Harding Icefield, Alaska

A beautiful picture I took on the fringes of the Harding Icefield in Alaska. My father and I rented a charter plane out of Homer, and the pilot – a quirky and funny European woman – flew us over the mountain range. She told us the weather here was chaotic and hard to predict, and that the break in the cloud cover allowing us passage over the mountains was a lucky break. My father and I had many lucky breaks during that trip.

Another reason I fell in love with Alaska – the land granted us spectacular views throughout the trip. Each in their own was rare, and so many in a short time a gift from a profound source I can’t quite explain. It was as though the land knew we’d come, granting us glimpses of the magic she held. These are gifts worth carrying for a lifetime. As I sat in the plane seat, snapping photos with an iPhone 3G that doesn’t serve justice to the sights I saw, I realized I was meant to write about the land I flew over.

My trip provoked a well of energy I can never remember feeling before… when beauty transcends thought and evolves into pure emotion.