Tag Archives: Alaska

Travel the world from the seat of your own couch with a special series from Wyoming’s own Sid Lenger

In the film “America Now,” Sid Lenger talks about why George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln are featured on Mt. Rushmore.

 

“We were about ready to retire,” said Sid Lenger. “I was 69 at the time and we were showing films at Godwin Heights High School when this person came up and said ‘Would you like to go to India?’

 

“So we retired right into visiting India for the next 24 years.”

 

Lenger has never missed an opportunity to film. While serving on a landing ship, tank (LST) during World War II, he received permission to have a camera “and I brought a video camera as well,” he said.

 

The former owner of Lenger Travel has created hundreds of films. At age 99, he is not the globe-trotter he once was, but his travel films remain popular keeping Lenger busy with scheduling various series at Marge’s Donut Den. Starting on Jan. 2, WKTV will be featuring a selection of Lenger’s travel films, which will air at 2:30 p.m. on WKTV 25 and repeat at noon on Fridays.

 

“What makes his films so unique is that its not just the usual overview of well-known places such as Munich or Berlin, but Sid captures what life is really like,” said WKTV volunteer Tom Sibley, who has worked with Lenger on his series at Marge’s Donut Den. “When he took tour groups, he often would take smaller groups so that they could get up close to the whales or access to places larger groups could not visit.”

 

Lenger also built a lot of relationships with people because he kept coming back to those smaller communities, Sibley said. Such was the case when Lenger headed to the mountains of Northern Italy and film the history and art of the Anri wood carvers, recording a century-old tradition.

 

“The narration is clear,” Sibley said. “He doesn’t waste a lot of words and yet you can tell, he has done a lot of research.”

 

Sid Lenger with WKTV Managing Editor Joanne Bailey-Boorsma

“In ‘America Then’ (the first in the WKTV series), I take each of the presidents on Mt. Rushmore and explain why that president is there and what is going on during their lifetime,” Lenger said, adding the film also discusses the history of the U.S. flag. “A teacher came up to me and said that it is the best history lesson she had ever seen.”

 

In his partnership with Pastor John Devries, the founder of Mission India and the person who asked Lenger and his wife Beulah if they would be interested in visiting the country, Lenger filmed scenery and life in a country that was not always welcoming to Christians.

 

Filmmaking always has been a hobby for the World War II veteran. He created many of his travel films and showed them at Godwin Heights High School to help increase interest in some of the tours offered through his agency. Today, it still remains a hobby with Lenger maintaining a studio space in his home where he edits on a regular basis, according to his daughter Lavonne Ritzema. He also has an area for painting as well, she noted.

 

“I’ve got this Michigan film I’ve put together,” Lenger said. “I need to redo it. This summer, I am going to head over to Frankenmuth and get some footage of the Silent Night Chapel.”

 

As we all await for the Michigan film, take some time to check out some of Lenger’s earlier travel films on WKTV. Also, Lenger film series is every other Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Marge’s Donut Den, 1751 28th St. SW. The Marge’s Donut Den series will restart on Jan. 10.

 

 

On the shelf: ‘Romeo: The Story of an Alaskan Wolf’ by John Hyde

 

By Lisa Boss, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main

 

Breathtakingly beautiful photos of Alaska, and of a lone black wolf that made his home below the Mendenhall Glacier for almost a decade–John Hyde tracked and recorded the activities of Romeo, a very unusual wolf. Orphaned, but able to live in the wild (the author’s scat analysis showed a diet of mostly deer, lemming and beaver), he was very fond of dogs–as in “playing with dogs”. 

 

An Alaskan Wolf is a very large, powerful creature, with jaws twice the strength of a German Shepherd, yet Romeo became accepted by the townspeople as a winter visitor each year, enamored of their dogs. His canine dominant status is clearly apparent in shots of his romping with the town’s pets, and yet he’s acting as silly as a puppy, getting them to chase him. He towers over the Labs and Boxers he’s shown scampering  with, and you almost feel like yelling to the unseen  dog owners “no, no–this won’t end well!”,  but of course Hyde wouldn’t have produced “Romeo” if there wasn’t an exceptional story to tell. 

 

Kim Elton, Dir. Of Alaska Affairs, U.S.D.I., says of the book, “If wolves can’t inspire awe, what wild creature can?”, and Farley Mowat adds, “I envy John Hyde as I have never envied another human being.”   

 

Over 80 amazing photos will tempt you to book that cruise to Alaska.

 

Nice commentary too, with echoes of Aldo Leopold, and other naturalists, who continue to share their vision of the necessity of wilderness for all of us.

Loving Retirement Life on the Love Boat

Part 3: 1988 – Canada and Alaska

don_uppAt last, retirement! Well, sort of. At least I retired from my full time job, so we could start looking at travel.

The night before the retirement party, I stood, looking at my garage, where I saw both a new van and a new car –  what am I doing? – but this was all in our plan. Anyway, it was time for travel, both in our van and by other means.

