotting the bay. Many seem to magically take on the shape of animals.
Mini Iceberg
Our next stop was Hubbard Glacier, which will star in my next blog post. Until then, I’m going to leave you with some images taken after we left Hubbard Glacier and c...
August 12, 2016
Fun Photo Friday — Portage Glacier Favorites
Frozen in Time
Below is today’s gallery of Portage Glacier favorites. I hope you enjoyed this brief stop on our Alaskan tour.
Filed under: Fun Photo Friday, Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, vacation Tagged: Alaska, Alaska cruise, Fun Photo Friday, Norwegian Sun, photography, Portage Glacier, R. Doug Wicker, travel, travel photography, vacation
August 10, 2016
Cruising Portage Lake and Getting Close to Portage Glacier
Statues of Ice (310mm)
The MV Ptarmigan gets very close to Portage Glacier, much closer that the Norwegian Sun got to either Margerie or Hubbard.
Beautiful blues (330mm)
This proximity allows for some spectacular closeups of glacial ice and its incredible bluish tints.
Beautiful blues (330mm)
Just how close did we get? Most of the photos below were taken at the 35mm equivalent of between 150 and 200mm. Some were shot at an equivalent of 330mm, and only one was taken at my Panasonic FZ1000’s m...
August 8, 2016
Traveling the Kenai Peninsula to Portage Glacier
Portage Glacier at the south end of Portage Lake
We disembarked from the Norwegian Sun at Seward, Alaska, on Monday, June 6. Our good friends Al and Lisa Fittipaldi, Ursula, and I snagged our rather expensive rental and started the drive north along the Kenai Peninsula headed for Anchorage. But we had two stops to make along the way. One stop was a detour to Whittier — charming, but not worth an entire blog post. Before Whittier, however, we would stop at the Begich, Boggs Visitor Center on P...
August 5, 2016
Fun Photo Friday — Hubbard Glacier Favorites
Falling Ice along a six-mile wide glacial wall
Today I present some of my favorite photos of the Hubbard Glacier. Here’s today’s slide show:
Filed under: Fun Photo Friday, Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, vacation Tagged: Alaska, Alaska cruise, Fun Photo Friday, glaciers, Hubbard Glacier, Norwegian Sun, photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, travel photography, vacation
August 3, 2016
Norwegian Sun Continues at Hubbard Glacier
Mount Seattle in background — 10,070 feet/3,069 meters
Hubbard Glacier is an active, advancing sheet of ice. Icebergs breaking off the face of Hubbard Glacier and crashing into Disenchantment Bay can exceed ten stories. You’ll see a video I took of one such event next week.
Wall of Blue
The ice at the face of Hubbard Glacier took some 400 years to arrive here, much of it originating some 76 miles/122 kilometers away from its present location.
Hubbard Glacier
This primary source for Hubbard Gl...
