Photo Blog - Niebrugge Images

Many of the historic buildings in the town of McCarthy, Alaska have been restored and are in use today.  (more…)

Of the two roads into the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, the McCarthy Road is definitely the most popular - and for a few good reasons.  For one, the road itself is more interesting and exciting.  I think you can see that in today’s photo.  This is where the road crosses a one lane bridge 238 feet above the Kuskulana River.  This bridge is actually an old railroad bridge built back in 1910 in order to haul copper from the Kennicott Mines  That leads me to another reason this road is popular; the history of the area, in particular, the mine and mill buildings in Kenecott and McCarthy.  Finally, the McCarthy Road brings you closer to and provides better views and access to the dramatic Wrangell Mountains.  (more…)

Mt. Sanford in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska as seen from the Nabesna Road. (more…)

I had to walk back and grab this shot because I thought it summed up the Nabesna Road conditions perfectly.  (more…)

If you haven’t seen the Planet Earth Series on Discovery, you are missing the best nature photography I have ever seen.  The series is really outstanding.  They have high-speed slow motion footage of a huge Great White Shark leaping out of the water while capturing prey.  They also filmed all kinds of very rare animals, including some incredibly colorful birds never before photographed, and even some of the only footage ever recorded of a Snow Leopard in the wild.  It is all stunning.

The photos I have been posting over the last few days during my little weather detour, along with today’s photo, are all from The Wrangell St. Elias National Park, in Alaska. (more…)

How much snow do you get is another frequent question from visitors to Alaska.  Growing up in the interior, we never saw much snow, maybe 3 to 5 feet.  On the coast here in Seward we can get a lot of snow, and just a few miles out the road they usually get much more.  About 10 years ago we set a record here in town with 18 feet!  (more…)

Weird things happen during extreme cold.  Some you may have heard about, others you may not have.  (more…)

How cold does it get?  How much snow do you get?  What is it like in the winter?  What about the darkness?  These have to be the most asked questions by visitors to Alaska each summer, and ones I will try to also answer here over the next couple of days.  Funny, I was asking people the opposite questions in Arizona recently.  (more…)

Yesterday I wrote about experiencing a 100 degree temperature change as we traveled from Palm Springs to Alaska.  This isn’t very unusual for the Alaskan traveler heading to warmer places in the winter.  But it did remind me of the time I experienced a 100 degree swing without traveling.  I think this has to be fairly rare, especially today as Alaska doesn’t get nearly as cold as it did when I was growing up.  (more…)

It is always nice to be home.  (more…)

Today (Friday) we fly back to Alaska.  The blog might be slow the next few days as we travel and get re-situated. 

Jimmie Johnson (more…)

 

I thought the most interesting part of our NASCAR experience was the day we spent at the new Neon Garage area on the practice and qualifying day, where we were able to watch the drivers and crews up-close - much closer then I ever imagined.  (more…)

The closest thing to a NASCAR race that I have ever attended would have to be the Iditarod sled dog race.  Since we were generously given tickets to the Las Vegas race, we had to take a look at what has become a huge cultural phenomena.  And it was a great chance to grab some photos. (more…)

The fountain one day before the full moon in Fountain Hills, Arizona. 

Tonto National Forest, near Phoenix, Arizona.

I decided to run out to the Tonto National Forest on my last night in Arizona.  I was hoping to do a little shooting around Saguaro Lake at sunset.  When I got there, I wasn’t surprised to see they charged $6 per vehicle.  This is in line with what we had been paying in other Phoenix area public lands and seems fair enough.  What surprised me, the nearest place to pay was 12 miles away, a 24 mile round trip to pay my day use fee! (more…)

Black-necked Stilts.  Another photo from the Phoenix area.

Red Mountain is a prominent landmark East of Phoenix, near Mesa, Arizona.  (more…)