Homeward Bound Alaska

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Alaska is a landscape/wildlife photographer's dream. As a kid living in the interior of this massive state I was often blown away by the spectacular vistas and rugged landscapes. My family lived just north of the Alaska Range, so we had year-round views of remote, jagged peaks covered in glaciers and hundreds of feet of snow. In the winter the snow drifts were so deep that front loaders had to shovel our yard so that the house didn’t get buried under snow. The aurora borealis was a regular treat we enjoyed late at night, lying in the snow, 20 below zero, and loving every minute. (I miss that metabolism, incidentally). In the summer my friends and I rode mountain bikes until 10 or 11 at night; we walked the Alaska Pipeline looking for moose, bear, porcupines, caribou, and anything else moving. It was the adventure of a lifetime, but it ended too soon. Unfortunately, I left Alaska after high school and haven’t (yet) moved back.

My best friend Kris still lives in Alaska and we’ve linked up a couple of times recently in Alaska. We picked up right where we left off and had some great adventures. We're already planning the next adventure, this time hoping to get some great Denali shots. In the meantime, here are some of the photos from the last two trips, along with brief stories about them. If you are interested in a photo simply click on it. Enjoy!

Valdez Waterfall
A waterfall punctuates the beautiful landscape near Valdez, Alaska.

Eons of Time

Clouds blur as time passes above rugged mountains near Valdez, Alaska.

Wild Blue

Clouds blur the blue sky in this long exposure photo of mountains near Valdez, Alaska

Fall River

Beautiful fall foliage seem to illuminate this river on the way south to Valdez.

Frozen Dawn

Dawn illuminates water and a small beaver dam one frigid morning (-4F) in early winter, Alaska.

Dawn descends on the mountains of the eastern Alaska Range.
Dawn descends on the mountains of the eastern Alaska Range, south of Delta Junction. This is one of the few times in my life I have seen a truly purple sky.

Cabin by the river

A cabin stands by a remote river along the Denali Highway, deep in the heart of Alaska.

Bald Eagle in Winter

A lone bald eagle stands atop a barren tree, deep in the Alaskan winter

The sun sets over Prince William Sound and Valdez, Alaska.
The sun sets over Prince William Sound and Valdez, Alaska. It is great to see how this area has recovered from the devastating oil spill of 1989.

Mount Logan viewed from an airliner at 37,000 feet.
The Logan Massif is a truly gigantic mountain whose scale is difficult (impossible?) to comprehend. I was fortunate enough to see this as I flew home. To those brave alpinists who have been to the summit my hat is off to you.