Alaska: Independence Mine
We visited Independence Mine in the Talkeetna Mountains for one of my favorite photography subjects: old stuff. Even though we were only about two hours outside of Anchorage, we frequently found that it doesn’t take long to feel like you’re at the edge of true wilderness. The elevation was only about 3.5k feet (lower than Salt Lake City’s ~4.2k feet), but the setting felt extremely remote. The snow level was still significant at this time of year, which made moving around these historical buildings quite challenging. Although much of it was relatively easy, walking on top of the several feet deep snow like Legolas, a wrong step means suddenly sinking down to hip level. Nevertheless, I was able to get quite a few shots I’m happy with. Despite the age of the structures and the harsh conditions, almost all of the buildings are extremely well preserved.
