The Ultima Thule

Journeys in America’s Northernmost Lands: a web anthology of the Alaskan Arctic

Colville III- Alaskan Arctic River

March 5th, 2010

Colville III- Alaskan Arctic River

RKahn | March 5, 2010

The gravel bar is a jumble of jagged clay rock; there are fossils everywhere, worms and seashells, fragments of petrified wood, fern leaves, an ancient world frozen in stone. I imagine myself walking in an ancient arctic rain forest. We climb up the cliff above our tents following game trails and eating blueberries. There are [...]

Colville II- Alaskan Arctic River

RKahn | March 5, 2010

The owl flies silently over my head, white and brown wings making no sound…over the river into the tundra, the owl drops out of sight and then emerges from a fold in the land a small creature tucked in its talons…Screeching peregrine chicks hidden somewhere on the cliff face, strident calls, chaotic screaming…pleading, hidden from [...]

The Pik Dunes

RKahn | February 15, 2010

Rain all night…the clouds are down on the lake…It is a cold grey morning…Patches of blue sky breaking through until the days changes in character…Bright sun, light wind, blue sky…the grasses glowing yellow…Pools of water gathered in the folds of the dunes…the hum of the land is loud in my ears…There are no caribou to [...]

Colville I – Alaskan Arctic River

RKahn | February 4, 2010

by Richard Kahn
There are no geese on the Colville…But, there are loons, and rough legged hawks, and peregrine falcons. We sat beneath a cliff as the peregrine screeched at us from above. A second falcon joined the first and together they screamed at us, warning us away from their nest. As the second falcon landed [...]