Watching Caribou in the Winter
“Nomadic Mentastans at Jack Creek” original acrylic painting on canvas by Gail Niebrugge. Sold.
During my years as a pilot anytime we wanted to find caribou we’d jump into “Charley” (the nickname for my airplane), and fly over the Wrangell Mountains. It would never take long to find a few caribou on the hills above tree line, sometimes we were lucky and could see hundreds as they wandered and grazed in the tundra. In the winter caribou congregate along the Nabesna Road, one of only two roads into the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. I spent many hours sitting in the car with the engine and heater running watching, sketching, and photographing those beautiful animals. The herds were much bigger in the late 1970’s. On the highway to Anchorage it was not uncommon for huge numbers of these antlered creatures to surround vehicles and completely stop traffic as they crossed the road. An awesome experience!
More tomorrow,
Gail Niebrugge, Artist of Alaska
