FINAL ENTRY ABOUT A TRIP TO HELP BEANIE

October 15, Fairbanks, has three entries.
2 am
midafternoon
8:30 pm


It is settled. Beanie is ready to fly home as soon as possible. We have reserved seats for the 1:25 am flight (tomorrow.) We will arrive in Memphis at 3:15 pm (tomorrow.)


How can it be possible that I will have only been gone from home for six days. Not a glamorous or luxury trip for sure, but it has been one I have felt good about...helping my friend.


I will always remember Barrow and the too brief friendships I made there.


I can never forget the exciting adventure of being on Dalton Highway.


Beanie.  I will always remember her looking at the Arctic Ocean. She said, "Well, here I am at last, Tom. I am looking at the same ocean you saw when you were young. I am old now, but I am seeing it too, Tom. I am seeing it too, for you."


Fait accompli


Love, annie who isn't done with rocking chair travel..so look out!!


vvv

Saturday afternoon, October 15

Be sure and read the 2 am entry before you read this.
Well, we slept some and had a good meal since my last entry. We keep talking about yesterday and how important our time in Barrow and on the Dalton Highway had been. We keep remembering all we saw and experienced yesterday 
"Beanie, ya know, if you had been willing to fly on home, we would have missed something that not many 78 year old ladies get to do. We wouldn't have grown so close to Juan and Mary. So I guess it was a good thing, Beanie."
She agreed. She went to Barrow on a mission...not just to be a regular tourist but to be where her husband had been so many years ago. She did that!! "Annie, you won't believe this. Juan was right. I can fly home. We weren't tourists, we briefly actually lived in Barrow and on the Dalton Highway too. I want to be a tourist in Alaska some day; there is so much to see here. But not now. Annie, I am ready to fly home." I agreed with all she said. And I looked at this friend of 70 years and was so proud of her. So I will leave you with a few more pictures. 




Another picture of Yukon River, which we especially loved.
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Wooden plank bridge across Yukon River

If you look closely on the left, you can see an isolated airstrip??Wha?

This is at the southern end of Dalton highway.
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Sometimes we would go a long way without seeing traffic. Then it would get real busy.



Wandering across the Arctic.



Thaw lakes on the tundra. from melted snow.

This is a tor, an isolated piece of granite sticking up from the tundra! We saw several of these.

Another Tor.

October 15, 2 am in FAIRBANKS

We are in Fairbanks after a 20 hour drive!! And we weren't dilly-dallying. No wonder Juan was being paid well. I will never forget Dalton Highway!!  NEVER!! After we finally got on the highway, Juan was like a shepherd looking out for Mary, Beanie and me. The Prudhoe Bay oil fields looked creepy; we saw it from a distance because we weren't allowed on the land.  Then we started rolling. At first there were no trees. Then we saw beautiful landscape all along the way. The ever present oil pipe ran beside the highway.

Mary knew to bring food and hot coffee, because there are no restaurants along this highway and you can only buy gas and snacks at a few rest stops. These young people amazed me. As it turned out, Mary knows the same hymns that Beanie and I know; we sang and even harmonized, although it was hard to hear ourselves because of the noisy drive. Juan sang some sweet songs in Spanish. He also kept telling Beanie, "Miss Beanie, you were great on our short flight; you will be over your phobia and can fly back to Memphis from Fairbanks." Had it not been for Juan, she wouldn't have made that flight to Prudhoe Bay, and I honestly think that she could have gone all the way home if Juan had been with us. I am having trouble getting pictures on today??!! It is free so I shouldn't complain. This is called the haul road because it was built for truckers to take stuff to Prudhoe Bay.

Brooks Range

 

A visitor center

Here we ran into trouble.

 We saw a truck stopped ahead of us. Someone was honking. Juan stopped and got out to see if he could help. Then someone from behind threw a pillow case over Juan's head...Juan yelled to us, "Lock the doors, lock the doors." Then a man came  up to us in a mask (dudn't that beat all?) and demanded all our money and credit cards. Well, as ya'll know, Rocking Chair travel is financed by monopoly money. But I carry an old out of date credit card. I rolled down the window and handed it to him. Beanie said, "Don't we know you? Don't you eat at Pepe's? Take off that mask and talk to us!!" Mary had her hands over her face because she was afraid. So the boy took off the mask and signaled for the other fellow to let Juan go. I said, "You need to get another line of work, because you have no talent for being a robber!!"  When Juan got back to us, he said,"Billy, are you crazy? Now you're going to jail. You beat all." Beanie and I said Billy isn't going to jail. We will treat it like a joke. Billy answered,
"Well, Miss Annie, you are obviously so rich...look at all the money you are spending on this trip...and I thought it wouldn't hurt you any." You won't believe it, but he started to cry. Juan started up the truck and we continued on down to Fairbanks leaving Billy and his friend standing there!!! 

Yukon River

More of Dalton Highway

The road began to look like this the nearer we got to Fairbanks.

This pipe ran all the way!

 These pictures aren't in order; but they give you an idea what it was like.

The rest of the day was fun. We got to know about Juan and his homeland and how much he loves Barrow!! Mary had lived there all her life. When we finally got to Fairbanks, it was a tearful goodbye to them. Funny how you can get close to some people in a short time. So we made it!! There will be more pictures as I close this entry. Later we will know IF Juan's was right about Beanie being able to fly home from Fairbanks. After all, she showed such courage toward our so called robber!! Now that I have talked to you folks, I think I can sleep now...more later from Fairbanks. Love, annie 

EARLY FRIDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 14.

Good morning!! 


Guess what? Juan didn't mention that it is 200 miles over to Prudhoe Bay. Isn't that hilarious? So we had to fly over there before we could get on the Dalton Highway. Only  an hour.  I won't embarrass Beanie by telling all the pleading and cajoling and, and, and to get her on that short flight. It would have been so easy to fly to Memphis...but noooo. I could wring Beanie's neck if i didn't love her so much. I will skip on over to the Dalton Highway.


