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

| 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

| 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 [...]