Rick Stafford, inventor, outdoorsman and former oil-field worker on Alaska’s North Slope—the kind of guy “who will take three hours to build a tool to turn a two-hour job into 30 minutes”—wanted to create a potentially lifesaving (and easy-to-pack) way for snowmobilers to walk away after a backwoods breakdown. His solution? Airlite inflatable snowshoes.
October 24, 2013
June 23, 2011
National Geographic Traveler's Intelligent Travel Blog:
Get Your Grin on in SE Alaska
June 22, 2011
Several years back, I interviewed author Gretchen Rubin about her then-upcoming book,The Happiness Project. While we were chatting, Rubin—a former editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal and clerk for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor (aka, she’s no dummy)—spoke about her concern that it's become, basically, fashionable, for people to take pride in their sense of "irony and discernment" and often, sadly, just as fashionable to think happiness and joy are signs of naïveté.
What does this have to do with SE Alaska? Find out on National Geographic Traveler's IT blog.
December 15, 2009
American Way: Strange Ways
December 15, 2009
Most kids flinch at the thought of doing schoolwork over the summer. But for Johnny Strange, last summer’s workload was all worth it. "I'm always going to have another summer, but I'll probably only get one opportunity to climb Everest," says the teen, who turns 18 this month.
Fair enough.
Read the article.October 14, 2008
November 15, 2007
American Way: Hitting the Clubs with Alice Cooper (So to Speak)
November 15, 2007
Alice Cooper snickers while telling the story of his onstage midair skewering of a doll thrown from the audience, done with a sword formerly owned by Errol Flynn. Moments later, I'm standing just a few feet away from the original shock rocker as he raises another potential instrument of death and prepares to whack away at a small object. But instead of aiming for my head, Cooper sends a dimpled golf ball sailing out over a grassy expanse, courtesy of a highly polished titanium driver and a powerful but elegant swing.
It's my first lesson in a good golf swing. To be honest, it’s my first golf lesson of any kind — and from Alice Cooper, no less.
March 10, 2007
Saveur: Cold Comfort
March 2007
A chef brings more than mere sustenance to the mushers of Alaska's Iditarod
Kirsten Dixon, owner of the Winterlake Lodge, should have flown out a day earlier. Instead, she was standing around the office of Rust's Flying Service in Anchorage, Alaska, along with me, ten paying guests, and much of the food she was supposed to serve over the next three days: delicate lettuces, bright red bell peppers, organic chickens, and other fre you wouldn't expect to see in March this close to the Arctic Circle.
February 01, 2007
American Way: When the Fur Flies
February 1, 2007
The giant bungee cord releases, and Squatch zips across the court on his in-line skates, his fur mitts tightly gripping a basketball. A stadium's worth of eyeballs watch as, 24 feet away from the basket, he hits the ramp stationed at the three-point line and flies toward the basket. Slam dunk.
It's just another day as an NBA mascot.
January 02, 2007
American Way: The Road Less Traveled
January 1, 2007
Lance Mackey is making the rounds. His team of 16 dogs, including the leaders (“Larry, the brains of the outfit, and Hobo, the speed behind the team”), dive into the food and bowls of water he sets before them. “They’re very aggressive eaters,” says Mackey. After inhaling the meal, some return to rolling in the snow to cool off from their run, while others work the hay under their paws into a comfortable spot to rest. Like human athletes, each has his own postrun routine.
For Mackey, the pack of mostly related look-alikes has more in common with a top-ranked high school soccer team than with pro players. The spirited black-and-beige dogs are “basically a bunch of adolescents ... a bunch of high school kids with minimum discipline.” But he’s not complaining — he breeds his dogs to have strong appetites and even stronger can-do (and rather chipper) attitudes. “Without either one, you’re not going very far,” he says.
Read the rest of my story about the 2006 Iditarod on the American Way site.
November 01, 2006
American Way: Fly Girl
November 1, 2006
With
just two rungs to go, I’m stuck. The ladder, the sort normally propped
against a house by a painter, is leaning against a blue-carpeted
platform that is 23 feet in the air. The platform has no walls and,
aside from a wobbly looking (or so it seems) black metal thing sticking
up from it, offers no apparent place to hold on.
“What do I do now?” In my not-panicked-but-not-exactly-clear-thinking state, it seems like a perfectly reasonable question.
“Keep climbing,” says the instructor, peering down at me with a bit of an amused grin from atop the platform.
Gee, thanks.
“Can I grab that?” I ask, pointing at the black metal thing.
“Yes.”
Well, that’s really all he had to tell me in the first place.
I
have been at trapeze school for less than 30 minutes, and already I
have dealt with my two odd fears: stepping over the top of a ladder and
anything that reminds me of grade school gym class (just the thought of
the President’s Challenge Physical Fitness Test is enough to send this
35-year-old back to bed with a pretend fever).
Read the story on the American Way site.
August 31, 2006
Pages: The Whole Truth
Sept/Oct 2006
In the latest edition of my column about narrative nonfiction, biographies, and the quirky bits in between, I introduce readers to books about a high school debate team, the true story behind the shot heard round the world, beer, and moonshine.
About Me
- If it has to do with words and telling stories, I'm in. I'm an experienced freelance writer, editor, and podcast producer who has written for The New York Times, National Geographic, CNN, and many others; edited for Entrepreneur and Fortune; and helped Via launch their travel podcast. Other stuff too.
Need some editorial help? Contact me at [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you.