Photo of the Week
US Creek Road, White Mountains, Alaska
by Lee Petersen
Week of January 29, 2026
Why this photograph exists
I took this photo in 2012 on my first drive into this part of the White Mountain National Recreation Area in mid-September. I don’t think I had much of a plan; I just decided to go for a drive and a hike. Over 13 years later, I still remember the day well. Barely saw another car during the over 60-mile drive out of Fairbanks and up the Steese Highway.
I was surprised by how beautiful the Chatanika River Valley was, pulling over frequently to take in the scenery and do some side exploring. Having read about some trails in the first edition of “Outside in the Interior,” I turned up US Creek Road by Davidson Ditch on a whim.
What began was an over-decade-long love for the Nome/Ophir Creek area of the White Mountains. This was a view that I saw in my rear-view mirror while driving that made me stop. It was a windy day, and the golden grasses were blowing wildly in between the sparse, burnt spruce trees and willows with a few remaining yellow/golden leaves. The low Sun cast dark shadows across the rolling hills in the distance, and the sky seemed incredibly deep blue.
This photograph became one of my favorites and remains so to this day. I keep returning to it not because of where it’s been shared, but because of what it still brings back. It holds the feeling of something that would later become familiar, seen for the first time with brand-new eyes. It’s a view that has already led to countless discoveries and experiences, and I know it still holds more.
Print availability
This photograph is featured as this week’s Photo of the Week and is available as an open-edition archival print through my print lab.
Prints are available in multiple sizes and formats and ship directly to you.
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I still find myself here at least a couple of times a year. I’ve stopped at the same pullout numerous times, sometimes to look at flowers, sometimes to take a photo, sometimes just remembering that first visit.
Photo of the Week is a weekly series featuring a single photograph and a short reflection on place and how it’s felt over time.
The photograph might be new, long archived, or something that sat unnoticed for years. It doesn’t matter when it was taken, only why it’s being revisited now.
This series is a way for me to be more intentional and think carefully about why I take photographs at all.
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