Don and Jan Upp on Mendenhall Glacier
Don and Jan Upp on Mendenhall Glacier

The first trip we wanted to make was a trip into Western Canada and up to Alaska. We had traveled with another couple in the past, and since he just retired a well, we started planning with them for a trip to Canada and Alaska.

Joe was lukewarm on the idea, his wife was raring to go. While discussing options, we found a small ad for a trip to the Pribiloff Islands, where 150 varieties of birds nest each summer. Joe was an avid birder, and this caught his attention. So in the Spring of 1988, off we went to Anchorage.

Our fist visit was to the Wetland preserve on the edge of town, then a tour around town. We had a couple of days to sight-see in the area, then we were to fly to Pribiloff Islands. The Pribiloff Islands sit one third of the way between Nome and Russia.

When the plane lands, it touches down on a crushed lava runway, no pavement. There is no terminal, just a school bus to greet you. The airport is part of a military base, so there is no access to any of the buildings.

Common Murr (Red Eyed Murr
Common Murr (Red Eyed Murr)

A side note on the flight – the plane only flies three days per week, and some times the fog is so bad the flight is cancelled. It is recommended that you plan a couple open days in your schedule. We were fortunate not to have a problem.

St. Paul Island has One and a half restaurants: a cafeteria operated by the locals, and a private home that serves meals only if the porch light is on.

One evening, I became the prime attraction at the cafeteria when I turned too sharp with my tray, and ended up with spaghetti all over the floor. All the locals laughed and I turned red. The manager said to just get another plate full, that it happens almost every week, and the locals come to watch.

We saw Terns, Horned and Tufted Puffins, Murrs, skates, and a herd of reindeer that live on the island. We also saw locals scale the cliffs to harvest Murr eggs. If you take the first clutch of eggs, they will lay a second.

City of St. Paul
City of St. Paul

There were other hikes to see other nesting birds, and our friends had a great time, but we are not birders, so we stayed with the puffins.

We next went to see the seal harems and beach masters, and watched the fights for mating. In the 1890s and early 1900s, St. Paul and St. George, the two main islands in the Pribiloffs, were Russian prison colonies set up to harvest seal pups. In order not to harm the pelts, the pups were clubbed to death. Although no longer a prison camp, and they no longer club the pups, seals were harvested up to 1948.

Our return to Anchorage was via Cold Bay in Aleutian islands, where we went through security. This was long before 911, but was a possible smuggling entry, so we went through full inspection. There was a guard with two pistols and tear gas canisters, so no funny business.

Beach Master. He is bleeding from his battles, he saved his space, but lost his harem.
Beach Master. He is bleeding from his battles, he saved his space, but lost his harem.

Back in Anchorage, we had a couple of days for a visits to the Alaska Native Heritage Center and to the Anchorage Museum, plus various shops and sightseeing things.

We flew on to Fairbanks, where we took a Riverboat tour, saw the salmon catching wheels, and watched an Iditarod sled dogs demo. It takes on whole salmon per dog per day to run the race. Then we took the bus tour for views of Mt. McKinley and panned for gold.

Next was the train to Denali, where we took the tour of Denali National Park and then stayed overnight to catch the morning train back to Anchorage. Joe was wearing a neck brace, so we got on train first and were able to sit at a table on the observation level.

Unfortunately, the train was late arriving in Anchorage, so we missed the connection to our boat. So they put us on a bus, and put the bus on a flat car, attached it to a freight train, and went off to Whittier, where the tour boats dock.

Jan and Don Upp on the Love Boat
Jan and Don Upp on the Love Boat

Here we boarded the “Love Boat.” We were actually on the one used in the TV series. I wore a shirt, tie and sport coat. We were assigned to the Captain’s Table for entire trip.

We were allowed on the bridge as the Captain’s guest, so we were first to know of Whales, etc. along the way.

The boat made many stops along the inland waterway, so we had time for things like a helicopter trip to the Mendenhall Glacier near Juneau. We watched elk and moose swimming across the waterway. The Inland Waterway is the smoothest tour boat trip, and is suggested for those who might fear sea sickness.

Our boat trip ended in Vancouver, where we rented a car, and drove to Butchart Gardens in Victoria. An outdoor wedding was in progress amongst the flowers.
After returning to  Vancouver for the night, we flew home. And so ended our first, and easiest, retirement trip.

Soon after our return, my wife and I sat down and each listed about 1000 goals in our life. Travel to all seven continents is not one goal, but seven. To visit all 50 states is not one, but fifty goals. Some of these goals we had done.

We each did our own list, then compared notes. All the goals that were the same became our ”do it together” goals, some of the other goals became “time apart” goals, some became more of our “do it together” ones. Once you write them down, they are no longer “I Wish” thoughts, but real goals. When my wife passed away, we were down to a couple of hand-fulls each.

Next we will go live in a cottage in a cow pasture in Ireland. Isn’t that everybody’s goal?