Mount Titlus

One of the afternoons on our Switzerland vacation was spent at the famous Mount Titlus in the town of Engelberg. I’ll start with my favorite photo then chronicle our adventure up (and down) the mountain.

This is a view from the top of Titlus, which is 10,000 feet elevation. There were plenty of birds around and I waited until this beautiful black-winged fellow flew into frame. It was -9 degrees C (15 degrees F) @  10,000 feet so I was freezing, but what a view!

Starting from the beginning, this is a view of Engelberg from the first gondola ride. (There were 3 different cars you had to get on to get to the top!)

A view of the platform for the 2nd gondola car. You can get off here and ski, but a lot of folks are heading to the top. Most of these people are in ski attire!

So, the artsy-type in me loves this photo. It’s another view from atop Titlus with a lens flare.

One exhibit they had at the top was the Glacier Grotto – where they have carved through a real glacier, fitted it with color lights that flickered in time with the music (which you choose). We were amazed to actually be IN a glacier, especially after seeing them from far away last summer on our Alaska cruise.

Sunset. This is the same view as the photo two above, except without the lens flare 🙂

Being this high up, we were above everything so these fluffy clouds look like bodies of ‘water’ in between the mountain tops.

When it was time to go, we were one of the last to leave (had to catch the sunset!) so we watched as the day turned into night during the 45 minute ride down the mountain. This is Engelberg @ night. Magical.

(Mount Titlus @ Engelberg, Switzerland | December 2010)

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A Room With a View

During a recent trip to Alaska, our cruise ship traveled through Glacier Bay National Park and spent considerable time at the Marjorie Glacier. After  taking photos on deck, we retreated to our room when we realized the captain was turning the ship around so each side of the ship can catch a view. I took this photo of the glacier from our the warmth of our cabin.

(Alaska | August 2010)

I thought this photo would be great color inspiration for wool dyeing and wanted to emulate the different shades of blue. A ROOM WITH A VIEW represents the bright turquoise of the ice, deeper turquoise of the older portions of the glacier and the waters around this massive formation as seen from our room.

Available @ AlohaBlu.Etsy.com

Glacier Bay

Cruising through Glacier Bay National Park, one can’t help but take as many photos as possible. One of my favorite photos, I particularly love the color of the water and the ripples caused by the ship’s motion and the tiny piece of ice in the lower right hand corner.

(Glacier Bay, Alaska | August 2010)

The colors in this photo are really subtle, but there are shades of teal and gray and I tried to capture these in some fiber I dyed. I named this colorway Glacier Bay.

Alaska Glaciers

A constant fan of our 50th state, Hawaii, this was the first time I have ever visited our 49th state – the breathtaking state of Alaska! I was on a cruise that took us from our launch out of Seattle, to Juneau – Scagway – Ketchikan, Alaska, and a final stop at Victoria, British Columbia.  Truly and trip of a lifetime and after over 1300 photos, here are a few to share.

This first photo is during a river raft tour on the Mendenhall River in Juneau.

Cruising through Glacier Bay National Park, we stopped at the Marjorie Glacier, which had a piece of ice break off right in front of us!

The Johns Hopkins Glacier:

There are hundreds more and I’ll post a little at a time. It was quite cold overall, but we had a lovely time.

(Alaska, USA | August 2010)