I spend a fair amount of time in the air. Usually, it's in an aisle seat on a crowded jet. Often, people in front of me get excellent lumbar support since my knees are jammed into the back of their seats -- especially if they want to "recline." HA!

This summer was different, though. Still plenty of air time, but I spent much more time leaning out of planes and helicopters taking pictures. And what a revelation it's been!

Here in Alaska we're blessed with incredible landscapes and destinations, many of which are accessible only by air. Here are some of my favorite trips:

A. Landing on Denali's Ruth Glacier. This is an incredible trip from Talkeetna. I've flown with three air services: Talkeetna Air Taxi (TAT), K2 and Talkeetna Aero Services. They all do a great job. Last time, we flew on Talkeetna Air Taxi's turbo otter. TAT's Sandra Loomis loves this plane, which is super-powered to haul climbers and their gear to Base Camp on the

Kahiltna Glacier. "When it takes off--so quick and so quiet--it looks like a Bad Angel returning to Heaven," she said.

Legendary Denali climber, mapper and pioneer Brad Washburn referred to the Ruth Amphitheater as his "cathedral." After you land on the snow and get out -- you can see why. In addition to the daytrip, it's possible to camp at the glacier -- and also to rent the Mountain House built by Don Sheldon.

B. Flying from Juneau to the Mendenhall Glacier. Actually, there are several glaciers you can fly to from Juneau. The Mendenhall is the closest. TEMSCO Helicopters will fly hundreds of people up to the glacier for a stroll on the ice when there are cruise ships in town. Typically, there are four or five helicopters that fly in formation to the company's "base camp" on the glacier. From there, naturalists take you on a 30-minute walk around crevasses, glacial "moulins" (the deep water chutes on the surface) and ice walls. You'll get a chance to drink some glacial water if you wish.

There really is no other way to describe being on a glacier except to say it's a completely different world. Flying over the deep crevasses gives you a chance to see hundreds of feet down into the glacier.

C. Flying through Misty Fjords National Monument from Ketchikan. We flew with Taquan Air into the monument -- about a 20-minute flight from downtown Ketchikan. Our pilot, Dale Clark, has thousands of flight hours in this area. He knew exactly where the goats and the seals were hiding--and exactly how to approach the granite cliffs, high mountain lakes and spectacular vistas to get the "ooohs" and "aahhs" from everyone on board. The scheduled air tours include a landing at a secluded lake or fjords. We even saw a couple of bears from the air -- and Dale put the plane into a tight spin so we could look straight down from the plane onto the unsuspecting beast!

D. Flying from Kodiak south to Frazer Lake. There are many bear-viewing flights from Kodiak, including some that fly across the Shelikof Strait to Katmai National Park. We flew with Island Air in Kodiak south to Larsen Bay, then on to Frazer Lake, where at least a dozen brown bear were feasting on salmon. Because the cost is almost $500 per person for the flight, there weren't that many people around. We had high-end video gear with us -- and we got some incredible shots. But the flight back to Kodiak was equally stunning -- flying over Uyak Bay and across the lush green mountains in Kodiak.