You haven't experienced wilderness until you have been to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. On our first trip to the refuge, a float down the Marsh Fork of the Canning River, we saw no one for 12 days. The scenery was magnificent. In the panorama above, a rainstorm is coming downriver from the right. Minutes after taking the photo, it was upon us...and then it blew over as quickly as it had come.

In 2008, we floated the Kongakut River, and were privledged to see a part of the annual caribou migration that happens every spring. With clear water and good fishing, the Kongakut is the most popular river in the refuge.

The stark beauty of this land continues to call us. We shall return.

The McNeil River State Game Sanctuary features the largest gathering of brown bears on earth. Located next to Katmai National Park and Preserve, you have to win a lottery to go there. It's a rustic bring your own food and tent situation, but the rewards for photographers are incredible.

While dozens of predominately male bears can be viewed fishing at the river during the July salmon run, numerous females with cubs can be seen on the three-mile trek from the camp to the falls. And as long as you obey the rules, the bears don't bother you at all!