Alaska

If you're already jaded by the avalanche of action and the nonstop explosions of the big summer pictures, try something truly awesome. The thunderous power and majesty of a school of humpback whales rising from the sea in Alaska: Spirit of the Wild simply dwarfs any spectacle that Hollywood's magicians can concoct. The latest Imax offering at the Franklin Institute's Tuttleman Omniverse Theater, Alaska exploits the imposing grandeur of desolate ice-bound landscapes and the teeming wildlife that manages to survive the region's merciless winters.

EAGLE RIVER, Alaska - For 26 miles of continuous hiking, no CamelBak water pack is big enough. And a flashlight will emit only a weak beam in mile after mile of rain. Flat land would be one thing, but we were on the ups and downs of the Crow Pass National Historic Trail, which follows the historic Iditarod supply route. The "we" were my stepson, Craig Feigenbaum; his longtime hiking partner, Copper, a distinguished pit-bull/boxer mix; and me. Craig would be hiking his age: a mile for every year.

Six days, three wins and all kinds of great memories later, Simon Gratz High's basketball team returned from Alaska early last evening. Presumably, every member of the 15-person traveling party pretty much went straight to sleep upon arriving home. "As soon as we're finished talking, that's what I'm going to do," coach Bill Ellerbee said. "Our flight left Alaska at 4:55 a.m., Philadelphia time, and got in at about 6:40. We're bushed, man. " Gratz was in Anchorage for the Great Alaska High School Classic.

The face of Marilyn Monroe - without her famous beauty mark - is being used to persuade would-be visitors to Alaska that the worst oil spill in U.S. history has not changed the state's astonishingly beautiful land. A print ad by Rod Bradley Advertising Inc. of Anchorage shows a photo of Monroe sans beauty mark, and says: "We changed this picture to make a point about a legendary beauty. Unless you look long and hard, you probably won't notice her beauty mark is missing. Without it, the picture may have changed but her beauty hasn't.

Producers of a new reality TV show based on the notion that Alaska has plenty of bachelors looking for marriage had hoped for a taste of winter. They got it. October dumped snow and drove temperatures to 10 below, turning the Kenai River Valley into a land of snow-flocked mountains towering over Kenai Lake. "We were shooting outdoors in Alaska, which is not exactly the smartest thing," said Eric Schotz, chief executive of LMNO Productions and executive producer of what is to be called "I Want A Husband: Alaska.

A commuter plane with 10 people aboard crashed in the tundra shortly after takeoff yesterday, killing nine people and critically injuring one, state police said. A single-engine Cessna 208 Caravan operated by PenAir, Alaska's biggest commuter airline, went down in calm, clear weather about two miles from the end of the runway, authorities said. The plane had been en route to King Salmon, a town about 75 miles away, with nine passengers and a pilot. The cause of the crash was not immediately known.

Arms-control fever, a malady that often causes summit dementia, is raging in the nation's capital. So, in an attempt to lower the temperature, the Reagan administration should think about Alaska. The reason for doing so takes us back to last October's outbreak of the malady and the dementia. James Schlesinger's scathing assessment of the Reykjavik summit (as ill- conceived as the 1961 Vienna summit; the worst outcome since the blow-up of the 1960 Paris summit; the most utopian expectations since Yalta, 1945)

Luminous streams of the aurora borealis splash across the blue-black sky. "Wow, the northern lights!" gushes Jessie Barnes to her brother, Sean. "Aren't they awesome?" They are indeed, even if the dialogue isn't. But no matter: In Alaska, a widescreen wilderness adventure starring a charismatic, creamy-white polar bear and two teenagers searching for their dad, it's the great outdoors that matters. And it really is great. An old-fashioned family drama in the vintage Disney tradition, Alaska pairs Thora Birch, as 13-year-old Jessie, with Vincent Kartheiser, as 15-year-old Sean, on a quest through magnificent and treacherous terrain.

Leon Bean, executive director of the scandal-plagued Chester Resource Recovery Authority, took off for a little vacation two weeks ago. Nothing unusual there. Except he decided to go to Alaska. By car. An authority car. And that, officials say, is against the rules. "That was inappropriate," said Sheridan Jones, chairman of the authority board. In Chester, it's only appropriate to take a city car on vacation if you're the mayor or on City Council. "There are no lower-level people with vehicles," said Chester City Councilman Stephen A. McKellar, who conceded that in the past he had taken his city-owned car to Florida on vacation.

Leon Bean, the adventurous executive director of Chester's Resource Recovery Authority who drove an authority car to Alaska and abandoned it, now has plenty of free time to travel - or to look for a new job. The authority's board ousted Bean on Oct. 4, though the attorneys for both sides are still "dotting the i's and crossing the t's," board member Commodore Harris Sr. said yesterday. Harris said it was unclear whether Bean's departure would be formally characterized as a firing or a resignation.

