Seward, Alaska

The Longest 4th of July


Twilight Firework II
Fireworks Blast in Seward, Alaska, on a Midnight Boreal Summer.
flags ahead
Moment of the 4th of July parade from Seward, Alaska.
little patriot
Girl plays with an inflatable Founding Father doll in Seward, Alaska.
America, America
Flags of the United States decorate a car that parades on the 4th of July of Seward.
Stars 'n Stripes
Patriotic participant of the 4th of July parade - United States Day - in Seward.
July 4
Crowd celebrates the 4th of July on a street in Seward.
Young Queens of the Parade
Two young women participating in the 4th of July parade.
Effort for the Motherland
Runner in the terminal phase of the Mount Marathon Race, a very tough competition held in Seward.
Teen & Youth Center
Seward's Teen & Youth Center float.
Stars n' Stripes II
Flag waving outside a Seward villa.
Craft wounds
Athlete removes shoes from feet slaughtered by the Mount Marathon Race of Seward, Alaska.
the jalopy section
Old vans participate in Seward's 4th of July parade.
God Bless America
Girl grabs a Founding Father inflatable doll in Seward, Alaska.
Twilight Firework I
Fireworks at midnight on the 4th of July in Seward, Alaska.
Fishing of the day
Seward dock workers prepare freshly caught fish from the sea by a group of fishermen.
The independence of the United States is celebrated, in Seward, Alaska, in a modest way. Even so, the 4th of July and its celebration seem to have no end.

It may sound strange, but one of the events that the inhabitants of Seward, Alaska are most fond of telling and explaining to outsiders is the near-total destruction of their ancient city.

At 5.36:1964 pm on Good Friday XNUMX, Alaska was hit by one of the biggest earthquakes on record.

The concussion hit 9.2 on the Richter scale. In addition to the direct destruction caused by the liquefaction of the soil, it gave rise to a tsunami with waves of 8 meters that submerged and devastated the small village located on an alluvial plain of the River Ressurection and forced its reconstruction at the somewhat sheltered foothills of Mount Marathon.

Mount Marathon Race: Seward's Queen and Crazy Race

Perhaps because of the ever-present fear of the catastrophe repeating itself and forcing them to flee up the mountain, city dwellers – like those in other parts of Alaska – value alternative athletics like few others and rave about the maddened queen race of the great state.

Once we arrived in downtown Seward, we realized how its participants are the great heroes of the local Independence Day.

You should not reach five avenues of the slender village. By mid-morning, the 4th already gathers a crowd of curious spectators who conquered the ideal places to appreciate the imminent parade. They are almost all equipped with binoculars and cameras with large telephoto lenses that point to the slope in front.

We scan the distant heights and see only small clouds of dust a few meters apart. But the Mount Marathon Race comes closer than we thought. Without warning, the front runners burst from a perpendicular street.

Athlete Mount Marathon Race-Seward, Alaska, United States

Runner in the terminal phase of the Mount Marathon Race, a very tough competition held in Seward.

They win the final stretch staggering. Afterwards, they cross the finish line in a diving manner and surrender to the horizontal comfort of the asphalt.

For a few hours, hundreds of pursuers join them in states that are as or more pitiful. In such a way that, the last participants to finish the race, find themselves integrated in the now-arrived Fourth of July procession.

July 4: American Day, Seward Fashion, Alaska

Humble but as tidy as Seward in general, the parade shivers the fervent spectators with pride.

July 4th Parade, Seward, Alaska, United States

Two young women participating in the 4th of July parade.

We see them dressed in stars and stripes and to wave flags with the inevitable pattern. They salute compatriots who follow on horseback, aboard jalopies, cars guided by bloated millionaires, in farm trucks and in firefighters' vehicles.

4th of July Parade-Seward, Alaska, United States

Flags of the United States decorate a car that parades on the 4th of July of Seward.

They catch treats thrown too hard by pesky kids and admire the choreographies of a group of teenage majorettes.

The Fourth of July Tribute to the Mount Marathon Race Runners

“We would like to ask your applause for these great Americans who sacrificed themselves in the name of the USA and sport” echoes the service presenter.

