Home»All Photographs»PUBLIC»Phsyigraphic Regions»NORTH»ALASKA

After graduating from college my dog Max and I hitched a ride to Seattle. From there, we sailed up Alaska's Inside Passage to the Norwegian fishing hamlet of Petersburg, where we landed a job at Petersburg Fisheries Inc. (PFI) and settled in for the summer working the salmon season.

It was a summer of travel and adventure, and something I'd dreamt of doing my whole life. I read poetry by Robert Service and stories of wilderness travel by John Muir. Through my 8-foot square plastic tent walls in PFI's "Tent City" I'd watch tenders silently sail down the Wrangell Narrows to the next opening as Judy Collins sang "Farewell to Tarwathie" on a battery-powered radio borrowed from some unknown traveler.

Having grown up in the suburbs, I dreamt of living an a-typical lifestyle. But by the end of a very wet, cold southeast Alaskan summer I was ready to return to the arid warmth of Colorado and headed home.


Some of these photos are over 25 years old at this posting, all shot with my Canon AT-1 [35mm film camera]. Others were shot years later on a second trip to Alaska's interior with a Nikon FE2-all on inexpensive Kodak Gold 100 print film. I wish I knew then what I know now.

Please enjoy.