Leaving Vancouver…Headed for San Francisco

September 2026
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Joe Benning

Leaving Vancouver...Headed for San Francisco

Hello Everyone

We are on our way back to San Francisco from Vancouver where we saw some spectacular skies on the way in, hiked in an old growth forest and got a visit from Bob and Barbara. And we will be back in Spring Lake on Saturday. Here are some photos from the Vancouver part of the trip.

Joe

Verdent Forest

Tree Felled by Lightning

Skyscraper in Vancouver

Mary Anne is not Happy with the Forest

Sea and Sky

Old Growth Forest in Lighthouse Park

Inside Passage at Dusk

Explosion of Green

Dusk

Bob and Barbara

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Joe Benning

Alaska Continued...

Hello Everyone

We are in the home stretch. We spent the last several days in Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan where our activities include nature hikes in rain forests, going up to the summit of the Coastal Mountains on a train, sailing along in a Fjord, and whale watching. We saw sea lions, whales and a grizzly bear—in the wild. Here are lots of photos. No picture of the bear though.

Joe

At the summit of the coastal mountains, Skagway Alaska

Train Through the Mountain

Train Rounds Mountain Bend

High in the Coastal Mountains, Skagway Alaska

Coastal Mountains, Skagway

Along the Coastal Mountains in Skagway Alaska

Bridge over Taiya River

Along the Coastal Mountains in Skagway Alaska

Fjord by Skagway Alaska

Mountain Stream in Skagway, Alaska

Fjord by Skagway, Alaska USA

Diving Humpback Whale

Fog Rolling into the Rain Forest

A Waterfall in a Fjord

Fog Rolling into the Fjord

A Turn in the Fjord

Fog Rolling into the Rain Forest

Whale Watching Boat

Humpback Whale

Diving Humpback Whale

Humpback Whale Diving

Pectoral Fins and Tail of Submerged Humpback Whale

Swimming Whale

Sea Lion

Barking Sea Lion

Stream in the Rain Forest

Rain Forest

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Joe Benning

Glacier Bay, Alaska

Hello Everybody

We are in the home stretch, sailing through Glacier Bay in Alaska where it’s cold, gray and snowy. But, we have seen plenty of glaciers. The size of these things, and the way they move, is simply incredible. The photos here include Margerie Glacier —a giant river of ice—that moves 7 feet a day. This glacier is 250 feet high–the equivalent height of a 25 story building.

Tomorrow we will be making our way to Skagway where we will do some whale watching.

Joe

Snow and Ice

Blue Glacier with Mountains in Background

Glacier Close-up

Pieces of ice in Glacier Bay

Ice in Glacier Bay

Glacier with Mountains in Background

Afternoon fog rolls in over the Fairweather Mountains

Up Close to a Tidewater Glacier

Margerie Glacier

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Joe Benning

Hubbard Bay

Hello Everybody

We sailed through Hubbard Bay today and got up close to a massive glacier. You have to see it to believe it. Here are some photos–but they don’t really show the scale of the glacier–the icy blue part at the bottom of the mountain.

Joe

Getting Close to the Glacier

Leaving Hubbard Bay Glacier

Hubbard Bay Glacier

Glacier in Hubbard Bay

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Joe Benning

Seward, Alaska

We spent today in Seward, Alaska where the weather alternated between rainy and sunny. Now we are on our way to Glacier Bay, where we will be out of satellite range for a couple of days. Anyway, here are some photos of Seward, taken at different times of day and different weather and lighting conditions.

Joe

Seward Harbor with the fog rolling in

Foggy Seward Port in Black and White

Snowy Hilltops by Seward Harbor

Cruise Ship in Foggy Harbor

Seward Fishing Boats with Cruise Ship in the Background

Loon

Fishing Boats of Seward

Seward Alaska

Leaving Seward

Sailing out of Seward Alaska

Outside Seward Harbor Early Evening

Seward in our Wake

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Joe Benning

Kodiak Alaska

We visited Kodiak Alaska–the second largest island in the U.S.–along with its spectacular coastline and forests; its nature refuge, Kodiak bears, and its huge fleet of fishing boats. By the way, Kodiak bears can grow up to 10 feet tall and weigh 1,400 pounds. Fortunately we didn’t bump into any of these bears while hiking in the forest. Anyway, here are some photos from Kodiak.

We are now sailing away from Kodiak and on to Seward where we will arrive tommorrow.

Joe

Forest in Kodiak Alaska Refuge

Gurgling Brook in State Park, Kodiak Alaska

Brook in the Forest

Driftwood

Lake Gertrude

Pacific Coast of Alaska

Kodiak Hills

Leaving Kodiak

Alaskan Coast

Alaskan Coast LIne

Forest in Kodiak Alaska Refuge

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Joe Benning

Back in the USA

We have docked at the port of Dutch Harbor, at Amaknak island, one of the Aleutians. Here are some photos, including photos with storm clouds forming.

Joe

Grand Aleutian Hotel

Hills on Amaknak Island, Alaska

Dutch Harbor Port in the Morning

Dutch Harbor Port

Foreboding Clouds at Sea

Storm Clouds Gather

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Joe Benning

Back in the USSR

We have just docked at Petropavlovsk after sailing from Sakhalin Island. Here are some photos.

Joe

Chekov Memorial on Sakhalin Island

Houses on the Mountain

Mountains of Petropavlovsk, Russia

Houses Built on the Side of the Mountain, Petropavlovsk

Park by Chekov Museum, Korsakov, Russia

St Nikolaus Rectory

Sakhalin Regional Museum housed in the building of the former Japanese Bank, Hokkaido Takushoku

St. Nikolaus Russian Orthodox Church, Sakhalin Island, Russia

Hills of Petropavlovskk

Mountain Houses

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Joe Benning

The Land of the Rising Sun

Hello Everyone…Leaving Japan

Decent Internet access has returned now that we have left Japanese waters. We still don’t know exactly what the problem was. Anyway, leaving that aside, we lucked out again, this time missing by about 2 days the earthquakes that struck southern Japan. We have lots of photos from Japan, including shots taken in Aomori, Otaru, Fukuoka and, of course, Tokyo. Some are posted here.

Joe

Young Lovers in Japanese Garden

Japanese Women in Kimonos

Welcome to Tokyo: A view from the ship

Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine

Trader in the Park

Tokyo as seen from the pier on a cloudy day

Tokyo from the Pier at Night

Shrine

Shinto Shrine in Kamakura, Japan

Saki Wall at the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine

Giant Buddha, Kamakura Japan

Entrance to Shrine

Buddhist Cemetery

Buddhist Cemetery, Aomori, Japan

Bridge to Japanese Gardens

Boy Playing by Waterfall Pool in Tenjin Park

Box Office

Buddhist Cemetery

Approaching the Rainbow Bridge on a Cloudy Day

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Trip Update

Hello everybody
We can do some posts like this–but we can’t upload photos– apparently because the Peoples Republic of China is blocking certain types of Wi-Fi uploads. So it may be a while before we get out of their range.

Later comrades 🙂

Joe

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Internet Bandwidth

Hi Everybody

We will have limited internet bandwidth until after April 17 because of local regulations with respect to Wi-Fi, so it may be a while until we can post photos.

Joe

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Joe Benning