Images of Gates of the Arctic National Park and the town of Bettles – Northern Alaska, taken in June 2015.

After leaving Ambler and Kobuk Valley National Park my trip took me to Kotzebue, Nome, Anchorage and finally Fairbanks for one night. The next day I was to make my way up to Bettles Alaska, my base for my trips into Gates of the Arctic National Park.

While at the Fairbanks airport I ran into fellow traveler, actor/director Ricky Schroder (sitcom Silver Spoons as a child and movies like The Champ and Crimson Tide) who with several other individuals was traveling to Bettles to take a 10 day wilderness hike through the Arctic. Everyone in the small waiting room was discussing their Alaskan experiences and I made it a point to tell them about the mosquito “war zone” that I had encountered on my hike through Kobuk Valley relating to them how the pests would get into your mouth and that I just began swallowing them because I got tired of spitting them out…my revenge for all the times they had bitten me in the past! A look of concern came over Ricky and his team as they felt prepared for everything except swarms of murderous insects. A woman who identified herself as an Alaskan native just smiled at them and told them they were in for a unique experience. I agreed, unique indeed!