IF IT'S A day ending in "y," then it must be . . . well, one more round of golf in yet another state. Remember Harry Scott? Three years ago the retired CPA from Somers Point, N.J., attended baseball games in all 30 major league stadiums in as many days, 14 years after he'd done the 28 at that time in 28 days. Now, at 78, he's in the process of playing a golf course in each state in 50 days. Fore please. "I like to do things," Scott said. "It just seems like a fun thing to do. "It's not going to be easy.

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA - A derelict Japanese ship dislodged by last year's massive tsunami was drifting toward Alaska Monday, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The shrimping vessel was floating slowly northwest in the Gulf of Alaska about 125 miles west of the nearest point of land - Forrester Island outside the Dixon Entrance, a maritime transportation corridor separating U.S. and Canada jurisdictions. The ship is heading in the direction of the southeast Alaska town of Sitka 170 miles to the north, traveling at about one mile per hour, Coast Guard spokesman David Mosley said.

Alaska Airlines, popular in the Pacific Northwest and known for customer service, will begin daily nonstop flights between Seattle and Philadelphia, starting June 11. The Seattle-based carrier is the second airline in the last month to announce it is coming to Philadelphia International Airport. Virgin America Inc. said in January it would begin nonstop daily flights to Los Angeles and San Francisco from Philadelphia beginning in April. "We are very excited to bring Philadelphia an airline that has distinguished itself among travelers and industry experts," said Philadelphia airport chief executive officer Mark Gale.

NOME, Alaska - Crews worked to build a path Sunday over a half-mile of Bering Sea ice for the final leg of a Russian tanker's mission to deliver fuel to a town isolated amid one of the most severe Alaska winters in decades. The tanker was moored roughly a half-mile from Nome's harbor after a Coast Guard cutter cleared a path for it through hundreds of miles of a slow journey stalled by thick ice and strong ocean currents. The tanker got into position Saturday night, and ice disturbed by its journey had to freeze again so workers could create a roadway to lay a hose that will transfer 1.3 million gallons of fuel from the tanker to the harbor in Nome.

Hmm . . . which do I like more: discounted ski tickets or buying them in advance online? Name: http://www.liftopia.com What it does: Aggregates ski-resort deals and discounts, then lets you search by dates and regions. Expect to find ski resorts from Alaska to Austria. What's hot: This site is great for occasional skiers and snowboarders who don't have season passes and are willing to try different resorts if they find the right deals. Note that the discounts go beyond cheaper lift tickets.

ANCHORAGE - One of the strongest storms to hit western Alaska in nearly 40 years battered coastal communities yesterday with snow and hurricane-force winds, knocking out power, ripping up roofs and forcing some residents to board up their windows and seek higher ground. As the storm churned the Bering Sea, residents and emergency responders braced for a possible surge of sea water into already soaked villages along the coast. "People out there are used to extreme weather, but this is not a normal storm," said Jeremy Zidek, spokesman for the state's emergency-management agency.

The Rogue Searching for the Real Sarah Palin By Joe McGinniss Crown. 336 pp. $25 Reviewed by Michael Smerconish By now you've heard about a new book, The Rogue , concerning the behavior of a narcissistic public figure set in Alaska during the summer of 2010. What you wouldn't know until reading it is that the protagonist is its author, Joe McGinniss, not his purported subject, Sarah Palin. While the subtitle claims the work concerns "searching for the real Sarah Palin," it is instead the personal diary of an author trolling for rumor and innuendo while living directly next door to his subject for 3 1/2 months.

WASHINGTON - When a 5.8-magnitude earthquake shook the East Coast last week, millions of people felt it. When a 6.8-magnitude quake struck in Alaska's remote Aleutian island chain early Friday, few noticed - though it was about 10 times more powerful. While earthquakes make the news when they're felt on the East Coast, Alaska has 12,000 a year, more than any other state. Consequently, it is much better prepared. "They experience a lot of earthquakes out there," said Jeremy Zidek, spokesman for the Alaska Department of Homeland Security.

EAGLE RIVER, Alaska - For 26 miles of continuous hiking, no CamelBak water pack is big enough. And a flashlight will emit only a weak beam in mile after mile of rain. Flat land would be one thing, but we were on the ups and downs of the Crow Pass National Historic Trail, which follows the historic Iditarod supply route. The "we" were my stepson, Craig Feigenbaum; his longtime hiking partner, Copper, a distinguished pit-bull/boxer mix; and me. Craig would be hiking his age: a mile for every year.