Denali and cottongrass, Denali National Park, by Patrick J Endres After nearly a year of lockdowns, social restrictions, business closures, and other weird drama from the COVID pandemic, I know many are ready to revive postponed travel plans to Alaska. If this is you, and you plan to either drive directly or rent a car…
DIGITAL COMPOSITE IMAGE: Herd of caribou walks along the tundra by Wonder Lake with alpenglow on Mt Denali in the distance, Denali National Park, Alaska (© Patrick J Endres / www.AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com) This photo was shared on social media recently and received some attention so I thought I’d explain it beyond the short caption. I created…
Bush plane on floats is transported through the streets of Fairbanks on a flatbed truck, Fairbanks, Alaska. (© Patrick J Endres / www.AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com) Alaska is a huge land with very little road development. Access to many remote roadless locations is done via small bush planes. I have several friends who are pilots, and there is…
Snowshoe hare feeds on fresh spring grass in Fairbanks, Alaska. (© Patrick J Endres / www.AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com) Late May in Fairbanks, Alaska is an infusion in fresh lime green. The boreal forest explodes with shiny new leaves and new grass is growing under the increasing light and sunshine. In particular, this year there is an abundance…
Pink fireweed blossoms and Denali, North America’s tallest mountain. Denali National Park (© Patrick J Endres / www.AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com) It is likely true for most Alaskan’s, that after 8 months of white, the urge to both see and feel color and heat ramps to an all-time high at the beginning of May. At least in Fairbanks, the…
Aerial of waves rolling on the long the sandy shores of Softuk bar, Gulf of Alaska, southcentral. (© Patrick J Endres / www.AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com) Alaska’s southern shores vary from lush temperate rainforests to rocky cliffs, giant boulder beaches, and broad, flat sandy bars. In the Gulf of Alaska, huge beaches receive the fury of the mighty Pacific Ocean…
Flocks of shorebirds, dominated by Western sandpipers gather along the shores of Hartney Bay, Copper River Delta, Prince William Sound, Alaska, to refuel during their migration to summer nesting grounds. (© Patrick J Endres / www.AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com) The small community of Cordova, Alaska hosts a shorebird festival in early May to commemorate the epic bird migration through…
(Exploring a glacier ice cave in the Alaska Range mountains. Ice caves are formed as the meltwater from glaciers creates a stream or river that flows and shapes the ice under the glacier. (© Patrick J Endres / www.AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com) Alaska has an abundance of glaciers, although most of them are receding at a rapid rate due…
The aurora borealis arcs over my rustic log cabin in the boreal forest of the Alaska Range mountains in Interior, Alaska. (Patrick J Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com) The rustic log cabins found throughout Alaska are a diverse demonstration of how many Alaskans still stay connected to a more “simple” life. Some log cabins have historic significance,…
In late March, fisherman travel to the waters of Sitka Sound in Southeast Alaska for the Sitka Sac Roe Herring Commercial Fishery. (Patrick J. Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com) Every March Pacific Herring migrate to their spawning grounds in the calm waters of Sitka Sound, off Baranof Island in Southeast Alaska. This draws not only the whales, sea…