– Doug McConnell

As I’ve mentioned here and there on the television series and this website, I’ve had a long love affair with Alaska.  I moved to Ketchikan in 1973 to help organize the local planning department and do a comprehensive and transportation plan for the community.  In 1975, I moved to Anchorage and did many projects for the Governor’s Office, the Alaska Humanities Forum, the University of Alaska, Alaska Public Television, the Capital Site Selection Committee and many others.  When President Carter was in office, I commuted to Washington quite a bit for a variety of fascinating assignments, but my heart and my home remained in Alaska.

My wife and I our two dogs finally left Alaska in 1982 so that I could get back into television full time.   We moved to Seattle and I went to work for legendary KING Television.  At the end of 1983, we moved to the Bay Area to be closer to our families and raise our kids, but we never lost our affection for Alaska and we get back as often as possible.  Since 2002, I’ve served on the board of the Alaska Conservation Foundation.

Driving the Dalton Highway was a treat, but one of the things I love most about Alaska is how few roads there really are.  In the Lower 48 states, I don’t think it’s possible now to be more than 14 miles from a road.   That may not be exactly right, but it’s close.  In Alaska, you can find yourself hundreds and hundreds of miles from the nearest roadway of any kind.  In fact, from the northern reaches of the Dalton Highway….due east and west…the nearest roads of any magnitude are thousands of miles away.  There are few places on earth where that can be said, and may it remain true for a long time to come.

For the Public Television broadcast, we had to leave out some other portions of our shoot along and near the Dalton Highway that I liked very much.   But, you can find them here on OpenRoad.TV. The stories are in the column to the right.  You can see the full lengths of our two stories about driving the Dalton Highway, and meet some other interesting people including Eric May, an old friend who lives in Europe and just happened to be in Coldfoot when we got there.  He was working with a German television crew. Now what are the odds of that chance encounter?  Actually, in Alaska, places like tiny Coldfoot become sort of Grand Central Stations.   Stay there long enough and everybody will show up eventually.

And then, you can take a flight with us deep into the Brooks Range to visit the eskimo village of Anaktuvak Pass located in a stark, imposing and magnificently beautiful setting.

Alaska is a forceful place.  It grabs hold, and doesn’t easily let go. It requires respect and attention, and it can be deadly.  It never lets you forget exactly where you are.  You take it for granted at your peril.  It heightens the senses.  If you’re willing to stay alert and attentive, Alaska is for you.  It certainly is for me.

Photo by filo

– Doug McConnell

It’s very hard for me to believe, still feeling pretty darn young, that I moved to Alaska 35 years ago this coming June. Wow. Where did the time go? Too busy enjoying life, I guess.

I lived in Alaska 9 years before finally heading back to the lower ‘48. I get back quite a bit and have had the chance to travel far and wide in the state. Over the years, I’ve come to identify Sitka as one of my favorite towns. Its history is very present, its setting is spectacular, and its modern sophistication may surprise you. I’ve had the chance to visit Sikta many times and could easily imagine living there full-time.

One of my trips was with our terrific TV crew and a dear old friend, Bill Wheaton, some years back. I hope you enjoy our Sitka, Alaska’s Russian & Tlingit Heritage and please send us descriptions of yours whenever you can. Then see some of our other OpenRoad.TV adventures in Alaska including Alaska’s Denali National Park and Alaska’s Kenai Fjords and plan your next trip right away.

– Jim Wirth

Photo by leezsnow

Alaska!  Known to many as “The Last Frontier” and “Land of the Midnight Sun,” the Alaska territory was referred to as “Seward’s Folly” in 1867 during the battle between Secretary of State William H. Seward and the United States Congress over its purchase from Russia.  It may have seemed “folly” at the time, but in hindsight it was $7.2 Million very well spent!

We’ve uploaded several of our Alaska videos to OpenRoad.TV this week:  Alaska’s Glacier Bay & Whale Display, Alaska’s Kenai Fjords, Denali National Park, and America’s Northernmost Road.   Find even more videos of adventure in Alaska on our Alaska Map. 

During my own virtual exploration of Alaska this week, I came across three truly wonderful on-line journals.  The first is a blog called Alaskology written by Steve Edwards, special sections editor at the Anchorage Daily News.  Steve’s goal with Alaskology is to give readers a look at Alaska through local eyes, while bringing their attention to special events and vacation deals.

“Northern Girl” Angie M. is a self proclaimed “explorer of life – an avid lover of the outdoors and Alaska.” Angie regularly updates a journal on her site northerngirl.net with stories, useful information and stunning photographs of Alaskan wildlife, culture and events.  Be sure to also check out Angie’s northerngirl.net photo gallery.

And last, but certainly not least, is a blog from 28 year old Jill in Juneau called “Up in Alaska.”  Jill describes herself as “an Alaska journalist who likes to bicycle in horrendous conditions and eat goldfish crackers and Pepsi for breakfast.”   Jill biked 100 miles yesterday.  322 miles so far this month.  Jill biked 350 miles of the Iditarod Trail Invitational over seven days in February.  Yep – Jill likes to bicycle.  And as amazing as her bicycling feats may be, Jill tops it with the exemplary quality and style of her writing and photography.  I can’t wait to see where the road… or should I say snow… takes Jill next.

Doug McConnell

About two weeks ago I was contacted by an old friend I hadn’t seen in about 30 years. It was terrific to hear from Nancy Owens Barnes. We worked together for several years in the Planning Department of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough in Alaska. Check out our OpenRoad.TV story about Ketchikan and you’ll see Creek St., a former red-light district we in the planning department worked hard to save from decay and have declared an historic site. Creek St., “where men and salmon once came to spawn,” is now one of Ketchikan’s principle tourist attractions.

I remember Nancy as being a bright, talented, kind and wonderful person with stories to tell about her family’s fascinating life and journey to Alaska. Everybody in Alaska has intriguing tales to tell about living in the often uncompromising far north. Many have extraordinary stories about how and why they came to Alaska in the first place. I’ll write more about my own Alaskan odyssey and experiences now and then, but Nancy is way ahead of me. I encourage you to check out her website, www.southtoalaska.com, and read her book entitled South to Alaska, From the Heartland of America to the Heart of a Dream.

– Doug

This morning in Marin County, California, the low clouds and fog are dense. It’s gray and cool. I find myself bundling up and thinking about more northerly and even cooler places where I’ve lived and traveled over the years.

Right away my thoughts drift up the Inside Passage to Southeast Alaska where I lived for a few years in the early 1970’s before moving to Anchorage where I stayed until 1982. I get back up quite a bit to do television stories, visit old friends and favorite haunts and discover new places. I’m also on the board of the Alaska Conservation Foundation (ACF) which, among other things, raises and distributes money to support critical conservation groups and programs in the state. I’ve had a long love affair with Alaska and I go, in real life and in my imagination, whenever I can.

Photo: Inside Passage by the17pointscale

We have a few of our Alaska stories here on OpenRoad.TV: Alaska’s River of Bears; Sitka, Alaska’s Russian and Tlingit Heritage, Juneau, Alaska’s Mendenhall Glacier with more to come. Many of you have traveled there, some numerous times. Some of you even live in Alaska today. Please send us your thoughts, tips and stories about your journeys in the Great Land. We’d love to know about them.

Many many people who go to Southeast Alaska see it from the decks of cruise ships and in short stops in little towns that can feel overrun by tourists. I’ve only gone to Southeast (more…)