The last of the runners had recently completed the Marathon Race and several other latecomers were still receiving assistance at the medical station set up for whatever came and went.

Until then, the worst treatable cases consisted of feet in blood, onset of dehydration, and fainting from sheer exhaustion.

Mount Marathon Race-Seward End Athlete, Alaska, United States

Athlete removes shoes from feet slaughtered by the Mount Marathon Race of Seward, Alaska.

But in 2009, a more extreme incident was never remedied and the victim was even a doctor. At 49, Joe Hengy arrived from Minnesota excited to fulfill his old dream of running in the race.

During the race, already near the bottom of the hill, he slipped and rolled down the cliff. Three days later, he died from injuries to his head.

Later, one of his sons visited the city's rulers and asked them to put signs and barriers on the trail to prevent further tragedies from happening to runners unfamiliar with the mountain.

Plaques and signs were things that were never lacking at the fair that serves the celebration. Each Seward core group takes the opportunity to promote their ideals or products.

July 4th Parade, Seward, Alaska, United States

Seward's Teen & Youth Center float.

We ended up joining the Seventh-day Adventist Church that seduced us with the only miraculous American Pies on the premises, irresistible and sold for just one dollar.

William H. Seward: Alaska's American Negotiator and Hero

Only William H. Seward got a better deal. The city that adopted his surname and Alaska in general owe him the patriotism they celebrate each year on the fourth day of the seventh month.

A Russia it ruled Alaska until 1867. But internal conflicts and conflicts with indigenous tribes, increasingly excessive expenditures on transporting the skins they traded, maintaining the colony in general, and involvement in the Napoleonic wars razed its national treasure.

Desperate with the situation, the Tsar Alexander II decided to sell the territory to the United States. On the American side, Seward, Lincoln's Secretary of State, was the appointed politician to lead the negotiations.

He ended up buying it for $7.2 million, less than two cents per acre.

4th of July Parade, Seward, Alaska, United States

Moment of the 4th of July parade from Seward, Alaska.

At the time, the Republican party called the transaction "Seward's Madness". Thirteen years later, US prospectors discovered gold in the Gastineau Canal. This lode and others however found quickly yielded more than 150 million dollars.

Since then, Alaska's luck has never left the United States, and profits have continued to soar. For the Russians, only regret is left.

Seward's Fishing Fame

Alaska is generous even when it comes to its marine fauna and nothing rewards an inveterate angler like a good catch on Independence Day.

It's already nine o'clock when we walk along the walkway over the sea at Ressurection Bay and we come across a perfect example.

We are at the territorial extreme of capitalism but the holiday is not for everyone. Three dock workers hang specimens picked up by a group of Lower 48 in the port's window and swing.

When the composition is ready, an employee with a ZZ Top look invites them to take a picture, next to the fish and under a sign that leaves no room for doubt: “Caught At Seward, Alaska".

Dock Workers, Seward, Alaska, United States

Seward dock workers prepare freshly caught fish from the sea by a group of fishermen.

Seward, Alaska So Apart From The US

We continue to explore the coastal lowland, still well lit by a sun that continues well above the horizon.

By that time, the celebration had moved to bars with live music like the Seward Alehouse on the now-uncluttered 4th Avenue.

But also for the gardens of countless villas, inevitably decorated with US flags.

Families and friends enjoy hearty barbecues washed down with Alaskan and other regional beers. In one of the backyards as we passed, the guests discussed the state of the nation aloud.

In another house, a girl who wears her best Sunday dress prefers to take refuge from adult conversations and plays with an inflatable Uncle Sam.

Patriot Girl and Inflatable, Seward, Alaska, United States

Girl plays with an inflatable Founding Father doll in Seward, Alaska.

Neither these partying Alaskans nor the day show any signs of tiredness. Instead, Seward's temporary population is bolstered by the arrival of visitors from surrounding villages who flock to the porches around the marina.

The clocks move towards midnight but darkness never sets in.

In its place, the sky and water of the bay share the blue of a twilight that does not surrender.

