Introduction

Hello.

Through luck and some intention, I find myself in Alaska, gainfully employed and poised to travel this vast state.

Friends, family, and acquaintances alike have all inquired:

“Why Alaska?”

“Mountains” has become my typical one-word response. And while this is true, it is an oversimplification. I came to Alaska to wander some wilds; most of my life has been spent in cities, and the population density in those environs started to seriously stifle.

So I left everything I knew, more or less on a whim, after completing grad school…driving northward at a breakneck pace, seeking space and something to fill a void in my life that I never even knew existed.

I present these writings to the world for three key reasons:

1. To memorialize my experiences. I feel incredibly fortunate to have work  that sends me to the furthest flung reaches in the largest of the United States, and it’d be a shame not to share.
2. This is a time of transformation for Alaska. Climate change, industrial development, economic strife, and cultural shifts are transforming this land swiftly. Upon arriving in the great white north, it dawned on me that the reality of these changes demands depiction.
3. I’ve never written to the world before, this shall be a bold experiment in honing a voice for mass consumption. I love corresponding with dear friends and my beloved family, but publishing something to the internet at large always seemed daunting. Why now? Opportunity knocks, dear reader. And my travels shall soon commence.

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Throughout these posts, I’ll pepper my words with photos from each journey. I don’t consider myself a photographer, but sometimes Alaska’s beauty speaks for itself and my blundering lens can only hope to do it justice.

If you have any questions, comments, feedback, demagoguery, or diatribe to contribute, I hope you’ll reach out: AlaskaVillageToVillage@gmail.com.

For the time being, take care & be well.

And thanks for stopping by.

🙂

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© Chasen Cunitz and AKv2v.com, 2016

Use or duplication of this material without express and written permission is prohibited.

Alaska: Village to Village