And then the icefields came into view. We thought it was going to be a noneventful day at sea yesterday, with just some necessary arctic clothing vacuuming to complete, but during lunch we noticed some ice chunks floating in the distance. By the time we got back to our cabin, the isolated chunks became more numerous and finally you couldn’t see much water between them.
The captain came on the PA and announced that they were slowing not to look at wildlife (like the day before), but to calculate a navigational route through the icefield. We were approaching Point Barrow at the time, and the captain turned east a bit early to bypass the worst part of the icefield to the north of us.
Just before 10 p.m. we slowed again in another ice field just as Point Barrow came into view. The calm ocean and the sun peeking through a few clouds in the west made for some wonderful photos. If you zoom in, you can make out some of the buildings on Point Barrow – it’s very low-lying with no mountains nearby. Sunsets are getting much later now too.
On Sunday night we were informed by the captain that the passengers include 124 Brits, 94 Germans, and 62 Americans. 13 other countries are represented from Australia and New Zealand to Austria and Canada (which has the 4th highest total – I think it was in the mid-30’s).
We’re officially in the Beaufort Sea today after we passed Point Barrow last night. Not sure what the day will hold, but we’re finding out that days at sea still might hold some dramatic scenery in this rugged area.
It was a day at sea yesterday and our weather angels arrived right on time to clear out the rain from our boarding day. Once again, the captain said he’d never seen it this calm, so he slowed the ship and we all watched whales for several hours (another first for the captain). I should explain that the captain has only done this trip once before, but he said we saw more whales yesterday than were seen on the entire first cruise (which wasn’t hard, because that number was zero). The sunrise was beautiful and the seas were calm all day.
According to the naturalists on board, we saw a total of 4 types of whales during the day and they were pretty excited about the experience. We also passed close to Russia – that photo in the upper-right above is of the two Diomede Islands (the one of the left is in the U.S. and the one of the right is in Russia). We were within about 20 miles of the mainland of Russia later in the day and could see the landmass as clearly as these islands.
We’re just off the northwest coast of Alaska and moving at about 15 miles per hour. We’re told we have 5 days at sea before our first landing.
There’s a little moisture out today so we’ll see if the weather angels take the day off or not. No pressure at this point until we approach land.
We’re not sure if Russia is jamming internet signals here or if it’s just because we’re in such an isolated location, but the internet has been spotty all day today (on the 21st). Let’s just say that we can see mainland Russia from here and we are not necessarily on the best of terms with them. We are told that we should get our signal back soon, so my money is on the Russians right now. They were patrolling here with the Chinese last week, but no sign of their ships here near our ship today.
We figured out that what we saw on Friday was one of the Canadian wildfires – it looked like a volcano was erupting, but nothing has been reported. Here’s a photo of it compared to Mt. Ranier that we saw as we left the Seattle area.
The vastness of the great northwest is hard to fathom until you see it from the air, so trying to understand the Canadian wildfires can be hard for those of us from the “lower 48” states. This territory is huge in comparison and has to be hard for firefighters to battle fires on mountain tops and isolated areas far from populated areas.
Out flight to Nome was on time and we arrived around 1:30 p.m., local time. We are now 4 hours behind the east coast of Florida, so it was another long day. Not sure when we’ll adjust to local time. We left at about 10 p.m. last night and are in the Bering Sea near Russia right now.
Both of our flights were on time yesterday and we arrived at our hotel in Vancouver around 5:30 p.m., local time. That was 8:30 p.m. to us east-coasters, so it was a long day after getting up before 6 a.m
The Google Maps shot below shows where we are, and you can probably make out Florida in the lower right of the map. I put dots (much smaller) on Nome, the western Greenland coast, and Halifax, Nova Scotia, if you can make them out. That’s roughly our route to get some perspective on the upcoming cruise. The picture to the right was our view from the balcony in the club lounge at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre last night – it’s good to be a platinum member.
We still have over 4 hours of flight time left to get to Nome, and we all know that there’s no place like Nome.
We’re off this morning on our first flight to Seattle and then to Vancouver, B.C. We’re staying overnight there before our charter flight to Nome, Alaska.
I have the song “North to Alaska” loaded up on my iTunes and am playing it more than Laura would like, but that’s just me. The heroes of the song (Sam and George) had a gold mine “just a little southeast of Nome”. We’ll be a little northwest of there by tomorrow after a charter flight with Hurtigruten.
A new adventure starts tomorrow! I won’t say where it is, but I will say that it was a fabled route to riches with the first written reference to it dating back to the 2nd century A.D.
Remember back in school when you learned about how Lewis & Clark were exploring the northern and western part of the Louisiana Purchase in order to find the fabled “northwest passage” to the west coast? For those who don’t remember (spoiler alert), they didn’t find an easy way from the east coast (or more accurately, from St. Louis) to the west coast of North America. The French, British, Dutch, and Spanish were looking for this sea-route passage at least 300 years earlier and ended up in Hudson Bay or the St. Lawrence Seaway in Canada – no way through was found then either. The British tried again later and were also thwarted (Franklin’s ill-fated expedition being one of the most famous in 1845). References to this “northwest passage” actually date back to the maps and writing of Ptolemy in the 2nd century, A.D.
It wasn’t until 1906 that Roald Amundsen, from Norway, (also the first to reach the south pole in 1911) was able to accomplish this task over the top of Canada in his ship, Gjøa (his voyage only took him 3 years!). This was all before the Panama Canal was completed in 1914, making it unnecessary to sail around the southern tip of South America or across the top of North America to get from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.
