Coming face-to-face with grizzlies and glaciers, Brown Cannon III and his family had a remarkable journey across the Last Frontier. Here, he shares some of his treasured family photos and talks about what makes Alaska so special.
Above: “On the approach to Seward coming back from a boat trip to Holgate Glacier, we were in awe of the dramatic mountains that climb straight out of the bay,” says Cannon. In this shot, the glacier continues to work its way down toward the sea.
Above, left: Cannon’s whole family fit in a canoe at Kachemak Bay Wilderness Lodge. “We paddled up China Poot Bay and pulled off in a tributary to fish, hike and explore.” Above, right: “For the first leg of our trip, we took a floatplane to Redoubt Bay and landed in front of the lodge.”
Above: “We saw this black bear at Redoubt Bay Lodge, the first destination on our road trip. We had many conversations with our kids about the survival aspects of being in the wilderness and what to watch out for. For example, we taught them to pay close attention to their surroundings and to be on the lookout for new tracks.”
Above: “We stopped at a few places along our drive from Anchorage to Homer, like the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in Girdwood. There you can see caribou and grizzlies. It’s a great way to educate kids on what’s roaming in the Alaska wild, their habitats and what you might encounter on the trip.”
Above, left: “My daughter loved the fishing gear, trudging through the mud in her boots and learning how to cast a line — though she couldn’t care less about catching a fish.” Above, right: “My wife, Abigail, and the kids loved stretching their legs at our various stops on the journey from Anchorage to Homer.”
Above: “We took floatplanes to get around parts of Alaska. It’s loud, the planes shake, you skip off the water and you have headphones on listening to the pilot communicate with the tower. If you talk, everyone can hear what you’re saying — including the tower. My son was talking the whole time; he was so excited and just couldn’t help himself.”
Above: The dramatic skies linger above the Kachemak Bay Wilderness Lodge in China Poot Bay. “It’s grand. It’s vast. It’s raw,” says Cannon. “Nature just hits you in the face when you walk out the door.”
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