Trains, Alaska

A bit north now, where we have not one, not two, but three train cards from Alaska! I actually have quite some more train cards from here, but will leave those for another post.

First is the McKinley Express, which as like all Alaskan trains, takes you through stunning landscapes and sceneries. (Blogger keeps underlining my 'sceneries' with red. For a while I thought that I must have been dreaming that scenery has its plural, but it probably is blogger in the middle of some kind of nightmare.

as for the stamps, we have 3 copies of the Toleware stamp from 2007 and the se-tenat stamp from 2012, commemorating the 2012 the 100th Anniversary of the Cherry Blossom Festilval, Washington D.C.

The other two cards show trains in Skagway, and on this one the Thunderbird Diesel crosses the  Glacier Bridge.

More toleware stamps here, as well as one from 2012 commemorating the 200th Anniversary of Louisiana Statehood

Skagway is said to be one of the busies, exciting stops along the Inside Passage but it seems that these train lines mainly serve people who are on some kind of a cruise already and if a free seat remains, a regular mortal passenger may as well enjoy the ride.

and here we have an Inverted Jenny stamp (of course, not the very original one, but the one reissued by USPS in 2013 as a commemoration of the 1918 24¢ Jenny Invert airmail stamp error that shows the blue Curtiss “Jenny” airplane flying upside down within the red stamp frame.

Alaska, USA

A lovely Alaskan surprise from my Seattleite enemy...and moreover, it is the Northern Lights!! Or as the back of the card says 'Curtains of purple, red and green Northern Lights dance above the forest'.

I think I've rambled before here about my fascination with Alaska....and it is still on my dream list of 'places to visit'....but sometimes I just fear it is gonna be left as a dream only because of all that bureaucracy crap called 'visas'...and to get a tourist visa for the USA is a serious challenge (same goes for the UK/Ireland)...they just think that everyone who asks for a visa has plans on permanently remaining there...while all I want is just to visit Alaska..but for that I need to go through a plethora of documents and procedures and guarantees...and what I've always found most ironic..in order to apply for such a visa, you need to show plane ticket reservations...but that is not guarantee they will grant you the visa...so a waste of like thousand of dollars...for nothing...I am really really frustrated with this limitation of my freedom to move around the world...It was way worse until like 6 years ago, when we needed a visa for like every single EU country...so yeah, it can always be worse..but then again, it can always be better...

And Bryon wouldnt be Bryon, if he didnt take good care of the stamps...and here we have a whole lovely set of four Coastal Birds postcard stamps -   the roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja), the red knot (Calidris canutus), the magnificent frigatebird (Fregata magnificens), king eider (Somateria spectabilis).

I am pretty sure this card has more stamps than required...I am being spoiled sometimes :)

Bryon, my mailbox is thankful for this Alaskan missile..just like its host, it loves Alaska a lot1 :)

Alaska, USA

My last card for today comes from the beautiful Alaska...and i was so happy to receive this one coz it was in my favourites for a long long time

the card shows an Eskimo mother with her children in Northern Alaska...boy, as it wasnt enough it is Alaska, it even has to be northern :P

I love those Eskimo clothes...they are so nice and colourful with such interesting designs....we could have used these this winter, since there was this period when our temperatures dropped at -15 degrees...ok, not as cold as in Northern Alaska, thats for sure, but it was that time of the year, when you dont feel like going anywhere coz you cant dress something properly without looking like a stuffed bear.
Speaking of cold temperatures...I cant help but laugh at Los Angeles, and their alarming state coz of...+ 13 degrees Celsius apocalypse...




at times i want to believe it is a parody and not real news broadcasts...i wonder how they practice soccer in Alaska then...

well, you know the stamp :)

thanks for reading and for still coming back to give it a check (hopefully)

White Pass & Yukon Route, USA

next come two awesome train cards from my beloved Alaska! Both show the White Pass and the Yukon Route, so im posting both.

The White Pass & Yukon Route Railway boards passengers in Skagway near their cruise ship. This narrow gauge railroad built in 1898-1900 during the Klondike Gold Rush is one of Alaska's premier attractions.

The beautiful Sawtooh Mountain Range provides a perfect backdrop for this train.

the view is just amazing....and gets me "another train ride i must go to" on my list...there are getting just too many :)

the first card has two stamps, one with the Indianapolis, commemorating the 100 years of racing, was issued this year, while the cute dolphin stamp is from 2009.

the second card bears 3 copies of the Owney, the Postal dog stamp, issued this year, plus bearing a First Day of Issue cancellation!!

thanks so much to A.W for these lovely cards!!

Alaska, USA

well, ill finish this update today with one fantastic card....an Auroras card coming from my beloved Alaska!!

as the back of the card says: "the moon shines down on the Arctic Ocean with Alaska's Northern Lights".
Ive had this card in my favourites for a long while... I couldnt believe it when I found it in my mailbox! What a fantastic surprise from Bryon...who really is generous with sending cards when travelling...thanks so much to him for all the lovely surprises that have arrived in my mailbox lately...and for choosing such awesome cards and stamps for me!

And just take a look at the stamps on this card!! (Im referring to the Auroras' stamps :))

I still miss an Aurora Australis postcard in my collection, but for starters I have a stamp of it...these two beauties were issued in 2007 as a part of the International Polar Year mini sheet. LOVELY!!
You are familiar with the lamp and the clock...while the red stamp is a circus wagon issued in 1995.

Have a great week ahead everyone...and wish me luck with mine...im gonna need it....

Alaska, USA

One of the greatest official cards I had ever received and also one of the most beautiful maps i have seen.

US-636785

I really cant give an exact explanation of why this card so much fascinates me, but there is some warmth and radiance coming out of it that simply captures me....it is simply PERFECT! And to make the perfection even better, it actually shows Alaska....and you know that out of all the US states, i have a soft spot for Alaska :)
Polly, the sender, says that Alaska was one of the most beautiful countries she had ever seen and that the icebergs were actually blue!

ahh, pure beauty! And i just cant tell you how immensly happy i am that someone who got my address at random, to whom i am a total stranger, sent me this!

i think you know the stamp well enough by now ;) showing the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, issued in 2009

Alaska, USA

Finally!! ALASKA!! Well, i thought that this was my first Alaska card, but when i checked my collection i realized i already have a card from there showing a lighthouse...so this can be considered as my first scenic/view Alaska card :) And such an amazing one...

this is the Spit of Round Island, at the Bering Sea...also known as Walrus Island...The Walrus Islands earned their name because of the big concentration of walruses in the adjacent waters of these islands every summer, the largest concentration being in Round Island. There are actually 3 different Walrus Islands in Alaska, but only one corresponds to the name of the Round Island.
What I just really want to know is whether across the waters, the land you can see is Russia, or im just imagining things....This island group was first explored by Captain James Cook in 1785. The Russian name for a walrus is "Morzh", in Macedonian its the same....just that the Cyrillic version of it is Морж..

Alaska, USA

I know I said i was gonna upload all 5 lighthouses in a row, daily....but eventually, as usual, i thought it would maybe be better if i make a diversity, esp. due to the large amount of US cards i have pending for upload.....so i wanted to show something different from US each time...

 

This is the Five Finger Lighthouse.

From its location on a small island south of Juneau, Five Finger Lighthouse has guided ships through Alaska's scenic Frederick Sound since 1902. After fire destroyed the original wood station in 1933, a concrete, Art Deco-style tower and lantern were erected. The lighthouse was automated in 1984.

   the stamps