Bettles: Get Thee Home (09-05-2023)

We head home today.  We expect our flight to leave between 10:30 and 11:00.  Eric requests our luggage be in the Aurora Lounge by 9:00.  We did most of our packing last night.  We can finish packing when we come back from breakfast.

We are at breakfast at 8:00.  The menu is the same (2 eggs any style, choice of meat (bacon, sausage, reindeer sausage), hash browns and choice of toast or pancake).  Eric is at the front desk.  (The counter serves two purposes: front desk during the day and bar after 5:00).  We settle our bill before heading back to Aurora.  We are happy to learn that we get a refund on the National Park Collector Wilderness Adventure.  BB's fare is completely refunded.  The charge for my short flight into Gates of the Arctic is half the price of the Park Tour so my refund is half that of BB's.

Eric Fox, Bettles Lodge Owner and General Manager.

Back in our room we finish packing and place our luggage in the lounge.  We decide to wait in the lounge at Bettles Lodge to take advantage of the internet.  Employee Seth is in the lounge.  We ask him if we should leave the luggage in the lounge or take it with us.  He says he will carry it over for us.  It is interesting talking with Seth.  We ask if he is a seasonal employee or a Bettles resident.  He refers to himself as a daily employee.  Sounds like he does maintenance jobs and fills in as needed around the Lodge.  He tells us about a documentary he dreams of doing.  He calls it 48 States in 48 Weeks.  Seth wants to go to each of the lower 48 states and work for a week.   He doesn't care what type of job;  maintenance, housekeeping, fishing, office work, whatever.   For the documentary he wants to show what it is like to work the job, live in the state, etc.  Then he moves on to the next state.  It is very interesting to hear him talk about it.  We tell him we hope he is able to do it and we look forward to seeing it.

We join other guests waiting in the Bettles lounge.  We talk with two men that arrived in Bettles yesterday.  Their original plan was to do two river float trips, about 5 or 6 days each.  The rivers are so high that they only did one.  What they thought would take 5 or 6 days took the 12 days they had planned for both!  They said it was the scariest thing they had ever done. And these men don't look like they are easy to scare.  Wow!

Our plane arrives when expected.  It is still cloudy but the weather is better than yesterday.  Today we can see out the windows, unlike our flight to Bettles.  I tell BB the views look very much like what I saw yesterday on the flight to Gates of the Arctic.  The only difference is that we aren't looking at national park land today. Noon finds us on the ground in Fairbanks.

Views from the plane.

Pipeline and Dalton Highway.

Safely on the ground in Fairbanks.  To quote our Dad "Cheated death again."

Baggage Claim.  We don't see fresh meat at baggage claim in Virginia.

We stop for coffee at Sunrise Bagel and Espresso before heading down the road to Anchorage.  It is obvious to the employees that we aren't from here.  We didn't understand the queuing etiquette and our first method of payment, AmEx, wasn't accepted.  But it all works out OK and we leave with 2 hot lattes.

BB and I talk about the AK Rustic Store in Nenana as we drive down the Parks Highway towards Anchorage.  We think some retail therapy might help relieve our disappointment regarding how events unfolded in Bettles.  BB remembers a hat and gloves she liked at the AK Rustic Store.  We decide to stop at Nenana and visit the store. The same woman is there.  We tell her we aren't here today to dance but to SHOP!  BB buys the hat and gloves.  Then we see coats!  When we leave the store BB has a new hat, gloves and coat and I have a new hat and coat.  And we feel better!

We make one more stop on the way home at a rest area between Nenana and Denali.  Alaska rest areas don't have large, fancy buildings with flush toilets and automatic water and soap at the sink. (The rest area on I64 near Williamsburg comes to mind).  Alaska rest areas have vault toilets.  Vault toilets are waterless toilets that collect waste in an underground tank or vault. These non-flush toilets are commonly found in remote areas like campgrounds and national parks.  These vaults are pumped out periodically, and the waste is hauled out to municipal wastewater treatment plants. We find the rest areas to be clean and well maintained.  We do wonder about the No Shooting sign posted at this one:

The rest of our drive home is uneventful.  There is intermittent rain.  The clouds come and go.  The mountain tops are dusted with snow.

There is excitement when we reach the apartment.  We have Notice to Quit documents taped to our front door.  Apparently, our September rent payment didn't process.  All our other payments processed automatically with no problem.  Another thing that makes this a weekend to remember....for all the wrong reasons.

NOTE:  It's Wednesday now.  We just got back from the office.  They don't understand why the automatic payment didn't process either, but rent is paid and all is good with the apartment management.