July 4th in Seward, Alaska, United States

Fireworks at midnight on the 4th of July in Seward, Alaska.

The tone makes a perfect background for the garish fireworks that follow and revives the spectators for the celebration. The Alaskan summer is still halfway through.

This boreal 4th of July only ends when it ends.

Ketchikan, Alaska

Here begins Alaska

The reality goes unnoticed in most of the world, but there are two Alaskas. In urban terms, the state is inaugurated in the south of its hidden frying pan handle, a strip of land separated from the contiguous USA along the west coast of Canada. Ketchikan, is the southernmost of Alaskan cities, its Rain Capital and the Salmon Capital of the World.
sitka, Alaska

Sitka: Journey through a once Russian Alaska

In 1867, Tsar Alexander II had to sell Russian Alaska to the United States. In the small town of Sitka, we find the Russian legacy but also the Tlingit natives who fought them.
Anchorage to Homer, USA

Journey to the End of the Alaskan Road

If Anchorage became the great city of the 49th US state, Homer, 350km away, is its most famous dead end. Veterans of these parts consider this strange tongue of land sacred ground. They also venerate the fact that, from there, they cannot continue anywhere.
Mount Denali, Alaska

The Sacred Ceiling of North America

The Athabascan Indians called him Denali, or the Great, and they revered his haughtiness. This stunning mountain has aroused the greed of climbers and a long succession of record-breaking climbs.
Valdez, Alaska

On the Black Gold Route

In 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker caused a massive environmental disaster. The vessel stopped plying the seas, but the victim city that gave it its name continues on the path of crude oil from the Arctic Ocean.
Prince William Sound, Alaska

Journey through a Glacial Alaska

Nestled against the Chugach Mountains, Prince William Sound is home to some of Alaska's stunning scenery. Neither powerful earthquakes nor a devastating oil spill affected its natural splendor.
Juneau, Alaska

The Little Capital of Greater Alaska

From June to August, Juneau disappears behind cruise ships that dock at its dockside. Even so, it is in this small capital that the fate of the 49th American state is decided.
Competitions

Man: an Ever Tested Species

It's in our genes. For the pleasure of participating, for titles, honor or money, competitions give meaning to the world. Some are more eccentric than others.
Talkeetna, Alaska

Talkeetna's Alaska-Style Life

Once a mere mining outpost, Talkeetna rejuvenated in 1950 to serve Mt. McKinley climbers. The town is by far the most alternative and most captivating town between Anchorage and Fairbanks.
Skagway, Alaska

A Klondike's Gold Fever Variant

The last great American gold rush is long over. These days, hundreds of cruise ships each summer pour thousands of well-heeled visitors into the shop-lined streets of Skagway.
Seward, Alaska

The Alaskan Dog Mushing Summer

It's almost 30 degrees and the glaciers are melting. In Alaska, entrepreneurs have little time to get rich. Until the end of August, dog mushing cannot stop.
PN Katmai, Alaska

In the Footsteps of the Grizzly Man

Timothy Treadwell spent summers on end with the bears of Katmai. Traveling through Alaska, we followed some of its trails, but unlike the species' crazy protector, we never went too far.
Florida Keys, USA

The Caribbean Stepping Stone of the USA

Os United States continental islands seem to close to the south in its capricious peninsula of Florida. Don't stop there. More than a hundred islands of coral, sand and mangroves form an eccentric tropical expanse that has long seduced American vacationers.
Miami, USA

A Masterpiece of Urban Rehabilitation

At the turn of the 25st century, the Wynwood neighbourhood remained filled with abandoned factories and warehouses and graffiti. Tony Goldman, a shrewd real estate investor, bought more than XNUMX properties and founded a mural park. Much more than honoring graffiti there, Goldman founded the Wynwood Arts District, the great bastion of creativity in Miami.
tombstone, USA

Tombstone: the City Too Hard to Die

Silver veins discovered at the end of the XNUMXth century made Tombstone a prosperous and conflictive mining center on the frontier of the United States to Mexico. Lawrence Kasdan, Kurt Russell, Kevin Costner and other Hollywood directors and actors made famous the Earp brothers and the bloodthirsty duel of “OK Corral”. The Tombstone, which, over time, has claimed so many lives, is about to last.
Miami beach, USA

