Welcome listeners from the Alaska Travelgram Show
Alaska’s KOAN 95.5 FM & 1020 AM

This is Scott Slone, thanks for tuning into the Alaska Travelgram Show! Scott McMurren and Erin Kirkland are good friends and always enjoy trading travel stories. I’ve put together a few show notes in hopes to help you plan your next great Alaska adventure!

The Denali Highway
The Denali Highway is one of my favorite destinations to wrap up my summer. If you’re a fan of wide open spaces, wildlife and getting away from the summer traffic, then this is for you!

It’s History
The Denali Highway opened in 1957 as the first road access to Denali National Park (then known as Mount McKinley National Park). Since 1971, primary park access has been via the Parks Highway, which incorporated a section of the Denali Highway from Cantwell to the present-day park entrance.

Learn more about the highway from our friends at the Alaska BLM:
http://www.blm.gov/ak/st/en/prog/recreation/denali_highway.html

Travel Advice
The highway is best traveled last week of August and the first week of September. We’ve found the road to be freshly graded, wildlife like moose and caribou are very active and fall colors are in their prime. Anyone traveling the Denali Highway should plan to spend at least 3-4 days to allow time for all the grand views, camping, fishing, wildlife viewing and hiking opportunities.

Recommended Tour Operators and Lodging
While this is a favorite local destination, Rental car and RV companies don’t allow their vehicles to travel the highway. Fortunately there are two tour operators I recommend for experiencing this Highway.

• Planet Earth Adventures
  Small Group Alaska Wilderness & Adventure Tours
  www.discoverak.com
• Sixtyone North
  Alaska Photo Tours
  www.sixtyonenorth.com
• Alpine Creek Lodge
  www.alpinecreeklodge.com

St.George Island
This summer Professional Photographer David Taylor and myself traveled out to the Pribilof Islands to visit St.George and explore this island located in the middle of the Bering Sea. We were both amazed at the huge opportunities this small corner of Alaska had to offer! Here’s a blog entry from David about our adventure out to St.George.

Read more:
http://sixtyonenorth.com/2011/07/more-photos-from-st-george-island-alaska/

Transportation and Guides

• Official Website for St.George
  http://www.stgeorgetanaq.com/travel.html
• Sixtyone North
  Alaska Photo Tours
  www.sixtyonenorth.com
• PenAir
  www.penair.com

The Denali Highway. This historic gravel road extends 135 miles through some of most scenic and suspenseful landscapes in Alaska. For the 4th time in just under a year, I will be returning to this incredible area with good friend David Taylor of Sixtyone North for a journey that will last 7 days.

I’ve traveled over 30,000 miles within Alaska, and this is paradise for any professional or novice landscape and wildlife photographer or filmmaker.  It’s really exciting visiting a place like this, stepping off the highway on either side and you’ll find yourself knee deep in Alaska!

We’ve traveled and hiked the Denali Highway during each season scouting all the best locations from landscapes to foliage, from wildlife to historic hidden treasures. And while anyone can travel this road locally, rental vehicles are not covered on the highway.

So why not reserve your spot this year? It’s an adventure of a lifetime! It’s a chance to see a grizzly bears feasting on blueberries, caribou migrating across ancient lands and landscapes that fill every sense of our existence. We’d love to have you with us!

COMPLETE TOUR INFORMATION:
SixtyOne North Wild Lands & Wild Life: Denali Highway Fall Color Photo Tour

Look forward to seeing you!
Scott

Greetings my friends,

There’s 586,412 square miles of Alaska, how are you going to spend your summer?  In my ongoing journey to experience and capture the best of America’s Last Frontier – June 18-24th, Cordova and the Eastern Prince William Sound will kickoff of my summer travels.

Why Cordova? I’ve seen Cordova and its surrounding wilderness by air plenty, and it’s incredible! So when good friend David Taylor of Sixtyone North presented a slideshow featuring this incredible area of Alaska… the words “YES, I’M IN!” blurted out almost involuntarily!

David Taylor is an accomplished wildlife and wildlands photographer, here in Alaska. He also owns Sixtyone North, which guides avid and professional photographers to some of the most remote and epic locations around Alaska. I’ll be joining Dave and several other photo adventurers on this trip to Cordova, and I’d like you to come along with me!

