Tag: Queer Travel
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Exploring Anchorage: LGBTQ+ Culture, Wild Nature, and Hidden Gems in Alaska’s Largest City
Anchorage might not be famous for hot dogs or BBQ, but it has its own quiet magic: moose on city trails, queer climbing friends, and even a hidden 20-foot chocolate waterfall behind the airport. In this post, I reflect on my time in Alaska’s biggest city—a place that sometimes feels more like a transitional outpost…
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Queer Joy in the Wild: Rainbows over Resurrection Bay, Rainforest BBQs, and a Drag Lumberjack Queen
On a Pride-themed boat cruise through Seward’s Resurrection Bay, a man in shimmering mermaid pants glided gracefully down the cabin, trying to keep his drink steady as sea lions howled in the distance and dance music rose to meet the glacial air. The joy of queerness in all its forms—mermaids, drag lumberjacks, pride fairies, elders,…
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Gun Violence Normalized: My Queer Reflections on Gun Violence from Alaska to Virginia to Texas
After a Pride weekend in Soldotna, Alaska, a tense encounter with armed strangers outside a friend’s home triggers personal reflections on gun culture, safety, and violence across Alaska, Texas, and Virginia—revealing how gun trauma quietly shapes queer lives in America.
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Homer, Alaska: A Queer Haven at the End of the Road
Alaska often feels like the biggest small town in the world—and nowhere is that more true than in Homer, a breathtaking coastal village at the southern tip of Alaska’s central road system. On my very first visit, I met a warm-hearted queer ally who became my first friend in Alaska. From that moment, Homer’s incredible…
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Underground Rainbows of SouthEast Alaska: LGBTQ+ Resilience in Remote Towns
In Haines, Alaska—a lush, postcard-perfect town nestled between glacier-fed inlets and dramatic peaks—I was met with surprising resistance. Rainbow flyers for the photo project promoting LGBTQ+ visibility were declined, and the community’s queer presence felt like a whispered secret. Still, even in this small town of 1,600, connection found a way: a hushed tip led…
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Queer and Indigenous in Bethel (Mamterilleq): Stories of Visibility, Silence, and Survival on the Edge of Alaska
Bethel, Alaska—a remote Yu’pik-majority town nestled deep in the Yukon Delta—reveals the complexities of queer life at the intersections of culture, colonization, and climate change. In this reflection from “All the Genders” photo project, I share what I learned from queer locals and allies navigating visibility in a place where identity often stays quiet for…
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Queer Identity on the Road and in the Wilderness: Trucking and Dog Mushing in the Yukon
On my northward journey through the Yukon, I met two remarkable individuals whose lives challenge the typical expectations of queer identity. One is a trucker navigating the harsh, remote roads of the north, while the other is a dog musher immersed in the centuries-old tradition of sled dog racing. Both embody resilience and visibility in…
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Creating Unique Queer Safe Spaces: LGBTQ+ Adventures in Seattle and Vancouver
For many LGBTQ+ individuals, the pressure to fit into certain queer stereotypes can feel limiting, despite the growing celebration of difference within the community. In cities like Seattle and Vancouver, queer people are finding ways to carve out their own unique spaces, embracing individuality and building communities that reflect their diverse interests. This post explores…
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Roadtripping towards Embracing My Queerness: 5,000 miles later brought All the Genders Photo Project
Driving thousands of miles through the remote wilderness of British Columbia and the Yukon gave me the rare gift of solitude—the kind that peels away layers of societal expectations. Alone on the icy highways, surrounded only by mountains and pine forests, I reconnected with who I am beyond assumptions about gender. That long, quiet road…