Yoga With Spirit

07/25/2025

When our guide on an Alaskan Fjords tour asked us what we’d like to see, it would have felt pretty audacious to ask to see a pod of 16 humpback whales bubble net feeding – especially as, before I saw it, I had no idea what that even was. Because we had no expectations of what we’d see that day, we left ourselves open to surprise. We disembarked from the boat awash in gratitude for gift of seeing both expected and unexpected wonders. I’d like to experience more of my days the way I did that one.

You can read my full essay by clicking the link in my bio.

07/25/2025

When our guide on an Alaskan Fjords tour asked us what we’d like to see, it would have felt pretty audacious to ask to see a pod of 16 humpback whales bubble net feeding – especially as, before I saw it, I had no idea what that even was. Because we had no expectations of what we’d see that day, we left ourselves open to surprise. We disembarked from the boat awash in gratitude for gift of seeing both expected and unexpected wonders. I’d like to experience more of my days the way I did that one.

You can read my full essay by clicking this link: https://yogawithspirit.com/thank-you-for-the-wonders-all-around/

07/21/2025

A L A S K A • Day 9: Homeward bound. But before we go -
M O O S E !

We were a little sad on our drive from Homer back to Anchorage because sad we hadn’t seen a moose. Then we remembered that moose are seen quite frequently on the bike trail we rode on our first day … so back we went and as if by magic, there he was munching away in the woods along the trail. 🤎🤎🤎 What a perfect “see you later” from the 49th state!

07/20/2025

A L A S K A • Day 8: Homer. A quiet “vacation” day within our trip. The pace of our trips tends toward a sprint and we’ve learned the hard way to build days like this into our itinerary to make sure we still love each other when we get home. 😉

Jim and I hiked Diamond Creek Trail down to the beach north of Homer. • These driftwood teepees are all over the beaches here. • Can’t get enough of the rocky shores. • The trip back to town allowed us to see the magnificent views coming into Homer again. • We were excited to get a shot of the Homer Spit. We stayed at the very end. • Sally took herself on a 16 mile bike ride along the Homer Spit. • JB chose to have a chai latte while he wandered the beaches along the Spit. • Katie enjoyed her book in a sunbeam with a view at our lodge. • Finally, Jim and Sally couldn’t resist stopping into the Salty Dawg Saloon.

07/19/2025

A L A S K A • Day 7: Brooks Falls, Katmai Peninsula. B E A R S!

We had the most incredible day! We took a seaplane from Homer across the Cook Inlet to Katmai National Park - about a 2 hour flight over islands speckled with lakes. • Katmai is home to the densest population of brown bears in the world. Note - brown bears and grizzlies are the same species, but brown bears are coastal and eat salmon, while grizzlies are inland and eat whatever they want to eat. • Brooks Falls is a once in a lifetime chance to enter bear country - a safari out of the jeep, if you will. • When a bear (or 3 naughty teenager bears 😳) approach you on the trail, your job is to back into the woods, trying to keep at least 50
yards between you and the bear. This is hard to do when a) you are tripping over underbrush while b) the bears are determined to move toward you! Talk about adrenaline! • The bears’ job for three weeks in July is to have an all you can eat feast of salmon as they travel upstream to spawn. • Traveling upstream requires more than swimming. The fish are leaping out of the water and up the falls! • This little guy was having trouble sorting out how to get into the water. • The bears do not savor every morsel, but eat the head, take a hunk of the belly and then chuck the rest of the fish back into the water. • We never would have had this experience were it not for Janice Blass Travis sharing her travels last year. Thank you, Janice!

07/19/2025

A L A S K A • Day 7: Brooks Falls, Katmai Peninsula. B E A R S!

We had the most incredible day! We took a seaplane from Homer across the Cook Inlet to Katmai National Park - about a 2 hour flight over islands speckled with lakes. • Katmai is home to the densest population of brown bears in the world. Note - brown bears and grizzlies are the same species, but brown bears are coastal and eat salmon, while grizzlies are inland and eat whatever they want to eat. • Brooks Falls is a once in a lifetime chance to enter bear country - a safari out of the jeep, if you will. • When a bear (or 3 naughty teenager bears 😳) approach you on the trail, your job is to back into the woods, trying to keep at least 50
yards between you and the bear. This is hard to do when a) you are tripping over underbrush while b) the bears are determined to move toward you! Talk about adrenaline! • The bears’ job for three weeks in July is to have an all you can eat feast of salmon as they travel upstream to spawn. • Traveling upstream requires more than swimming. The fish are leaping out of the water and up the falls! • This little guy was having trouble sorting out how to get into the water. • The bears do not savor every morsel, but eat the head, take a hunk of the belly and then chuck the rest of the fish back into the water. • We never would have had this experience were it not for Janice Blass Travis sharing her travels last year. Thank you, Janice!

07/18/2025

Good morning! Relax. It’s not just you. For millennia we humans have tended to stop doing the things that are good for us once the things that are good for us have made us feel better.
Click the link in my bio to read about how to embrace the long-haul over the quick fix.

07/18/2025

Good morning! Relax. It’s not just you. For millennia we humans have tended to stop doing the things that are good for us once the things that are good for us have made us feel better. Click here to read about how to embrace the long-haul over the quick fix.

For as long as history, we humans have tended to stop doing the things that are good for us once the things that are good for us have made us feel better.

07/18/2025

A L A S K A • Day 6: Cooper Landing and Homer. A day of two wildly different walks.

Jim and I got up early to explore a little more of Cooper Landing. An otherwise lovely walk in the woods started with some anxiety when we saw the paper plate warning that a grizzly had been on the trail YESTERDAY. 🫣 • The Upper Kenai River Canyon. • Fishermen on the Kenai River. • One last view of Kenai Lake. • Our drive to Homer included spectacular views of Kenai and Skilak lakes from Skilak Lake Road. The fireweed in the foreground looked like a painting. • Our afternoon walk was along Bishop’s Beach in Homer looking in tide pools. • We are staying in a seaside lodge at the very end of the Homer Spit - aptly named Land’s End. This is my view as I make this post.

07/17/2025

A L A S K A • Day 5: Cooper Landing. Fly fishing on the Kenai River and a hike to Russian River Falls to see the salmon.

The girls and I went for a hike to see the salmon jumping up the falls of Russian River. We saw the salmon but no jumping! • Look closely! There are at least a dozen in this bowl. • Jim and JB spent the day fly fishing on the Kenai River. Together they caught a dozen trout - rainbow and Dolly Varden. • Our home base in Cooper Landing.

07/16/2025

A L A S K A • Day 4: Hiking Exit Glacier. Scenic drive from Seward to Cooper Landing.

Looking for fish in Resurrection River. • The Kenai Mountains. • Exit Glacier kind of melts off the Harding Ice Field through Moose Pass giving birth to Resurrection River. There are year markers showing how much it has shrunken in the last 150 years - the last 10 years has been incredibly dramatic. 🩵 • My three “hikists.” (We do love a made-up word.) • Halfway up! • Big hike -> Big smiles • Marmot Meadow provided views of Exit Glacier from above. • And wildflowers! • Tern Lake - just spectacular and little trout were jumping!