Sharry Miller

Frisian Sugar Loaf

You ever have one of those days where you feel like nothing you do is enough? Today was one of those days. I didn't do enough work on my paying job, but when I was spending time on that I felt guilty for not creating fused glass artwork for the two shows I have coming up this fall, and when I finally spent some time in my studio I felt guilty for not getting outside... Read more →

Kennecott and McCarthy

I've been in a rut lately, feeling like I'm not doing anything interesting, and certainly not anything worth writing about here. Nonsense, of course, but it's a hard rut to climb out of. Anyway, I'd meant to share a bit with you after I headed north for a KCHU public radio board meeting. We decided to have our June meeting and biannual strategic planning session in McCarthy, a tiny town nestled in the Wrangell-St. Elias... Read more →

Peksulineq 2015

Rowan and I had the opportunity to travel to Tatitlek on Friday for the 21st annual Peksulineq Festival, a week-long celebration of Alaska Native cultural heritage for students from around Prince William Sound. The first time I went, about four years ago, visitors had a good opportunity to see what the kids and volunteer teachers had been working on all week - it was fabulous to see the art and crafts they'd been creating, as... Read more →

Solomon Gulch Retrospective

One benefit to living in a small town with a limited number of roads and nearby hiking trails is that I get to see how the area differs season to season and year to year. I must take a photo from the same spot by the Lowe River at least once a month every year during the cycling season. One of these days, I'm going to dig them all up and do some sort of... Read more →

Damalanche Overload

Yes, it's no longer just an avalanche. It's acquired it's own name: Damalanche, so called because it managed to effectively dam the Lowe River. Of course, if you've been wanting to drive out of town, I suppose you might amend that to Damnalanche. It's only been a week, but I'm sick of it already. I've heard nonprofit organizations, particularly those constantly fund raising in response to major issues, complain that Americans have a high tune-out... Read more →

Midwinter Sailing

BOB made an appearance today. I know you've met BOB, even if you didn't know his name: Big Orange Ball. Perhaps in your part of the world he's so commonplace that you don't give him the respect he deserves, but I know I am not alone in saying "All hail BOB!" when he shows his face in Valdez. He's especially worshipped after a streak of weather like we've just had. The weather forecast predicted that... Read more →

Thank You

First, I want to say thank you to those of you who commented on and shared my posts over the last couple of days. There's nothing that warms the cockles of a writer's heart more than knowing she has readers. It's even better to have evidence that the readers liked what they read. That you appreciated my posts enough to share and comment is quite a compliment. Thank you. And please, feel free to do... Read more →

Isolation

It's odd how isolating living at the end of a road can make you feel. For those of you reading this (thank you very much) who aren't familiar with Valdez, let me give you a little perspective. Our little town of 4,000 sits at the southern end of the Richardson Highway. There is no other road to here. The closest cities are Anchorage and Fairbanks, 300 and 350 miles away, respectively. We are serviced by... Read more →

Lookin' for Friends in All the Wrong Places

(My apologies to Waylon Jennings for bastardizing his lyrics, but this post title was just too right not to use.) Overlooking beautiful Prince William Sound I'm sure I'm not the only one who sees familiar faces in crowds of strangers or in places where people I know would not be. The more exotic the location, the harder I search for something familiar, something to make the situation more normal. A few days ago, I was... Read more →

Restless Dead

I walked down the gravel road, skirting potholes and searching for good traction. It was a road I’d walked many times, but seldom in winter. My timing was optimal: enough snow to make it look like winter, but not so much that the road plows would have built up unsurpassable berms along the highway and make it impossible to get to the road. As I always am when I spend time outdoors, I was disappointed... Read more →