Since there is only one Spot left – Dave said he’d make it two spots open for Cordova… I figured you must have a friend right? So if you know someone who’d like to come along with you, feel free to invite them along as well!

This is an adventure of a lifetime my friends, and I hope you’ll consider coming along. If you decide to reserve your spot, mention “ALASKA HDTV” and I’ll donate $200 to the Alaska Conservation Foundation.

Complete write-up and trip details!

Cordova & the Eastern Prince William Sound Photo Tour | by Sixtyone North

Greetings!

Alaska HDTV is happy to announce that we’ve won “Video of the Month” award from TripFilms for our Alaska Railroad Episode. We would like to especially thank our fans and friends that voted!

Traveling Alaska by rail offers an amazing opportunity to see Alaska off the beaten path! The trip through the Kenai Peninsula offers memories that will last a lifetime. Scenes of a landscape shaped by the ice age, now leave us giant glaciers resting on sky scraping mountains to enjoy.  Experience traversing through the northern-most temperate rainforest, which is prime habitat for our famed moose and bears.  Arriving in the small harbor town of Seward your adventure has only started! I highly suggest spending a full day or two before you return to Anchorage on the Alaska Railroad. It’s a privileged opportunity to experience the Alaska coastal region and its habitat, while enjoying local hospitality that makes our state home!

Thanks all for watching the shows and supporting us through advertising, contributions, and votes when we need them!

Find more incredible travel videos at Tripfilms – Travel Inspired!

CHEERS!
Scott

I had the honor of being on the Alaska Travelgram Show today with good friend Scott McMurren and Erin Kirkland from AKontheGo. In today’s show I talked about capturing your travels with video and digital stills and how to share them.

Listen to the Alaska Travelgram Show I come in at 18:15.

As promised in today’s show here are the links and video below:

Flickr: www.flickr.com
My personal favorite website for photo sharing website, which offers a variety of tools to share and manage your photos.

Instagram: www.instagr.am
Great on the go picture sharing from your Apple mobile device. Offers a variety of image filters and sharing options e.g. instantly share your images with Flickr, facebook, twitter and email list on the go!

iPhone Apps for Photographers
Good friend and professional photographer David Taylor of Sixtyone North put together this great list of apps that help everyone get that fantastic shot.
http://sixtyonenorth.com/2009/11/iphone-apps-for-photographers/

Sixtyone North, Alaska Photo Tours
http://sixtyonenorth.com/
Note: There is still one spot available for the Cordova Photo Tour and Adventure this June, get information at http://bit.ly/fBqMLv

Aurora & Winter Landscapes Photo Tour
A quick look from our Aurora & Winter Landscapes Photo Tour.

Photo Tips from the field:

Join us Fall 2011
Professional and Avid Photographers, here’s a special invitation for Fall 2011 – hope you’ll join us!

Thanks for listening!
Scott

Greetings my friends,

A quick update to share a bit of exciting news.  I was recently invited to join TripFilms as a featured show within their website, and without pause I jumped at the opportunity.  While TripFilms and Alaska HDTV share a similar story, the more exciting piece is their catalog of some 2000 plus destination videos I’ve yet to explore. – Yes my friends, I’m in good company!

TripFilms was founded in 2007 by a group of friends celebrating their passion for travel by producing videos from the perspective of real travelers. Today the contributing authors and producers at TripFilms carry on that mission keeping videos authentic, informative, and inspiring.  - Sounds familiar right?

What excites me about having Alaska HDTV content over on TripFilms – - This is an opportunity for me to further my mission of sharing Alaska, my home, with a worldwide audience.  Alaska offers more to see and do than any travel destinations in the entire United States combined!  It’s a rich and wild frontier, which much still remains unexplored. I’ve witnessed the profound impact Alaska has on people my whole life, and to inspire people to experience their own Alaska. . . well, that’s what drives me as an Alaskan Filmmaker!

Whether Alaska is your destination or you’re looking to explore other corners of the world, TripFilms is a great place to scout out your next vacation!

