North to Alaska, 1999

Day Four - For those of you who haven't had the opportunity to fly in a plane and roll the window down, I can tell you that it's something to experience. I really wanted a clear shot.

I should thank my pilot who made a second pass when I didn't quite nail it the first time. You know, adjusting to the open window and all.

Mountains, lakes, snow, tundra, waterfalls... the Alaskan terrain has it all.

In 1912, the eruption of Novarupta Volcano forever altered the region about 45 miles south of Kulik Lodge. The eruption was 10 times more forceful than the 1980 eruption at Mt. St. Helens. The volcanic deposits rolled down the valley eventually covering 40 square miles.

A researcher for National Geographic dubbed it The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, when four years later it was populated with thousands of steam vents. Today, Novarupta is dormant.

This hike provided us with a spectacular opportunity to photograph a sow and her cub. In the picture furthest to the left, it was as if she was posing for the camera!

We were very careful to keep a safe distance, but apparently not far enough. The adult bear eventually began huffing - a sign that our presence was causing her stress. That was our cue to move on.

Late in the afternoon, I journeyed back down to the mouth of the river and grabbed a spot on the roof of an old shack. Across the river, it was time for an early evening fish.