oh shoot

noam pikelny snow at the station inn, nashville, tn

more from the calgary stampede

at the calgary stampede

dance with the devil at candelaria in puno, peru

uros islands

around alaska

 

 

Some travel photos stay buried on my computer, in boxes, wherever. Not my Alaska photos. I look at them all the time. Here, some of my favorites. 

1. Rocks: Don't forget to look down. In Alaska, there's as much to see underfoot as there is up above and all around. Here, I looked down in Chugach National Forest, just outside of Cordova, Alaska. 

2. Musher and team: A team on the lake at the Finger Lake checkpoint, Iditarod 2006. 

3. Helicopter and pilot: This is Tim. I was lucky enough to meet and fly with him at Winterlake Lodge during the 2006 Iditarod. Best helicopter ride of my life. (OK, there haven't been tons of them but still...) 

4. View of Winterlake Lodge and the dog lot at the Finger Lake checkpoint. 

5. An overnight on the lake (but not for me--I was staying in a weather port). 

6. Winterlake and a dog waiting for pickup by the Iditarod Air Force. 

7. Leaving the Finger Lake checkpoint after the Iditarod mushers (and a storm mostly) passed through. 

8. Happy dog: Taking advantage of a sunny day at Portage Glacier. 

9. Hiking on, I think, Kennicott Glacier. 

10. Cute, eh? As seen from the deck of a Stan Stephens wildlife cruise. 

11. Home sweet roving home. Yes, you can take it all with you. 

12. Just another view along the drive. 

13. Just minutes outside of Anchorage -- the tidal mud flats of Turnagain Arm (as seen from the comfy seat of an Alaska Railroad car. 

14. Flowers, somewhere in Alaska. 

15. Glacier, somewhere else in Alaska. (Yes, I sort of have an idea of where it is but, really, I have 1000s and 1000s of photos from my Alaska trip. Every now and again, exact locations get lost in the shuffle.)

16. In front of the Kenai, Alaska visitors' center. 

17. Holy Assumption Orthodox Church in Kenai -- make sure you step inside -- it's quite beautiful. 

18. Beach in Homer, AK -- one of my absolute favorite beaches anywhere in the world.

pink

I lifted my camera just in time to catch this woman as she hurried down a street in Otavalo, Ecuador.

marble men

They've been playing Rolley-Hole marbles in the Monroe County, Kentucky area for 150 years. I hung around with the guys for three days, played a game of Rolley-Hole (very badly), and learned a ton about whittling, flint, and what it means to clean the yard. See more photos.

over here!

The paparazzi went absolutely mad when Charlize Theron walked into the lobby of the Beverly Hilton for the Oscar nominees' luncheon. Hey Charlize! You look beautiful! Hey look over here! The flashes just kept going and going. One thing that struck me about this photo--which I took after a few of the paparazzi doing the shooting and before a flock of fans lined up to get a looksee at the stars, was how much Theron glowed--everybody else really did seem rather dull in comparison. It's so strange. She must use really good moisturizer.