Visit our home on TripFilms
http://www.tripfilms.com/shows/Alaska_HDTV

Cheers,
Scott

This summer the Alaska Railroad sponsored one of our trips, inviting me to experience the Kenai Peninsula from a completely different perspective. I’ve hiked, biked, driven all terrain vehicles, flown in planes and traveled in all types of winter vehicles – I’ve never traveled Alaska by rail! Taking the Alaska Railroad to Seward offered me a unique opportunity to really absorb the grand wilderness landscape and rich history of the Kenai Peninsula unlike any trip I’ve ever experienced.  While we’re in Seward we venture out into Resurrection Bay to take in it’s rich and diverse surroundings and wildlife.

If you have rail adventure with the Alaska Railroad, I’d love to hear about it! Do share!

Enjoy the show,
Scott

LANCE MACKEY INTERVIEW
Special Canada Goose interview with 4 time Iditarod champion Lance Mackey. Lance talks strategy for Iditarod 39 and team performance, will this be 5 in a row?

HUGH NEFF INTERVIEW

CEREMONIAL START AND OFFICIAL RESTART Join us as we kick off the 2011 Iditarod Sled Dog Race from Anchorage, then to the official re-start of Iditarod 39 in Willow, Alaska. Visit the official website of Iditarod at www.iditarod.com for live coverage up the trail!

Payge McMahon is a known adventure athlete, world traveler, writer, and popular web personality with sponsors and fans worldwide. Payge has climbed the highest mountains in Africa, Japan and the continental United States, cycled through Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, backpacked across Northern Spain, the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu and California’s 221 mile John Muir Trail.  She has trekked through the deserts of Egypt and Jordan, the Amazon Rainforest and the list goes on!

The Iditarod is adventure at it’s best, which is why it’s been Dubbed “The Last Great Race On Earth.” The famed Iditarod trail pits men, women, and dogs against Alaska’s bitter arctic cold, raging blizzards, and unforgiving mountain terrain as they wind their way north along frozen rivers and historic trails.

The Iditarod was inspired after a deadly diphtheria brake out in Nome, Alaska back in 1925. Short on medical supplies, this initiated an almost impossible relay of life-saving serum from Anchorage back to Nome. The monumental and historic event was a success and the remotely located village along the Bering Sea was saved!

Today this relay is celebrated by a world wide audience as these teams make the same journey north of some 1049 miles to Nome, Alaska.

Scott: “As an Alaska adventure and travel show, we’re focused on seizing opportunities for Alaska HDTV to innovate and grow,” said Scott Slone, producer of, Alaska with Scott Slone. “Expanding the content of “Alaska HDTV” ties into our commitment to consistently increase our programmatic offerings and better serve Alaska HDTV viewers with great content, diverse voices and unique experiences.”

Be sure to catch Scott Slone and Payge McMahon for Iditarod 39 – Series will start March 5th 2011 on AlaskaHDTV.com.

About Alaska HDTV
Alaska HDTV is product of Perfect Blend Media, LLC an Alaska digital media production company  based in Anchorage, Alaska. Perfect Blend Media, LLC is a boutique production company specialized in creating mixed media productions that reach the correct audience with the right message at the right time – in the right place.  We use a blend of new media applications including podcasts, mobile apps and social media with a dash of traditional media tactics such as TV, DVD and out of home marketing.

Alaska HDTV is a series of shows produced in high definition – dedicated to sharing the Alaska experience. “Alaska with Scott Slone” is a show where viewers join fifth generation Alaskan Scott Slone as he hikes, boats, climbs and travels throughout some of the most awe-inspiring locations in the last frontier. These TV-style show are produced in (HD) high definition, each episode averages 10 minutes in length for digital media, and 30 minute segments for TV, DVD, Mobile and Video on demand networks. Website: www.alaskahdtv.com

Media Contact:
 Jeanne Newman | pr@alaskahdtv.com | +1.206.201-2457

Happy Holiday!

Thank you all so much for your support and for making 2010 a great year for our productions team. In this wondrous season, I’m reminded of Alaska’s beauty and the people make our state home and favorite destination for many! You are one of the reasons why we love working to create and share the best of Alaska with the world.

We all wish you a happy and safe holiday weekend!
Scott Slone