The Bear Cam at Brooks Falls of Katmai is back on. Tune in at your leisure to check in on your favorite bruins as they fish for salmon and fatten up for the upcoming winter.
In the summer of 1918, Rockwell Kent arrived in Seward, Alaska with his nine year old son. They spent the rest of that summer, and the following winter in a small log cabin on Fox Island out in Resurrection Bay. They rebuilt the cabin, cut firewood, explored the island, but most of all Kent worked on his art. The work that followed, including his memoir Wilderness, inspired countless numbers of artists and adventurers alike.
A Dreamer’s Search is a short film by Alaskan filmmaker Eric Downs. The film explores the Kents adventure out on Fox Island, and asks one big question:
Would you risk everything to find your true calling?
This is a brilliant, short film by Vincent Ledvina of the Aurora Borealis in Churchill, Manitoba. He has some incredible footage on his youtube channel of the Aurora in Alaska, as well.
I recently came across his photography, because of the above time lapse video, and I thought I’d share his work here on Circle to Circle.
Even after all the years I’ve spent in the North, the Northern Lights never fail to stop me in my tracks. Looking at these images, I think it’s pretty easy to see why.
Harry Potter Lake and Judy Kayaak Creek in 2018; Photo credit: Chris Arp
An arctic lake, with the amusing name of Harry Potter Lake, undertook a disappearing act this summer. The lake was large enough that someone standing on one shore, could not see across it. Running within 30 yards of the lake, and ten feet below it in elevation was Judy Kayaak Creek. Scientists were working in the area because oil companies were interested in developing it, and they noticed that the dam was about to break.
Setting up trail cameras and watching via satellite, the lake did not disappoint. Once the strip of tundra between the lake and creek was breached, gravity and the power of water took over. Within 24 hours, most of Harry Potter Lake was rushing towards the Arctic Ocean.
At the height of the rush, Judy Kayaak Creek had an estimated 100 times its normal volume. The village of Nuiqsut had been warned of the potential flooding, but no ensuing damage was reported.
Harry Potter Lake and Judy Kayaak Creek after the breach; photo credit: Allen Bondurant
Mack Rutherford, a 17 year old pilot, is attempting to become the youngest person to fly around the globe solo. Rutherford left Sophia, Bulgaria on March 23.
He recently flew his Shark ultralight plane down the Aleutian Chain, landing at Attu, Shemya Island, and Adak. Rutherford arrived at Unalaska on August 1. When I last checked his online tracker, Rutherford was in Ketchikan, following the coast down to Mexico. Although, by now, Mack has no doubt moved further on down the coast.
The young, Belgian-Brit Adventurer is expecting to complete his circumnavigation by the end of August.