The best men are not those who have waited for chances, but who have taken them -- besieged the chance, conquered the chance, and made the chance their servitor.
~ Edwin Hubbell Chapin

Imagine words here. Lots of them. Descriptive ones. Words about hopes and dreams and love and goals and disappointment and life's trials and tribulations. The truth is, there's a lot I want to say. The truth is, I can't make sense of the words just yet.

Stress is a funny thing. Stress compresses a bunch of snowflakes into a river of ice. The stress of gravity pulls the river down from the mountaintops, the pressure carving out a new face on the rock below. Stress keeps pieces of the glacial face from staying attached and so, when finally pulled too far, it breaks its ties and falls into the water waiting below. Eventually it melts and becomes part of something else, something bigger. So it goes.

When we watch all of this happen, we see the beauty, the wonder, the splendor. The end result. We see the 15% of the iceberg above the water and don't think at all about the 85% below. We don't think about the pressure that had to be applied all of the way down the line, just for the snowflake to turn back into water.

LIKE a gaunt, scraggly pine 
Which lifts its head above the mournful sandhills; 
And patiently, through dull years of bitter silence, 
Untended and uncared for, begins to grow.   

Ungainly, labouring, huge,        
The wind of the north has twisted and gnarled its branches; 
Yet in the heat of midsummer days, when thunder-clouds ring the horizon, 
A nation of men shall rest beneath its shade. 
 
And it shall protect them all, 
Hold everyone safe there, watching aloof in silence; 
Until at last one mad stray bolt from the zenith 
Shall strike it in an instant down to earth.

~ John Gould Fletcher, Lincoln

Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone will be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistency.

~ Daniel Hudson Burnham (architect)


Believe it or not, this bridge was the tallest of its type (steel cantilever) when it was built during the Klondike Gold Rush. It was retired in 1969 but has been left standing as a monument to the time to those who manage to make it to its gorgeous but remote location in Alaska.

Normally I try to find some kind of quote from literature or history to pull a little bit something extra from the photo, to help to explain the feeling I have from the photo and try to evoke the same from you. Today is not working out that way.

I don't know if it's the fact that the sun seems forever gone when it rains in the Pacific Northwest, or if my body seems to know winter is coming and wants to go into hibernation. Lately I am tired. Uninspired. I thought today I would treat myself to a day of rest, but all that has left me feeling is lazy, unproductive, and full of cake (the last is probably easily explained, since all I have eaten today is, you guessed it, cake). My shoulder hurts. I deeply want some extra sleep and my brain/body won't relax to let that happen.

So today I have to admit, I'm not particularly moved by this photo, and I feel I should be. It was taken about a mile from the face of the glacier, which is allegedly the closest the ship was able to make it into the harbor the entire season. It doesn't look like much until you realize the pieces of ice in the water are easily the size of a car. The ice really is that color of blue; nature did it, I didn't need to edit it. I actually saw a huge piece fall off of the glacier, and by the time the cracking sound made it to us, I was only just sputtering out that it had happened. For the record, it made a similar sound to what watermelon does when you crack the rind, only much bigger.

If I could have found a quote today, it would have been something relating to the unstoppable power of nature or the enormity of the universe. Maybe something about change or strength. I like other peoples' words because they say what I want to say, but more simply. Their words endure over generations. Instead, today you get my words and their short history.

We are pioneers setting out to explore a new country. We have the thrill of ever-changing view, now and again we reach a ridge or summit which opens up new and unexpected vistas--of necessity our point of view must continually change.

~ Sir James Jeans

Out of the dark we came, into the dark we go. Like a storm-driven bird at night we fly out of the Nowhere; for a moment our wings are seen in the light of the fire, and, lo! we are gone again into the Nowhere.

~ H. Rider Haggard


The original plan for this project was to take a unique photo every day. I'm far behind in my posts due to poor timing of my vacation with the start of the challenge, but Ani thinks it would be a waste not to use pictures from my vacation. As a result, I'm going to finish out the week with pictures from Alaska and British Columbia, and next week I will get to the true portion of the project. For now, I really hope that you enjoy the images that I've brought with me. It was an unforgettable experience, and I can't wait to get to Alaska again!

SWEET, be not proud of those two eyes
Which starlike sparkle in their skies;
Nor be you proud, that you can see
All hearts your captives; yours yet free:
Be you not proud of that rich hair       
Which wantons with the lovesick air;
Whenas that ruby which you wear,
Sunk from the tip of your soft ear,
Will last to be a precious stone
When all your world of beauty’s gone.

~ Robert Herrick

If any man can convince me and bring home to me that I do not think or act aright, gladly will I change; for I search after truth, by which man never yet was harmed. But he is harmed who abideth on still in his deception and ignorance.

~ Marcus Aurelius

I failed at starting on time. I know. I have a good reason, promise.
Maybe you were expecting the first picture of the challenge to be a landscape. Something awe-inspiring or interesting. Instead, I'm sharing a normal ticket to the Portland light rail, the Max.

I left the house on the morning of September 24 for a trip to Alaska. It involved a short flight to Seattle, which involved a short ride on the Max to the airport. The ticket machine would not read my credit card. As I was running out of time and the train was about to leave, a man (who had also been having trouble with the machine) said "this ticket was left in the other machine. Will a 2 hour ticket work for you?" And so my trip began on an auspicious note.

And that's why I have not been on-time with posts. Currently I'm sailing the open seas, paying a small fortune for spotty internet service. I am already losing the challenge, but I can say with certainty that so far it's worth every penny.