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Welcome to my weekly update for August 29, 2021!
I wrote last week about the flooding that affected so many back home in western North Carolina on August 17. Six people died and lots of families lost their homes. Please continue to keep the region in your thoughts and prayers. If you’re willing and able, you can make a donation to assist the flood victims through United Way of Haywood County (the county that had the most severe flooding). My thoughts and prayers are with those in Tennessee who had even worse flooding just days later.
On to happier news now.
My husband’s cousin and his wife visited for a long weekend last week. We had a great time with them! We all splurged and took a “flightseeing” tour to Lake Clark National Park to watch brown bears fishing for salmon. Words can’t express how beautiful this park is! Our bear guide took us out on a pontoon boat, where we watched the bears fishing on the shore of Crescent Lake. Lake Clark is the third-least visited national park in the country because there aren’t any roads that lead to it.
We had reservations for a fancy dinner at Alyeska Resort on Saturday night, at a restaurant named Seven Glaciers because of the view. When we drove home, a huge yellow moon was rising over the mountains and reflecting in the water. It was gorgeous! My husband and I tried to remember the last time we saw the moon. We think it was probably in late May/early June while we were still in Sarasota! But it’s been getting dark at night in Anchorage for several weeks now. The sun is already setting around 9:30.
And now my sister and her best friend from college arrive for a weeklong visit on Friday! I’m so excited!
Oh, and one more thing before I forget: the Cybils award panel is looking for volunteer judges. If you ever review books for children, middle grade, or young adults, consider applying before the deadline of 11:59 pm on September 1. I’ve seen on their social media channels that they are looking for judges for all genres but they haven’t had many applications to judge young adult nonfiction in particular. Here’s a link to the information/application page.
Slideshow:
My husband took some fabulous pictures last weekend with his “real” camera but here are some I took with my cell phone:
All images copyright © Jennifer G. at Introverted Reader 2021
- Brown bear fishing for salmon. (If you’re curious, “brown bear” is a general term for–you guessed it–all brown bears. Grizzlies are brown bears who live on the interior, away from the coastline)
- Mt. Redoubt over Crescent Lake
- View from Seven Glaciers restaurant
- Full moon rising over the Chugach Mountains and Turnagain Arm. Do you see Jupiter too?
Posted:
Illuminations: A Novel of Hildegard von Bingen by Mary Sharratt–4 Stars
Whiskey When We’re Dry by John Larison, read by Sophie Amoss–4 Stars
Ten Books I Wish I Could Read Again for the First Time
Read:
Time and Again by Jack Finney
30 Days of Night by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith
Archenemies (Renegades #2) by Marissa Meyer, read by Rebecca Soler and Dan Bittner
Currently Reading:
Enter the Detective (Ruse #1) by Mark Waid et al.
Reticence (The Custard Protocol #4) by Gail Carriger, read by Moira Quirk
Once Upon an Eskimo Time by Edna Wilder
Reading Challenge Update:
I’ve already met or exceeded most of my challenge goals but I fell off the wagon on my three challenges that have a specific prompt for each month. I’ll try to make up lost ground in September.
I’m including this in an effort to hold myself accountable. I’ll try to remember to update at the end of each month. Challenge title links go to my personal progress page and host links go to the relevant sign-up page.
- Books in Translation Reading Challenge (hosted here at Introverted Reader) Progress: 6/4
- Southern Literature Reading Challenge (hosted here at Introverted Reader) Progress: 6/7
- New (To You) Narrator Reading Challenge (hosted here at Introverted Reader) Progress: 20/6
- Uncorked Reading Challenge (hosted at The Uncorked Librarian) Progress: 7/12
- Nonfiction Reader Challenge (hosted at Book’d Out) Progress: 11/12
- Diversity Reading Challenge (hosted at Celebrity Readers) General Progress: 22/25; Monthly Progress: 7/12
- Audiobook Reading Challenge (hosted at Caffeinated Reviewer and That’s What I’m Talking About) Progress: 32/20
- Book Voyage: Read Around the World Challenge (hosted at The Book Girls’ Guide) Progress: 7/12
- Classics Club (hosted at The Classics Club) Progress: 4/50 by April 15, 2026
Up Next:
I’m really going to start The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger as soon as I finish Enter the Detective! I can only check out three physical books at a time from the Anchorage library and I’ve had several requests coming in. I’ve had to read the graphic novels quickly so I can check out my holds before they get returned to the library they really belong to.
