Several years ago I discovered one of the more unique aspects of Kachemak Bay: boat mail. A longtime friend of ours, Dave Seaman, spent many years living on the “wild side” of Kachemak Bay in the picturesque cove named Little Tutka Bay. While there, he received the post office contract to deliver mail and packages [...]
Category: "Alaska"
Fire and Ice
Winter has finally arrived in Homer, Alaska, and that means ice, snow, and fun outdoors. The freezing of Beluga Lake in the heart of town transforms this relatively shallow lake into a winter playground. When conditions are right, the lake is a favorite destination for ice skaters, and later for cars, providing an opportunity to [...]
Burning Basket 2009
It may not have the fame of Nevada’s Burning Man Festival, but Homer, Alaska’s annual Burning Basket has become a not-to-be-missed September event. Timed to coincide with the autumnal equinox, Burning Basket is the product of artist Mavis Muller, who has been creating these 10-foot-wide baskets since 2004. Each year brings a new creation and a new topic [...]
Keeping the Public in Public Radio
When I first came to Alaska in the 1980s I was struck by the importance of public radio in this still-wild state. Unlike the rest of the nation where corporate stations completely control the airwaves, Alaska has NPR stations from Ketchikan in Southeast Alaska, to Barrow on the North Slope, and west to Dillingham, Nome, [...]
Biking Red Mountain
The last weekend of July was gloriously sunny in Homer, perfect for a trip to the wild side of Kachemak Bay. Six of us headed across by boat to the dock in Jackalof Bay. A gravel road leads 10 miles west from here to the quaint village of Seldovia, but we were interested in a more [...]
Talkeetna Tangent
If Alaskans had to pick one town that best mirrors the state’s quirky image, Talkeetna would win in a landslide. Located off the Parks Highway 115 miles north of Anchorage, this hamlet (population 750 or so) was the inspiration for two TV shows: “Northern Exposure” and the more recent “Men and Trees.” It’s easy to [...]
Kidding Around in Seward, Alaska
I recently visited the town of Seward as part of my Moon Alaska book update, but this time with my family in tow. Because of its location 125 miles south of Anchorage, this Kenai Peninsula town is a favorite weekend retreat for Anchorageites. As the southern terminus of the Alaska Railroad, and the end (or starting) point for many Alaskan cruises [...]
Going Dutch
Made famous (sort of) in the Deadliest Catch TV show, the town of Unalaska/Dutch Harbor lies far out on the fringe of Alaska. But unlike other remote Alaskan destinations (Bethel, Nome, Kotzebue, Barrow, Yakutat, and etc.) you won’t find a quiet little Native community surrounded by wilderness in all directions. Dutch Harbor is all about commercial fishing [...]
30,000 Wooden Pallets!
Okay, this topic is rather obscure. I’ve been in Unalaska/Dutch Harbor updating my Moon Alaska book the last few days and was struck by the industrial character of America’s busiest fishing port. Despite its location on a remote Aleutian island, the town itself violates all your notions of Alaska [...]
Hubbard Glacier on the Move (Again)
North of Yakutat within Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, spectacular Hubbard Glacier is North America’s largest tidewater glacier. Fed by the high mountains of the St. Elias Range, the glacier is six miles wide and more than 70 miles long. Many cruise ships make a stop in front of this massive glacier with an always-calving 400-foot-high wall of ice [...]
Discovering Yakutat
Over the last 28 years, I’ve explored many corners of Alaska, but one town always seems to be on my didn’t-quite-get-there list: Yakutat. I was finally able to spend a three gloriously sunny days in Yakutat this May. (Prior to this, I’d only seen the town as long as the Alaska Air jet was on the runway [...]
Flying the Combi
Anyone who flies Alaska Airlines around the state will sooner or later find themselves stuffed into a 737-400 Combi, a jet you aren’t likely to encounter outside Alaska. To my knowledge, Alaska is the only carrier in the world flying people and freight this way. I flew from Anchorage to Ketchikan today while researching the new edition of Moon Alaska and found myself onboard this unique aircraft [...]
