The sunsets that glow over different rivers around the world must all be special, but I’m partial to the ones that light up my home here in southwestern Alaska. My family and I fly fish the Kvichak River every chance we get. It runs behind our lodge, and we’ve spent many wonderful years on its banks building our livelihood and just having fun. Some of the very best of those times happen at sunset in Alaska.
We put in long days, but we live our dreams guiding fellow anglers through unspoiled backcountry. When the sun starts its slow slide over our shoulders, we know it’s about time to start packing up. That’s when we stop and marvel at glorious hues of pink, purple, crimson and gold that paint the sky.
The Alaska Sunset at the No See Um Lodge on the Kvichak River
I wonder if it’s our proximity to the Arctic Circle although that’s still a good way north of us. We don’t have to fight light pollution, and our Alaskan air is clean and pure. Even if a scientist could explain it to me, I don’t think I’d completely understand how sun, sky and clouds can create such beautiful blazes across the horizon.
If I had to name a favorite thing about our amazing Alaskan sunsets, it would be how much I love sharing them. I cherish the solitude of sitting alone on my back porch and watching colors dance across the sky. Even more, I enjoy seeing that glow reflected on the face of someone experiencing it for the first time.
Sunsets are always special when they light up that vanishing point where sky and river meet. I’m just thankful that my family and I have ringside seats to one of Alaska’s most brilliant shows of nature. It happens every evening, and it makes me grateful to be alive every day.
-John Holman
John Holman was born in the state of New York and moved with family to the Alaskan bush in 1970 where is father founded No See Um Lodge – a family-owned Alaska fishing lodge. John has been guiding and flying since the age of 19 and is licensed and certified as a commercial pilot, flight instructor, AI (Aircraft Inspector), Coast Guard Captain First Aid and CPR First Responder. When not running the lodge during the Alaska fishing season, he can be found flying, hunting, fishing and scuba diving around the world. Find the Lodge on twitter @NoSeeUmLodge_AK
