Kevin Bell, the captain of the Tiglax, has died. The Tiglax is the Fish and Wildlife ship that cuts through the waters of the Aleutians carrying biologists who preserve one of the great places on the planet.

I didn't know Kevin well, but I had a good afternoon with him in this photo when he gave me a skiff tour of Buldir, a speck in the Aleutians so remote and rugged that billions of birds live there. It was 2004, and he was healthy then. Early last year, he had seizures from a brain tumor. One year later, he is gone.

The older I get, the more I stop and think whenever someone I have met embarks on the Last Great Adventure.

May you forever patrol where the cold waters of the North Pacific meet the Bering Sea, captain.