I have owned sled dogs for 16 years and been a sled dog tour operator for ten of those years, and this January, while Interior Alaska has been mostly bitterly cold and low on snow, I had the chance to read a book or two and reflect on why it is I do what I [...]
The holidays are here, and by here I mean ‘the middle of nowhere’.  Or at least the middle of one extremely remote place in Alaska.
McCarthy, Alaska is the tiniest of towns located in the middle of the largest protected wilderness on earth.  There are less than 2 dozen people ‘home for the holidays’ in the [...]
I sat at lunch yesterday and watched the snow blow by the window of the restaurant. It was the first time this fall that snow of any consequence fell during the day, and here it was the eleventh of November. While nobody was complaining too loudly – after all, snow in November is really nothing [...]
There is a lot of spectacular wildlife in Alaska, but this October, one of the most prominent animals are the tundra swans that have taken up short-term residence on local lakes. I was first alerted to them by recent photos in the Anchorage Daily News, but I hadn’t realized how many there were until I [...]
It is easy to forget Alaska Day in 2009, given that back in January we celebrated our 50th anniversary of statehood. But we do have a state holiday coming up, celebrating the transfer of Alaska from the Russians to the United States. The people of Sitka observe the holiday a lot better than most of [...]
