Gates of the Arctic National Park Photo Feature: here2where

Welcome back to National Parks and other public lands with T! On a regular basis, we’ll feature favorite photos or stories from a friend in the National Park community. Are you a National Park fan with a favorite you think would be great for this series? Send me a private message through the contact section of this blog!

About these photos»

Place: Gates of the Arctic National Park, Alaska
Date: July 2013 and August 2019
Photo Credit: here2where
Why they are some of my favorites:
- The photo of Tom resting during a hike in July of 2013 is a favorite because it recalls the peace, serenity and sense of wonderment during our first time in Gates of the Arctic, which is our favorite National Park. We were at a remote cabin on the headwaters of the Alatna River, more than 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle. At the time of this photo, our guide told us that unless someone was hiking the Brooks Range we were probably the only three people in a 150-mile radius. That’s roughly the size of the state of Colorado. Solitude abounds. https://here2where.wordpress.com/national-park-travels/gates-of-the-arctic-national-park/
- We’ve been to Gates twice and, if anything, the second time was even better than the first. In August 2019 we went to the same remote cabin. We were hoping to see the caribou migration but Mother Nature had dished up a warmer than usual summer and the migration was slow in arriving. August in far northern Alaska however is incredible. It was already fall and the colors of the tundra were amazing. We did see several caribou and grizzlies but the landscape itself with its profusion of berries and subtle changes proved to be the main attraction. In Alaska everything is weather permitting and the weather didn’t permit us to fly out as planned. Fog completely socked in and the bush pilot was not able to fly in to the lake. So we had an extra day added to our adventure. https://here2where.wordpress.com/national-park-travels/gates-of-the-arctic-national-park-return/

Meet Marlene from here2where»

Tom and I decided quite a few years ago to add visiting all the National Parks to our “bucket list”. At that time, there were 59. Since then, changes in designations have increased that number to 63. At this writing, we have been to 60 of the National Parks and an additional 80+ other national park units. Ironically, we have been to all of the National Parks that are the least visited and most difficult to reach but not all of the most accessible. We plan to visit the last three National Parks on our list this year as well as go to a variety of other park units. We love to be outdoors, hike, explore and learn more about the many places we visit. I like to take photos and write about our travels on my blog/website – here2where. I have a small online store using some of my photos on a variety of items. We recently bought a camper and Tom has finally decided to fully retire (I did that several years ago) so we’re looking forward to exploring more of our nation’s public lands. Our national parks are near and dear to our hearts.