Discover Alaska

There is no better way to see and learn about Alaska than to be a tour bus driver. That was how I fell in love with Alaska. Photos are a postage stamp scene of the visual reality. Words can not come close to describing the scenery, sharing the experience or portraying the essence of the land. There is no way to verbalize the emotions evoked by the untouched wilderness, the mountains, glaciers, the vastness, the hugeness, the breathtaking beauty. Alaska - fascinating enough to be featured in virtual reality shows which often manage to stretch the boundaries of imagination. Big enough to hold Texas, California and Montana, it can not be experienced in a short seven day visit. Even a two week tour can be classified as a taste of Alaska. No one book can encompass all of the accumulated information about the 49th state. Volumes of personal stories of life in Alaska can be found in abundance on store shelves. Researching information is tedious and time consuming and there is so much about this state that the very concept is daunting. I know! I've searched and researched information for tour material, to verify material and to learn more. I have learned much in 23 years on the road, touring all over Alaska and the Yukon and, I have taken hundreds of photographs. For years, tour bus drivers narrated as they drove, sharing a little bit about a lot; you had to know a little bit about everything in order to give the passengers a quality experience. Geography, geology (some expected us to know the types of rocks they picked up!) history which included discovery, exploration, Russian occupancy, purchase details, statehood, the gold rush, Native peoples and their history and issues, oil discovery, pipeline construction including facts and figures, the permanent fund, mushing, the Northern Lights and on and on. If you were young and cute and in college, you could bluff your way through the tour with personal adventure stories, but if you were older, the people expected you to know your stuff. Binders of old newspaper stories and photos from Alaska's early days have been lost in moves, loaned out and never returned and notes made from info signs, museums and old brochures have gone the same route. 23 years of repitition put a good amount to memory. All of that knowedge and all of those photos had to be good for something so I decided to put together a book with photos to share a little bit about everything - well, almost everything - Alaska. And just to make sure - I did more research to verify some of the information.