What did your week look like?
Deb Nance at Readerbuzz hosts The Sunday Salon and Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer hosts Sunday Post. Kathryn at Book Date hosts It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
26 Comments
Those photos are beautiful, even if not from a “real” camera (I have faced similar situations before, haha). And you managed to catch Jupiter too, which is fantastic. Besides the photos, I think Enter the Detective has a very striking cover — I hope that book turns out to be as good.
Those pictures were gorgeous. makes me want to take a road trip to the mountains.
my post: https://blessedmommysc.blogspot.com/2021/09/a-rough-week-late-af-sunday-post-8.html
I continue to take notes of your adventures in AK as I plan our trip for next year. I wish I could convince my husband to go on one of those flightseeing tours, but there’s no way he will get up in a small plane. I also looked at the info on the restaurant and that’s a no-go, too. He doesn’t do well with heights, so no aerial tram. 🙁 So, thanks for the pictures and link. That moonrise photo is outstanding! I’d frame and hang it in your RV when you get back to the lower 48.
Those are lovely photos! And I hope you enjoy Ruse—I remember reading it back when it was new, along with some of the other titles from the publisher.
I did enjoy Ruse! I requested it after you mentioned it recently.
Oh, I’m glad you liked it! I thought it was a fun graphic novel, and was sad there wasn’t more of it. (Though it might have gotten old if there was, so maybe this was a blessing in disguise?)
Thank you for sharing your pictures from Crescent Lake. I hadn’t even heard of that National Park!
What a beautiful area! Sounds like you are having a wonderful time in Alaska. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
Great photos! Enjoy your visit with friends, and have a great week! Stay safe. Here are my WEEKLY UPDATES
Amazing photos again! Thank you for sharing.
Such Spectacular scenery, thanks for sharing it! I’m sure you will enjoy showing it to your sister this week.
I’m so sorry to hear about the flooding in the US,
Wishing you a great reading week
Oh my gosh, those are lovely pictures. Look at that bear!
Flooding is an awful thing. Love the photos. Happy reading in the coming week.
What amazing pictures! Sounds like you had an amazing time! Enjoy your visit with your sister and your reading!
Cool pics. Reticence looks like a fun one. Happy reading.
You are having absolutely amazing nature experiences while in Alaska and I am so pleased that family and friends are using your time there to visit. It looks spectacular!
Your photos are stunning… the natural beauty of Alaska just takes my breath away! It’s great that your family is able to visit. How long will you be there?
You’re going a great job with the reading challenges this year.
The pontoon boat tour sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing pictures.
You are doing great on your challenges.
Have a good week!
I need to make a plan to update my Reading Challenge. Love the slide show and I wasn’t aware of the flooding in North Carolina. Will definitely keep them in our thoughts and prayers. Glad you had a good visit with your family!
Have a good week ahead!
Elza Reads
Wow gorgeous. It’s the only state we haven’t visited and I hope to go sometime soon. I’m glad you are able to have your friends and family visit there with you.
Anne – Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post
Ok I am ready to pack up and move to that national park in Alaska. So beautiful!!!!!
The picture you took of the moon is so beautiful!
You are really making it harder to stay away from Alaska. Of course, I have to wait until borders open before I can do too much traveling.
Your moon photo is fabulous. My husband calls me a lunatic because I’m fascinated by watching the moon in all its phases and colors. It was beautiful in the middle of the night last night.
best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
My friend’s cousin was one of those who lost her life in the floods. She was swept away by the water right in front of a coworker. It was horrifying.
You have seen so many beautiful things during your time in Alaska. You are there at the perfect time of the year, right when it is so hot here and hurricanes seem to pop up all along the coast. Thank you for sharing your photos.
You are doing great with your challenges. I need to read a little faster to meet my nonfiction challenge and my Back to the Classics challenge. The trouble is that I am reading very long books (one is 900 pages and one is 800). But they are both so good!
I will keep the floods of North Carolina in my prayers 🙏 Sounds like you had an amazing time with your family and I hope it continues this week. 🙂
Wonderful pictures. I especially love that second one. What a beautiful area. That pontoon boat tour sounds like it would be a blast!
Love the sound of the resort too. 🙂