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Don Pitcher has written and photographed travel guides for Alaska, Wyoming, Yellowstone-Grand Teton, Washington, the San Juan Islands, and Alaska's Inside Passage.
Click the book covers for details > |
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| Travel and photography Q&A |
| Got a travel or photography question for Don Pitcher? I certainly don't have all the answers, but will be happy to provide tips and point you in the right direction for places that I cover in my travel books. Below are a few questions to get you started. Contact Don Pitcher to add your own query or to make a comment. |
| How long are the days in Alaska right now? |
The summer solstice (June 21) is the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphers, and it's all downhill after that. In southcentral Alaska, (including Anchorage) the sun comes up at 4:17 a.m. and stays over the horizon till 11:39 p.m., with plenty of light to read a book at 1 a.m. Find a good day-length calendar for Alaska—and elsewhere—at sunrisesunset.com. The official State of Alaska travel website has current weather conditions and all sorts of other connections for people traveling to Alaska. |
| Can I drive my car into Denali National Park? |
| Only the first 15 miles of the Denali National Park road are open to the general public, and the primary access is by park tour or shuttle bus. Learn all the details and make bus reservations on the Doyan/Aramark website. The Denali National Park website has complete info on the park, from hiking trails and campgrounds to dog mushing demonstrations and specifics on climbing North America's highest peak, 20,320-ft Mt. McKinley. (Alaskans commonly refer to the mountain as Denali, but an Ohio congressman from the home district of former President McKinley has blocked any hope of changing the name for many years.) |
| Our family is planning a weekend trip to the San Juan Islands. Are there any good camping options? |
| Lopez Island is a great weekend place for families, with public campsites at Spencer Spit State Park and Odlin County Park. Bring your bikes for easy riding on the country roads. Public campgrounds are also available on other islands, including beautiful Moran State Park on Orcas Island, oft-crowded San Juan County Park on San Juan Island, and tiny South Beach County Park (also called Shaw Island County Park) on Shaw Island. Several Marine State Parks offer more remote camping, and private campgrounds are available on the three main islands. Visit the Links page for quick connections to a multitude of other San Juan Islands websites. |
| What's with the ban on feeding bald eagles in Homer, Alaska? |
| For more than 25 years "Eagle Lady" Jean Keene has been feeding bald eagles on the spit in Homer, Alaska. After much controversy the city council voted this February to ban the feeding of eagles and a number of other bird species. Eighty-two-year-old Jean Keene was given an exemption that allows her to continue feeding through 2010, but it it now illegal for anyone else to feed eagles, gulls, kittiwakes, crows, and ravens in Homer. So make sure your child doesn't feed the gulls on the Homer spit unless you want to get hit with a fine! Comedy Central's The Daily Show recently did a hilarious send-up called The Eagle Has Loitered. Needless to say, it was not exactly complimentary of the ordinance or its proponents. |
| Why is your Washington book so out of date? |
| The 7th edition of Moon Washington came out in 2002. Normally I update my travel guidebooks every three years, but Washington proved increasingly difficult, partly because I have two young children, but also because the state is changing so rapidly. I transferred the copyright to my publisher (Moon) five years ago, but they have not yet found a new author. The 9th edition of Moon Alaska, came out in 2007, and a new edition of Moon San Juan Islands will be out in spring 2008. |
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