On a recent ski trip across the Seward Peninsula, I followed a trail along the Pilgrim River broken by five friends. Their path led to a subarctic oasis. Beyond the blank white of frozen river was a small settlement nestled in balsam poplar trees 60 feet high. The cleared fields, old farm equipment, scattered pine […]
In a Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the DHS budget request 2016, Senator Murkowski briefly questioned the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on the agency’s Arctic commitment before leaving for another hearing. Murkowski pointed out at the start of her statement and question that the U.S. has only one full-strength icebreaker, […]
Skiing across the raw, open landscape of the Seward Peninsula a few weeks ago, my friends and I dreamed of getting out of a big wind and into the tub at Serpentine Hot Springs. Though none of us had been there, we all recognized the Serpentine valley by black tors guarding the surrounding hillsides. With […]
It has been a long winter. Like many Alaskans, I have a love/hate relationship with this oversized peninsula, especially as the months of dark and cold pile up like woodstove ash. When the sun returns, I feel a need to recharge my affection. One way to do this is to visit new parts of this […]