Alaska, the 49th state, has been my summer home the last 11 years. Even though there are myriad challenges living so far away from civilization, and even though the weather tends to go from bitterly cold and icy in the winter to rainy and gloomy […]
All posts tagged: Denali National Park
Bear Spray Stories Part 4: Marinated Meatballs
When the park rangers arrived, they found a man in the river screaming and crying with the intensity usually associated with a man who just watched his entire family slaughtered by a drug cartel. The rangers knew something unspeakable was happening as they rushed to […]
Fall Foliage Wars: Denali vs. Vermont
Each fall, blue-haired tourists crowd onto tour buses and B&Bs fill up with road trippers as thousands of tourists flock to New England for the great autumn spectacle. The northeast USA is famous for its fall colors, and rightfully so.
Top 20 Alaska Photos of the Year
I just completed my 10th summer in Alaska. From spectacular, absolutely mind-blowing aurora, to Glacier Bay National Park, to many fiery sunsets, I was lucky enough so see many things I’d never seen before. It was a good year. I am not a real Alaskan – […]
A Summer of Dramatic Alaskan Sunsets
Sunset and sunrise photography in Alaska during the summer is for people who don’t value sleep. With the sunset at 12:30am and the sunrise three hours later, it takes a lot of commitment to photograph the magic hour. Some of us have jobs, you know. […]
The Fleeting Beauty of Alaska: Rainbows
Stopped on a mountain pass We stare at an afternoon rainbow burning an arc into green tundra
Snapshots of Alaska in Black and White
Denali National Park in the summer is full of vibrant color. This is a surprise to a lot of people who think of Alaska as a winter wasteland where snow lasts 11 months a year and the sun never rises. Trust me, those people exist. […]
Bear Spray Stories Part 3: Tear Gas
Did you know that bear spray is not only effective in thwarting attacks from charging bears, but it is also effective in clearing a building of tourists?
An Ode to Otto Lake
Denali National Park in the summer is a strange place. The sun sets at midnight in the north; the wilderness is invaded by busloads of marauding senior citizens; winter lasts until May; in August the recently green tundra turns a surreal red. I love Denali, but summers […]
Bear Spray Stories Part 1: The Golden Grizzly Award
The other day I was having a drink with a park ranger, a man who drove tour buses in Denali for 30 years, and a veteran of the Alaska tourism industry. The conversation turned to bear spray, and the three of them recounted four of the […]
The Spectacular Color of Alaska – A Post Dedicated to Me
This post is dedicated to me. You can read it if you want, but I didn’t write it for you.
Top 20 Photos of Alaska from the Fall of 2013
It never gets old. This is my ninth autumn in Alaska, and this place still blows my mind.
Planet Bell 