The Beach of All Vanities

Few coasts concentrate, at the same time, so much heat and displays of fame, wealth and glory. Located in the extreme southeast of the USA, Miami Beach is accessible via six bridges that connect it to the rest of Florida. It is meager for the number of souls who desire it.
Little Havana, USA

Little Havana of the Nonconformists

Over the decades and until today, thousands of Cubans have crossed the Florida Straits in search of the land of freedom and opportunity. With the US a mere 145 km away, many have gone no further. His Little Havana in Miami is today the most emblematic neighborhood of the Cuban diaspora.
Grand Canyon, USA

Journey through the Abysmal North America

The Colorado River and tributaries began flowing into the plateau of the same name 17 million years ago and exposed half of Earth's geological past. They also carved one of its most stunning entrails.
Monument Valley, USA

Indians or Cowboys?

Iconic Western filmmakers like John Ford immortalized what is the largest Indian territory in the United States. Today, in the Navajo Nation, the Navajo also live in the shoes of their old enemies.
Las Vegas, USA

Where sin is always forgiven

Projected from the Mojave Desert like a neon mirage, the North American capital of gaming and entertainment is experienced as a gamble in the dark. Lush and addictive, Vegas neither learns nor regrets.
Believers greet each other in the Bukhara region.
City
Bukhara, Uzbequistan

Among the Minarets of Old Turkestan

Situated on the ancient Silk Road, Bukhara has developed for at least two thousand years as an essential commercial, cultural and religious hub in Central Asia. It was Buddhist and then Muslim. It was part of the great Arab empire and that of Genghis Khan, the Turko-Mongol kingdoms and the Soviet Union, until it settled in the still young and peculiar Uzbekistan.
Host Wezi points out something in the distance
Beach
Cobue; Nkwichi Lodge, Mozambique

The Hidden Mozambique of the Creaking Sands

During a tour from the bottom to the top of Lake Malawi, we find ourselves on the island of Likoma, an hour by boat from Nkwichi Lodge, the solitary base of this inland coast of Mozambique. On the Mozambican side, the lake is known as Niassa. Whatever its name, there we discover some of the most stunning and unspoilt scenery in south-east Africa.
Rhinoceros, PN Kaziranga, Assam, India
safari
PN Kaziranga, India

The Indian Monoceros Stronghold

Situated in the state of Assam, south of the great Brahmaputra river, PN Kaziranga occupies a vast area of ​​alluvial swamp. Two-thirds of the rhinocerus unicornis around the world, there are around 100 tigers, 1200 elephants and many other animals. Pressured by human proximity and the inevitable poaching, this precious park has not been able to protect itself from the hyperbolic floods of the monsoons and from some controversies.
Young people walk the main street in Chame, Nepal
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 1th - Pokhara a ChameNepal

Finally, on the way

After several days of preparation in Pokhara, we left towards the Himalayas. The walking route only starts in Chame, at 2670 meters of altitude, with the snowy peaks of the Annapurna mountain range already in sight. Until then, we complete a painful but necessary road preamble to its subtropical base.
Visitors at Talisay Ruins, Negros Island, Philippines
Architecture & Design
Talisay City, Philippines

Monument to a Luso-Philippine Love

At the end of the 11th century, Mariano Lacson, a Filipino farmer, and Maria Braga, a Portuguese woman from Macau, fell in love and got married. During the pregnancy of what would be her 2th child, Maria succumbed to a fall. Destroyed, Mariano built a mansion in his honor. In the midst of World War II, the mansion was set on fire, but the elegant ruins that endured perpetuate their tragic relationship.
Passengers, scenic flights-Southern Alps, New Zealand
Aventura
Aoraki / Mount Cook, New Zealand

The Aeronautical Conquest of the Southern Alps

In 1955, pilot Harry Wigley created a system for taking off and landing on asphalt or snow. Since then, his company has unveiled, from the air, some of the greatest scenery in Oceania.
Conflicted Way
Ceremonies and Festivities
Jerusalem, Israel

