Photographs from Art and Dee Mortvedt's personal collection
Damaris "Dee" Mortvedt
Damaris "Dee" Mortvedt came to Alaska in 1967 as a school teacher. She taught in Cordova, Nome, Tok, Kenny Lake, Shungnak, and Manley Hot Springs. She met Art Mortvedt at a campground at Jewel Cave National Monument in South Dakota, when she was driving to Alaska. They married in 1978. At the time of the interview with her and Art in 2002, they were running the Peace of Selby Wilderness Lodge at Selby Lake in the Brooks Range.
Art Mortvedt
Originally from North Dakota, Art Mortvedt came to Alaska in January 1974. He was a teacher in the village of Shungnak, Alaska, moved to living a subsistence lifestyle in a remote location in the Brooks Range, has been a pilot, guide, and dog musher, and at the time of his interview in 2002 was running the Peace of Selby Wilderness Lodge at Selby Lake in the Brooks Range. He met Demaris (Dee), his wife, while working at Jewel Cave National Monument in South Dakota, when she was on her way to be a teacher in Alaska. They were married in 1978. Art also has flown to remote locations around the world, including Central and South America, Antarctica, and Greenland. In 2009, he received the Lowell Thomas Award from the Explorers Club in honor of his accomplishments as an outstanding explorer.