"It's always an adventure to be on
the water," says Peter. (Joel Bennett)
A rural planner, Peter travels
to villages throuhout southeast and southwest Alaska advising communities on land issues. In the winter, he usually takes a leave of absence to travel the world for a few months. Fluent in Spanish, he'll ramble around the hills of Bolivia or pack his skis to the 16,000-foot level of the Andes. In the summer, he takes off in his wooden dory, following in the footsteps of early-day explorers."The funny thing about Alaskans is their self-assuredness.
You can't surprise them," says Peter. 'No matter what you do fly to Bali, climb Mt. McKinley, drive a dog team to the North Pole everything is possible to people here. Whatever's happening-avalanches, earthquakes, plane crashes-nothing surprises them. They take it all in stride."So when Peter decided one summer to row from Glacier Bay around Cape Spencer north along the exposed coast of the
"When I got to Juneau (the capital of Alaska, about 50 miles south of Glacier Bay) I thought, 'Gee, I'd love to live here.'
"The wilderness is why I came to Alaska," says Peter. "I like the cold. I like the snow. I like the mountains and the ocean. Juneau has all these things. The people are friendly. The politics make it interesting.