Monthly Archives: May 2011

The Hastings Forest Fire

It appears that the hot and dry conditions in Alaska’s interior are continuing to cultivate conditions ripe for wildland forest fires. Having just missed a potentially house-threatening fire a week ago, another nearby fire started by lightning in the Murphy Dome area, not too far from Moose Mountain (although not-too-far does have different meaning following…

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Softuk Bar, Gulf of Alaska

The beaches of the outer perimeter of the Copper River Delta, in southcentral Alaska, are broad and sandy. They open to the Gulf of Alaska and the Pacific ocean, so weather can be tumultuous on its shores. On this pleasant day, I did some flying over the Copper River Delta region and we made a…

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Spot shrimp

Growing up in the land-locked Midwest, and then living in the interior of Alaska for years, fresh seafood is rare for me. However, during a recent visit to Prince William Sound, a local fishermen was showing us his freshly caught spot shrimp (the largest shrimp of the west coast). They were as strikingly marked as…

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Fire on the mountain

While visiting Canada over the weekend, I received many calls from friends who could see flames and smoke leaping from the hillside near my home and office in Fairbanks, Alaska on Friday.  The prevailing winds blew the fire away from the subdivision, after getting as close as 1 mile from my home. The fire at…

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Harbor seal and sea lion

Below are two common marine mammals found along the shores of Prince William Sound. Over the years I’ve gathered a collection of photos of the harbor seal and the Steller sea lion, mainly in the Sound. They are generally approachable, although the seals are bit more shy and require a slow and quite approach. Both…

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