We are having one of those days in Eagle River when the temperature hovers around freezing and it rains. The side streets, which are never really clear of snow, turn to ice making travel a little uncomfortable. It's a good day for photo editing and I'm focusing on images from summer to remind myself that although winter is long here, it does eventually pass and when it does it's worth the wait. Looking through the shots, I realized I never posted outtakes from a story on the Matanuska region shot for the New York Times last year.

Here is the original article

A story like this results in a lot of photos and most of them never see the light of day. I think that's unfortunate, especially since there are always favorites that don't fit into the story and hence don't make the cut.

Here are a few:

Crampons. Required gear for safely walking on glacial ice

Bill Jirsa, with Mica Guides examining a large crevasse

Glacier hiking

Cryoconite holes on glacier. Small rocks on the surface of the glacier absorb heat from the sun and create tiny pools of water on the frozen surface

End of the official trail. It's all ice and dangerous without proper gear from this point on.

Mixing bowls for testing mineral composition in display at Independence Mine visitor center.

Bunkhouse at Independence Mine

The spoils of panning for gold.

Fireweed and apartment building at Independence Mine.