THIS LAND OF LIGHT: An Artist in the Midnight Sun

THIS LAND OF LIGHT: An Artist in the Midnight Sun

(paintings by Margaret Florence Ludwig) THIS LAND OF LIGHT: An Artist in the Midnight Sun To see the world like an artist, spend time with artists. Years ago, I was asked to contribute a chapter to a National Geographic Society book on the national parks of Canada. I...
Fog Visions

Fog Visions

FOG VISION: Some questions only become clear when you are lost in the fog There is nothing to do but watch. Like an avalanche of clouds, the fogbank spills off the peaks of the Brooks Range and swallows us, cutting off the horizons as surely as a shroud. Moments ago,...
WEAVING WATER: The Aesthetics of Rivers

WEAVING WATER: The Aesthetics of Rivers

The light in the canyon at this hour makes the river flow like braided strands of the morning sky. It is early, too early, and I am up and sitting at the edge of the river watching. Behind me, the canoes are pulled far up on shore and turned over; in the dim light...
On Assignment: A Glacier, a Legend, and a Hummingbird

On Assignment: A Glacier, a Legend, and a Hummingbird

Being a writer is not always about the landscape. Sometimes, the greatest thing about it is the people you meet. How often, for instance, do you get to meet a legend? I was on assignment for my book TREASURES OF ALASKA, trying to arrange a helicopter to take me up to...