ShareI’m sitting on the deck of my motel room in Zion National Park. Thankfully, I was able to recover from my back spasm within 48 hours and so rebooked my flight and arrived two days late, just grateful to be here. After a day of photographing the gorgeous scenery, I fell ill to altitude sickness and dehydration, two maladies to which I have always been susceptible. Headache, vertigo, yuckiness. So my morning was spent in bed, trying to make believe that there is an alternative reality somewhere in space and …

ShareToday my 5th visit to the Yukon is over. After 24 days in this majestic land, I’m heading home on Air Canada on a route that has by now become familiar to me. I’ll process some photos, write a bit, read a good novel (right now I’m reading Eventide, the sequel to the acclaimed Plainsong by Kent Haruf)), and begin thinking about my next visit.
Take Our Workshop!
Which brings up an interesting point. Richard Hartmier (www.hartmier.com)  and I are planning a photo tour of the Yukon next summer, stretching over the …

ShareKlondike Gold Rush fever spread through the world in 1898, bringing tens of thousands of dreamers, mostly Americans, into the harsh and frigid reality of the Yukon. Dawson City was its epicenter, but to get there those Klondikers had to endure a months-long journey against Mother Nature that was brutal beyond imagination. During its peak year, almost 90,000 people lived in and around Dawson City, where before there had been a tiny outpost and First Nations dwellers.
When the gold rush ended, gold mining by larger corporations continued until the early …

ShareI’m in Haines, Alaska right now (August, 2011) to photograph grizzly bears feeding on salmon in the Chilkoot River, just outside town. In the three days I’ve been here, I’ve talked to a number of town folk, as well as with Richard Hartmier, a Yukon-based photographer who has been visiting Haines for many years now. My comments are based on those conversations as well as my own impressions and experiences.
An Overview
Haines is located on the coast, just a ferry ride from Skagway. Both towns cater to cruise ship tourists, but …

ShareIf you’ve been following my travels on my SPOT site, you’ll notice that I left late because I had to do some errands in Whitehorse before Richard Hartmier and I left for Haines, Alaska for bear-gorging-on-salmon photographs. We arrived in time for lunch in Haines Junction, Yukon and planned to scout around for some good images at the entrance to Kluane National Park, but the weather continues to be uncooperative- low light and dull clouds. We did make good use of the time, though, by visiting some of Richard’s friends …

ShareWell, the first part of my Yukon adventure is over, after spending 10 days with five of my closest men friends to celebrate the 25th anniversary of our first meeting. You may have noticed that my GPS is turned off. That’s because the past 48 hours we have been in and around Whitehorse. I will turn it back on tomorrow, as you’ll see below.
Highlights
There were too many highlights of the RV-ing adventure for me to mention all of them. Of course there were the grizzly and caribou sightings, and the …

ShareWe are in the Inuvik airport now, waiting for our flight to Tuktoyaktuk, which has been delayed at least an hour due to pea-soup fog. Thankfully, the airport has free Wifi. Knowing that you have all waited your entire lives for a tour of the Inuvik airport, I thought I’d include some shots.
Inside the Terminal building there is a terrific map of the Arctic. The pink is Canadian territory. We are located at the top left of the pink area.
If you want a better view of where we are in …

ShareIt’s been a long and grueling 450-mile drive up Canada’s Dempster Highway, battling rain, potholes and our RV sliding in the mud. But, we finally drove into the remote town of Inuvik, North West Territory this afternoon. The final segment of our drive found us on two ferries, one on the Peel River and the other over the McKenzie River, as we descended from the Yukon tundra to the ocean, a descent of about 3,300 feet.
http://youtu.be/D-MZdRsaRs8
Once we crossed the McKenzie, we made a beeline to Inuvik, as interesting a town …

ShareYukon with friends. Can there be anything more satisfying? Well, maybe one thing; traveling in the Yukon with my wife a few years ago. Still, traveling the famed Dempster Highway with my guy friends runs a close second. We’re in the third (or is it the fourth?) day of our 11-day adventure together, the six of us celebrating 25 years of friendship with a slam-bang trip to the spectacular vistas made famous by Jack London (with credit to Sargent Preston, of course). Lots of laughing and teasing, reminisces, catching up …

ShareBaltimore, Maryland, USA, to Toronto, Canada to Vancouver to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. I tired, but excited to be back here. After a short night’s sleep, I’m taking off with 5 of my long-time friends for the first leg of the Yukon journey. For ten days I’ll take my group from Whitehorse to the Arctic Ocean in 2 rented RVs. Once they head back home, I’ll go on a 2-week photography odyssey with my colleague Richard Hartmier, a professional Yukon photographer.

More as we go along, but if you’d like …