Out of the Office

Camille Botello reaches the Skyline summit near Cooper Landing, Alaska with dirty ankles on June 27, 2021. (Camille Botello / Peninsula Clarion)

Out of the Office: The view from Skyline

In some ways, the isolation of the pandemic has proved even more harsh for me. I’ve spent the majority of it — actually, this week… Continue reading

 

Kayakers paddle across Kenai Lake on Saturday, June 12, 2021, near Seward, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

Out of the Office: Camping goals: turn off the demands of work

‘Stand and stare’ a good motto for becoming a power camper.

 

Eileen Sorensen taunts her dog, Hana, with fresh caught and cooked blue claw crabs in New Jersey. (Photo courtesy Kat Sorensen)

Tangled Up in Blue: Good Grief

They say that grief washes over you in waves, but I just jumped in.

 

Homer News reporter Sarah Knapp (kneeling) is pictured with the Friends of Kachemak Bay State Park volunteer group who cleared South Eldred Trail during National Trails Day on June 5. The group was able to clear half a mile of the trail. Pictured left to right are Kristine Moerlein, Amy Holman, Kathy Sarns, Lyn Maslow, Ruth Dickerson and Kris Holderied. (Photo by Michael Singer)

Out of the Office: Finding Home in Alaska

“The story is it’s dark, it’s cold, it’s unfriendly and there are wild animals that’ll eat you.” That is the story of Alaska, or so… Continue reading

Homer News reporter Sarah Knapp (kneeling) is pictured with the Friends of Kachemak Bay State Park volunteer group who cleared South Eldred Trail during National Trails Day on June 5. The group was able to clear half a mile of the trail. Pictured left to right are Kristine Moerlein, Amy Holman, Kathy Sarns, Lyn Maslow, Ruth Dickerson and Kris Holderied. (Photo by Michael Singer)
This is me standing in front of the Denali National Park and Preserve sign on Saturday, March 20, 2021. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Out of the Office: The weekend

By the second week of March, I had pretty much forgotten about the dry cabin I’d booked for the next weekend. I’d made reservations from… Continue reading

This is me standing in front of the Denali National Park and Preserve sign on Saturday, March 20, 2021. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Michael Armstrong is properly outfitted for an Arctic summer hiking trip in this photo taken in 1989 along the Wulik River in northeastern Alaska. (Photo by Charles Barnwell.)

Out of the Office: Living in Alaska is a lifetime in learning

From boots to parkas, there’s lots to figure out about surviving in the Last Frontier

Michael Armstrong is properly outfitted for an Arctic summer hiking trip in this photo taken in 1989 along the Wulik River in northeastern Alaska. (Photo by Charles Barnwell.)
The author works at her former desk at the Peninsula Clarion in 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Ben Boettger)

Out of the Office: For good, for now

“Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes.” If that figure immediately transports you to the famous number from the musical “Rent,” you’ve caught my drift.… Continue reading

The author works at her former desk at the Peninsula Clarion in 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Ben Boettger)
Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion The author gets warm with a mask at Alaska’s Matanuska Glacier on Sunday, March 7, 20201.

Out of the Office: Warming up to masks

A March 3 lead paragraph in a news story in The New York Times asked, “When can I throw away my mask?” For me, the… Continue reading

Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion The author gets warm with a mask at Alaska’s Matanuska Glacier on Sunday, March 7, 20201.
A day on Kachemak Bay. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Out of the Office: Water taxi talking

Reporters spend a lot of time talking to people: people they don’t know, people they do know, people who really don’t want to talk to… Continue reading

A day on Kachemak Bay. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Fletcher runs through the snow on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2021, on Diamond Ridge near Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

Out of the Office: How all the dogs in my life have kept me sane and happy

I have written before about the virtues of big, rowdy dogs in developing an exercise plan. In my more than 40 years in Alaska, I… Continue reading

Fletcher runs through the snow on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2021, on Diamond Ridge near Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
Bottenintnin Lake, seen on Nov. 24, 2020 near Sterling, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Out of the Office: More questions than answers

The only place life makes sense anymore is the outdoors. How do we balance the needs of students and parents with the safety of school… Continue reading

Bottenintnin Lake, seen on Nov. 24, 2020 near Sterling, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Moose are seen eating on the shoulder of Kenai Spur Highway on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020, outside of Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Out of the Office: Into the office

An ode to Kenai Spur Highway

Moose are seen eating on the shoulder of Kenai Spur Highway on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020, outside of Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
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Out of the Office: Two weeks

I’ve been thinking a lot about the 1986 film “The Money Pit” lately. If you’re around my age, I’ve probably lost you already. But if… Continue reading

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A section of the Diamond Creek beach has built up, with plants growing where 10 years ago there had been bare mud, as seen here on Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020, near Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

Out of the Office: Annual CoastWalk beach trek reveals changes, transformation

Volunteers in annual Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies program clean up, monitor beaches

A section of the Diamond Creek beach has built up, with plants growing where 10 years ago there had been bare mud, as seen here on Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020, near Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
The author hikes up a ridge on the way to Lost Lake on Aug. 28, 2020 near Seward, Alaska. (Photo by Lauren Jerew)

Out of the Office: Out of your bubble

People say that Alaska is their backyard, their playground — that they know this or that mountain like that back of their own hand. In… Continue reading

The author hikes up a ridge on the way to Lost Lake on Aug. 28, 2020 near Seward, Alaska. (Photo by Lauren Jerew)
A sign welcomes travelers to the Kenai Peninsula on Sept. 1, 2020. (Photo by Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Out of the Office: From Anchorage to Soldotna for the 1st time

Beauty overwhelms on initial drive

A sign welcomes travelers to the Kenai Peninsula on Sept. 1, 2020. (Photo by Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Out of the office: Checking items off the list

Out of the office: Checking items off the list

Hail to the king

Out of the office: Checking items off the list
Out of the Office: COVID camping is about slowing down and relaxing

Out of the Office: COVID camping is about slowing down and relaxing

Recreating during a pandemic presents some challenges. Is the great outdoors great enough? How do you social distance on a narrow wilderness trail? How toxic… Continue reading

Out of the Office: COVID camping is about slowing down and relaxing
Out of the Office: There and back again

Out of the Office: There and back again

In a recent display of tenacity, mediocre coordination skills and a deep love for the outdoors, some friends and I strapped on our packs for… Continue reading

Out of the Office: There and back again
The view from Slaughter Gulch trail on June 20, 2020 in Cooper Landing, Alaska. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Out of the Office: Life on the Edge

Are you a planner? An organizer? A list-maker? I’m not. I love not knowing what tomorrow will bring, and when it comes to taking a… Continue reading

The view from Slaughter Gulch trail on June 20, 2020 in Cooper Landing, Alaska. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
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