That’s his ship, Gjøa, on the left above, and his “excited to have done it” look on the right above. OK, he was probably just cold, and his face froze that way. I’m sure he was a lot of fun at parties.
Back in late 2019, we took Hurtigruten’s ship, the Roald Amundsen (on its maiden voyage), to Antarctica. This year, we’re taking the same ship through the Northwest Passage across the top of North America from Nome, Alaska to Halifax, Nova Scotia (it’s in the opposite direction that Amundsen first sailed). The route is only open for about a month or two in the summer, so off we go. It’s another bucket list item for me and Laura was gracious enough to consent.
I’ve read about the great northwest and explorers since my early days of reading, starting with Jack London’s “White Fang”. It started my fascination with Alaska, the great northlands, and the great northwest. This area also boasts some 240 days a year when the aurora borealis (northern lights) can be viewed – something that Laura has never seen before. We’re hoping that this trip might mark her first sighting although the days will be long there at this time of year.
We’re going to our happy place (The Hyatt Regency Orlando Airport) this afternoon, where we’ve spent many a night before other wonderful adventures leaving from Orlando.
If you haven’t heard it before, you should look up and listen to the song “The Northwest Passage” by Stan Rogers (he’s the songwriter, although I prefer the version by a group called “The Longest Pony”). It’s a type of sea shanty that remembers the failed expeditions and mentions some of the people and locations involved in the route. Amundsen is not mentioned, but it is a haunting melody of a time long ago and man’s desire to explore.
To quote the chorus of the song: “Ah for just one time, I would take the Northwest Passage – to find the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea – tracing one warm line through a land so wild and savage – and make a northwest passage to the sea.”
The last few days of the LCMS convention came and went, and it was an interesting end to 13 years on the board of directors. I headed home before it ended due to a flight change from yesterday afternoon to yesterday morning. I’ve never seen a flight changed to 5 hours earlier than scheduled, but that’s what happened. I’m not sure I missed a lot as most of the business was completed by the end of Wednesday.
At any rate, it’s over and I’m done (well, not technically until the new members are installed in mid-September). I’m glad to have done it and I’m glad to have it done. Nuff said.
Here are a coucple of photos that the LCMS photographer took of the board dinner.
Photographs at the LCMS Board of Directors recognition event during the 68th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, at the Baird Center in downtown Milwaukee. LCMS Communications/Erik M. LunsfordPhotographs at the 68th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, at the Baird Center in downtown Milwaukee. LCMS Communications/Erik M. Lunsford
One of my favorite phrases uttered during the convention was from President Harrison – “I’m sensing another banjo micro-aggression” – for those who don’t know, Matt plays a mean banjo, but he takes a bit of ribbing about it. The convention attendees did not spare him during his official duties at the podium and he’s apparently developed a new way to respond to the ribbing.
Well, they made it official at yesterday’s convention session – I have now been officially thanked for my 13 years on the board of directors and I can ride off into the west and the sunset. It was especially touching to hear President Harrison say as he shook my hand; “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”
If that wasn’t enough, there was a board dinner last evening after the convention session, where the 3 outgoing directors and the outgoing Chief Administrative Officer were again thanked for our service. The t-shirt above right was also part of the gifts we received. Outgoing Chairman, Michael, had a lengthy set of prepared remarks and he regaled us with comments about everyone in the room. If you look closely in the picture below right, you might catch a glimpse of someone coming out of the closet. That’s my brother, Steve, who graciously came for the convention ceremony and for the board dinner in Laura’s absence. I haven’t gotten his pictures yet, but his are likely much better than mine.
I’ll have to get Steve’s picture of the plaque I received, but here’s another t-shirt they gave me. This one takes a bit more explanation, but you’ll have to come down to Florida to get the story over a refreshing beverage or two on our balcony. The second picture below is of the full moon out my window this morning.
The LCMS Board of Directors held what was quite possibly my final BOD meeting yesterday over lunch near the convention venue. I also found out on Sunday that I’m technically still considered a member of the Board until the new representatives are installed in mid-September, so I’m not really off duty for another month and a half. Hopefully, there won’t be additional pressing business between now and then, but that is not assured (no pictures, sorry).
Elections for new BOD members was held in the morning and all of our 3 incumbent members who were up for re-election were re-elected. That makes it much easier to leave as I know the board will be in good hands. Three new members were elected to replace the 3 of us going off the board. We got to meet 2 of them at our meeting yesterday and we are likely to meet the 3rd at our luncheon today.
We did bring up all of the foreign visitors from the churches in altar-pulpit fellowship with LCMS and some “friends of LCMS” that we are working closely with and hope to become in fellowship with at some point in the future. It was an impressive group of about 35 people from countries all over the world and from within the U.S. I’m pleased to report that the president of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) was one of those friends and was present in the gathering – that’s the church that I grew up in and where I still have a number of relatives and friends who are members.
This convention should also have coincided with LCMS’ 175th anniversary, so we shared a bit of a belated celebration also.
I have to share just one more thing today. There’s an escalator that’s on my route from the convention center to my hotel that has an inconspicuous button at the bottom of it. Here are pictures of the escalator and the button. It plays polka music for the amount of time that it takes you to get to the next floor on the escalator.
My brother who lives in Janesville, WI, had this response when he saw a picture of the button and heard what happens when you push it: “Only in Wisconsin.” The only appropriate response that I can come up with is: This is most certainly true.
evertstouring 