Through the Belicious Streets of Via Dolorosa

In Jerusalem, while traveling the Via Dolorosa, the most sensitive believers realize how difficult the peace of the Lord is to achieve in the most disputed streets on the face of the earth.
Nova Sintra, Brava, Cape Verde, panoramic
Cities
Nova Sintra, Brava, Cape Verde

A Creole Sintra, instead of Saloia

When Portuguese settlers discovered the island of Brava, they noticed its climate, much wetter than most of Cape Verde. Determined to maintain connections with the distant metropolis, they called the main town Nova Sintra.
young saleswoman, nation, bread, uzbekistan
Lunch time
Fergana Valley, Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan, The Nation That Does Not Lack Bread

Few countries employ cereals like Uzbekistan. In this republic of Central Asia, bread plays a vital and social role. The Uzbeks produce it and consume it with devotion and in abundance.
Culture
Markets

A Market Economy

The law of supply and demand dictates their proliferation. Generic or specific, covered or open air, these spaces dedicated to buying, selling and exchanging are expressions of life and financial health.
Swimming, Western Australia, Aussie Style, Sun rising in the eyes
Sport
Busselton, Australia

2000 meters in Aussie Style

In 1853, Busselton was equipped with one of the longest pontoons in the world. World. When the structure collapsed, the residents decided to turn the problem around. Since 1996 they have been doing it every year. Swimming.
Kayaking on Lake Sinclair, Cradle Mountain - Lake Sinclair National Park, Tasmania, Australia
Traveling
Discovering tassie, Part 4 - Devonport to Strahan, Australia

Through the Tasmanian Wild West

If the almost antipode tazzie is already a australian world apart, what about its inhospitable western region. Between Devonport and Strahan, dense forests, elusive rivers and a rugged coastline beaten by an almost Antarctic Indian ocean generate enigma and respect.
Lifou, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia, Mme Moline popinée
Ethnic
LifouLoyalty Islands

The Greatest of the Loyalties

Lifou is the island in the middle of the three that make up the semi-francophone archipelago off New Caledonia. In time, the Kanak natives will decide if they want their paradise independent of the distant metropolis.
Rainbow in the Grand Canyon, an example of prodigious photographic light
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Natural Light (Part 1)

And Light was made on Earth. Know how to use it.

The theme of light in photography is inexhaustible. In this article, we give you some basic notions about your behavior, to start with, just and only in terms of geolocation, the time of day and the time of year.
Gyeongbokgung Palace, Seoul, Travel Korea, Color Maneuvers
History
Alone, South Korea

A Glimpse of Medieval Korea

Gyeongbokgung Palace stands guarded by guardians in silken robes. Together they form a symbol of South Korean identity. Without waiting for it, we ended up finding ourselves in the imperial era of these Asian places.
Drums and Tattoos
Islands
Tahiti, French Polynesia

Tahiti Beyond the Cliché

Neighbors Bora Bora and Maupiti have superior scenery but Tahiti has long been known as paradise and there is more life on the largest and most populous island of French Polynesia, its ancient cultural heart.
Boats on ice, Hailuoto Island, Finland.
Winter White
Hailuoto, Finland

A Refuge in the Gulf of Bothnia

During winter, the island of Hailuoto is connected to the rest of Finland by the country's longest ice road. Most of its 986 inhabitants esteem, above all, the distance that the island grants them.
Cove, Big Sur, California, United States
Literature
Big Sur, USA

The Coast of All Refuges

Over 150km, the Californian coast is subjected to a vastness of mountains, ocean and fog. In this epic setting, hundreds of tormented souls follow in the footsteps of Jack Kerouac and Henri Miller.
Armenian Church, Sevanavank Peninsula, Lake Sevan, Armenia
Nature
lake sevan, Armenia

The Bittersweet Caucasus Lake

Enclosed between mountains at 1900 meters high, considered a natural and historical treasure of Armenia, Lake Sevan has never been treated as such. The level and quality of its water has deteriorated for decades and a recent invasion of algae drains the life that subsists in it.
Mother Armenia Statue, Yerevan, Armenia
Autumn
Yerevan, Armenia

