I truly enjoy watching Aerial America episodes because it provides you with such a unique vantage point that you don’t normally get when visiting various states across the country. The commentary and factual information provided by the narrator is always interesting – some of the facts you already know, and some you may not. If you haven’t watched any of the Aerial America episodes, starting with Aerial America: Alaska isn’t a bad start!
ULTIMATE BIRD’S EYE VIEW OF THE LAST GREAT FRONTIER IN
AERIAL AMERICA: ALASKA
TWO-PART SPECIAL TAKES FLIGHT ON SMITHSONIAN CHANNEL
NEW YORK June 19, 2014 – Soar across the dizzying heights of Mount McKinley. Swoop down on the glimmering seas surrounding Kodiak Island. Hover above stunning aqua-blue melt ponds on the world’s largest glacier and crawl across the barren landscape left behind by the biggest volcanic eruption of the 20th century, as the most expansive aerial series in U.S. television history takes flight on a stunning journey across our nation’s largest state: Alaska. In a special extended back-to-back two-hour programming block, Smithsonian Channel celebrates the last great frontier, taking flight in AERIAL AMERICA: ALASKA, premiering Sunday, July 6 at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. ET/PT.
This is not the Alaska of crude television caricatures, but a place of stunning beauty and rich diversity. As icy glaciers and treacherous wilderness trails sweep by below, some of Alaska’s most treasured and unusual landmarks are revealed, providing a rare perspective on the 49th state, its rich history and mind-blowing sights that are best appreciated from the air. Alaska’s extreme weather and treacherous terrain help make for a thrilling flight across America’s last frontier.
Back down in the rivers and streams that flow out of Alaska’s mountains, Kodiak brown bears, fresh out of hibernation, feast on salmon in one of Kodiak Island’s many streams.
Along the way, this episode reveals the impact that early Russian fur traders had on Alaska’s small coastal villages and imparts the tragic story of how one native Alaskan tribe was ambushed by invaders at a place called Refuge Rock.
AERIAL AMERICA swings west over Bristol Bay to witness the largest salmon run in the world and follows women competing in one of Alaska’s most extreme events, as they scramble up and down a 3,000-foot mountain as fast as they can during the Mount Marathon Race.
The second hour, AERIAL AMERICA: ALASKA’S CALL OF THE WILD, soars in search of adventurers and dreamers lured north by the call of the wild. One of them was would-be survivalist Christopher McCandless, immortalized in the book and film Into the Wild, who starved to death along Denali National Park’s Stampede Trail while living in the abandoned Bus 142, which still stands on the same site today.
Viewers will learn how Alaska has lured outsiders ever since the first humans to reach North America stepped on Alaska’s shores from Asia 40,000 years ago.
The episode explores what it takes to survive on Alaska’s high peaks, from the mountain goats that call the Juneau Mountains home, to a legendary bush pilot named Don Sheldon, who managed to build himself a cabin high up on Denali’s flanks.
In the Alaska Panhandle, Smithsonian Channel retraces the brutal route that early prospectors followed on their way to the Klondike gold fields… and captures how a 21st century exploratory mining team has to shuttle in by helicopter and then cling to platforms on the edge of a mountain in its search for buried treasure.
Along the way, AERIAL AMERICA: ALASKA reveals some of the great species that call The Last Frontier home, from the bald eagles that soar over its waters, to the sea lions that crowd its shores, to the whales that come to Alaska every year to feast.
AERIAL AMERICA offers the ultimate “bird’s eye view” of our nation, the compelling stories behind its rich history… and the seemingly endless beauty of its land. Shot from a helicopter armed with a state-of-the-art CineflexV-14 HD camera system, each episode uses breathtaking aerial cinematography to reveal what makes each of the 50 United States unique – from beautiful natural landmarks, to sites of important turning points in history, to fascinating locations far off the beaten path… and the rich variety of wildlife that calls each state home.
AERIAL AMERICA is produced by Tusker Television for Smithsonian Channel. Tusker Television’s Executive Producer is Toby Beach. Executive Producers for Smithsonian Channel are David Royle and Charles Poe.
Source: ©2014 Smithsonian Channel. All Rights Reserved.
Judy Manning
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