The path to skater's paradise.
January 5, 2018
January 4, 2018
January 3, 2018
Solid day at the beach.
January 1, 2018
The lake in the center of town used to freeze reliably once or twice a winter.
Dad made sure we had skates starting in tiny sizes. He would tie our laces, my hands too little to pull hard. It was just enough to learn.
Can’t remember the last time I skated — at home, it hasn’t been a guarantee that the lake would freeze for years. The rinks at college didn’t appeal: water piped onto the green, squared off by white boards. There wasn’t much to see. I don’t know how to play hockey, do turns, or even skate backward. Based on the number of days I’ve hit the ice in my life, I’m the skating equivalent of an eight-year-old.
The last few days have been unreal. Hoarfrost under the moonlight, like skating through fields of diamonds. Catching the ninety minutes that the sun hits the lake in the morning. Cold and confused sockeye swimming underfoot. Ice so clean I have to adjust my stride, my skates slipping, dulled from years in my closet.
Wasn’t sure I’d get the chance to use them again.
Does anyone in town sharpen skates? I’m not sure. My dad would know.
December 31, 2017
Tiny boaters travel through the reflection of a big mountain.
December 30, 2017
'Tis is the season where you tie ribbons around things for no real reason.
December 29, 2017
The Eldred Rock Lighthouse was first lit in 1906.
The area has played a part in some of Alaska's worst shipwrecks: the Princess Sophia went down in 1918. When the vessel ran aground, the Captain decided to wait out the tide instead of evacuating. By morning, the ship was gone. All 343 passengers and crew died.
The ship joined the Clara Nevada, which sank in 1898, after witnesses from tens of miles away saw a fireball engulf the ship. Local rumors alternate blame between shoddy boilers, dynamite intended for Juneau mines, and a ruinous Captain who blew a hole in the Clara Nevada's side, sending 75 passengers to their death while he made off with $14 million in as-yet-unrecovered Yukon gold.
Some think the gold is still buried in the forest margins of Lynn Canal.
December 28, 2017
Mud Bay Christmas Progressive 2017 warms up the old-fashioned way.
December 27, 2017
The Pioneer Bar adds aubergine to winter nights.