A Capital between East and West

Heiress of the Soviet civilization, aligned with the great Russia, Armenia allows itself to be seduced by the most democratic and sophisticated ways of Western Europe. In recent times, the two worlds have collided in the streets of your capital. From popular and political dispute, Yerevan will dictate the new course of the nation.
El Tatio Geisers, Atacama, Chile, Between ice and heat
Natural Parks
El Tatio, Chile

El Tatio Geysers – Between the Ice and the Heat of the Atacama

Surrounded by supreme volcanoes, the geothermal field of El Tatio, in the Atacama Desert it appears as a Dantesque mirage of sulfur and steam at an icy 4200 m altitude. Its geysers and fumaroles attract hordes of travelers.
Dusk in Itzamna Park, Izamal, Mexico
UNESCO World Heritage
Izamal, Mexico

The Holy, Yellow and Beautiful Mexican City

Until the arrival of the Spanish conquerors, Izamal was a center of worship for the supreme Mayan god Itzamná and Kinich Kakmó, the one of the sun. Gradually, the invaders razed the various pyramids of the natives. In its place, they built a large Franciscan convent and a prolific colonial houses, with the same solar tone in which the now Catholic city shines.
Correspondence verification
Characters
Rovaniemi, Finland

From the Finnish Lapland to the Arctic. A Visit to the Land of Santa

Fed up with waiting for the bearded old man to descend down the chimney, we reverse the story. We took advantage of a trip to Finnish Lapland and passed through its furtive home.
Balandra Beach, Mexico, Baja California, aerial view
Beaches
Balandra beach e El Tecolote, Baja California Sur, Mexico

Seaside Treasures of the Sea of ​​Cortés

Often proclaimed the most beautiful beach in Mexico, we find a serious case of landscape exoticism in the jagged cove of Playa Balandra. The duo if forms with the neighbour Playa Tecolote, is one of the truly unmissable beachfronts of the vast Baja California.
shadow vs light
Religion
Kyoto, Japan

The Kyoto Temple Reborn from the Ashes

The Golden Pavilion has been spared destruction several times throughout history, including that of US-dropped bombs, but it did not withstand the mental disturbance of Hayashi Yoken. When we admired him, he looked like never before.
Train Kuranda train, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
On Rails
Cairns-Kuranda, Australia

Train to the Middle of the Jungle

Built out of Cairns to save miners isolated in the rainforest from starvation by flooding, the Kuranda Railway eventually became the livelihood of hundreds of alternative Aussies.
aggie gray, Samoa, South Pacific, Marlon Brando Fale
Society
Apia, Western Samoa

The Host of the South Pacific

She sold burguês to GI's in World War II and opened a hotel that hosted Marlon Brando and Gary Cooper. Aggie Gray passed away in 2. Her legacy lives on in the South Pacific.
Fruit sellers, Swarm, Mozambique
Daily life
Enxame Mozambique

Mozambican Fashion Service Area

It is repeated at almost all stops in towns of Mozambique worthy of appearing on maps. The machimbombo (bus) stops and is surrounded by a crowd of eager "businessmen". The products offered can be universal such as water or biscuits or typical of the area. In this region, a few kilometers from Nampula, fruit sales suceeded, in each and every case, quite intense.
Everglades National Park, Florida, United States, flight over the Everglades canals
Wildlife
Everglades National Park, Florida, USA

Florida's Great Weedy River

Anyone who flies over the south of the 27th state is amazed by the green, smooth and soggy vastness that contrasts with the surrounding oceanic tones. This unique U.S. marsh-prairie ecosystem is home to a prolific fauna dominated by 200 of Florida's 1.25 million alligators.
The Sounds, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand
Scenic Flights
Fiordland, New Zealand

The Fjords of the Antipodes

A geological quirk made the Fiordland region the rawest and most imposing in New Zealand. Year after year, many thousands of visitors worship the sub-domain slashed between Te Anau and Milford Sound.