I have settled on a few, weighty conclusions this heavy year, and one is that belief is a recurring choice. As a species, a nation, a community and as a family, we have been shown just how little control we exert on the world as it has pushed us back into our humble place of... Continue Reading →
The Second Definition of Fun
It was a cold and stormy day, but we'd committed to float the Matanuska River for an overnight trip. We got a bit of a late start and it was raining when we finally got out onto the water. Although we were bundled in warm clothes with rain gear to protect it, because we were... Continue Reading →
On Joining a Glacial Flotilla
We could feel autumn's presence, trysting in as the sun went down and slipping out again with the coming of morning, so we planned a last camping hurrah. Meeting the train in Girdwood, we clambered ungracefully aboard, hefting the new-to-us, aging raft into the tall baggage car. I have raved of the Alaska Train, and... Continue Reading →
Intrepid Intertidal
I kept one eye on the sea, as it sinuously stroked the rocky shores, kelp slowly fanning with each pulsating lap. Tentatively, reluctantly, the water’s liquid reach slipped further and further down the pier posts as it was dragged away from us and toward the moon’s swaggering presence. Barnacles closed up, their grasping, feathered fingers still... Continue Reading →
Down the Rabbit Hole
"Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?The Cheshire Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.Alice: I don't much care where...The Cheshire Cat: Then it doesn't much matter which way you go.Alice: ...So long as I get somewhere.The Cheshire Cat: Oh, you're sure... Continue Reading →
Moonscape Madness
January can be tough. We always have a cold snap—which is brutally beautiful, and means it takes more effort to get out with kids. School has resumed, which in our household means bickering afternoons and scheduled weeks. We always seem to have less family time even when we plan for sports that everyone can do... Continue Reading →
Walking on Winter Water
In October and November, it is cold, it is brown, it is dead, it is dull and we wait. We wait for the cold to overcome this tail end of fall when the leaves have blown away and the branches scrape the overcast sky. We wait for snow and ice, and hope that the ice... Continue Reading →
Armchair Alaska
Ahhhhh! I have neglected writing for the holiday months and now am nose to nose with New Year's resolutions, one of which includes my tendencies towards consistency and my writing becoming better friends. I will back date these so they are placed in their season. And I will do better (I say each January...) Exploring... Continue Reading →
Labor of Angels
I cherish the solemnity of autumn. And in these northern latitudes, where the dying process is so bright, bursting and brief, we take to the mountains as soon as the mornings whisper with their chilled breath, "Let go. Fall. Surrender. Release. The earth will catch you." So that we can feel its call as long... Continue Reading →
Spontaneous Seward
The kids and I, sans Dad, joined a friend and her children for a day in Seward. I thought of calling it off because it looked as though we might finally have sun that lasted past 7 o'clock in the morning in the Anchorage bowl whilst the weather in Seward was forecasting as most likely... Continue Reading →