 But now that I see the vehicle that Juan is hired to drive down to Fairbanks, I am getting excited. 


The problem is that although Juan has finished his training for this, he has not actually driven down the Dalton Highway before!!??Yipes. 


I am thinking he is happy to have two praying old ladies going along. 


Today's entry will be short. I will write more when (If? haha) we get to Fairbanks. (Hus)Ben, I am on my way!!  


By the way, I know-I KNOW I kept saying four wheeler.   But then whada I know, I'm just a little old Lady!! Here is a picture of our transportation. 

Love, annie

THURSDAY EVENING AFTER AN INTERESTING DAY

After lunch Juan took us to the INUPIAT HERITAGE CENTER. a wonderful museum. For    a long time we watched these delightful people singing and dancing. It was designed to serve as an inpirational facility to
to protect Inupiat culture, history, and language. 

We got out of the cab and stood looking at the Arctic Ocean.  Beanie suddenly began to cry..then to sob.."Annie, I am so ashamed. But I am not going to be able to get on that plane tomorrow. Just leave me here and go on...!!"

No train...no bus..what? 

Juan said, "I have an idea!! Someone has hired me to deliver a 4 wheeler to Fairbanks tomorrow. Why don't you ladies come with me. You can get a train in Fairbanks!!" The Dalton Highway isn't any ordinary road.  When they were laying the pipe line to the oil fields, they needed a road for the trucks to bring stuff. It is mostly gravel but for some stretches it is asphalt.  "It will be a bumpy ride but beautiful. Would you ladies like to come along?"  

Beanie was thrilled with the idea. Yes, yes, yes!!! Juan would be paid for delivering the truck but also get a plane ticket back home. 

 So the rest of this afternoon we made plans as we sat in Pepe's eating.  Our friends were happy for Beanie and everyone was talking at once.

 Juan was so proud of making the delivery money; he said he and Mary can get married now. Beanie and I said that we would pay him too, plus a bonus, plus a wedding gift...by then we all were laughing. "Also we will give Mary a plane ticket back from Fairbanks so she can come along with us...a 417 mile party."

 Here is the Dalton Highway we will be traveling on tomorrow...leaving in the wee hours.

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We  are back in our motel for the last evening here. I called (hus)Ben and told him we are on our way home.  

Beanie and I sat in the lobby a little while trying to watch the big TV...now we are back in our room and ready for bed. 

Mornng will come soon.....goodnight Everyone, annie

  

OCTOBER 13

I can't wait to tell you that yesterday turned out to be a wonderful day. Beanie was coming out of her meltdown, Woo hoo!! Since we liked the people and food at Pepe's North of the Border Restaurant next door, we would sort of hang out there. One perk of being old and cute is you don't mind asking questions. We wondered aloud how Barrow got its name. Mary, our young and pretty waitress, volunteered, "Barrow takes its modern name from Point Barrow, named in 1825 by Captain Beechey of the Royal Navy for Sir John Barrow of the British admiralty. We also learned from Mary that there are 4,429 residents here; 60% are Inupiat Eskimo. Even though Barrow is a modern community, people still count on hunting fishing and whaling for some of their food.  Some of the people here work for oil companies. Mary was our persoal walking library. For a few days it will be 29 and windy. Beanie and I were wondering about seeing things by foot. Mary suggested that she call her boyfriend, a cab driver from Peru to drive us around. So Juan entered our lives. He is 22 and here because he can earn three times as much driving a cab here than he could elsewhere. We hired him for two long days. Keep in mind that on my rocking chair trips, money is no object EVER!! Here is the town...we drove up and down many of the roads. Remember there are no paved roads, so they can get kind of muddy.

 Here is a front yard with a dead seal!!


Juan explained the wooden houses are built on pilings so they won't melt the permafrost. We asked, "What is permafrost?"
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Juan explained: The area is entirely covered in permafrost, a condition where the soil two feet down from the surface remains permanently frozen. So there are no paved roads in or around Barrow!! So if a house melts the permafrost it would sink.
 
We also saw this canoe with seal skin by the WHALE BONE ARCH!!
Back to Pepe's for lunch. Between Mary and Juan we were well covered. Yay! Juan ate with us and told us many interesting facts about Barrow. He has obviously spent time studying. And to think he is from Peru!! He said that the miliary played an influential role in the area. Of course Beanie's husband was in the Coast Guard there. Construction of the DEW LINE & exploration in the National Petroleum Reserve brought new people to the region. Beanie opened up to them and told her sad story as to why she came here...and got cold feet and is scared to leave.  They were so sweet to her and gave us both hugs. 


Pics below are of the airport and memorial to Will Rogers and Wiley Post who died in a plane crash near here in 1935. 


There is a pic of the plane Beanie won't get back on.

And there is a picture of  the high school football field with artificial turf. The main excitement in town is an upcoming game and spirit week!!


Then I leave you with pics of Arctic Ocean, which we seem to be seeing all the time!!!


 

Th

  Back tomorrow, love, annie

SO FAR THIS MORNING....Wednesday, October 12

To say we slept well would surely be an understatement!! When I looked out the window of our hotel room, I was surprised at our view!!



 We headed to Pepe's again for breakfast. I had not noticed the stuffed polar bear when I came through the lobby last night...yipes!! 



Again the food was wonderful at Pepe's. An old fashioned American breakfast; ham, eggs, pancakes. Plenty of coffee. We were ready for anything. We asked to speak to Fran Tate and she graciously greeted us. 
North of the Border was founded and is still run by the remarkable Fran Tate. In addition to being a restaurateur extraordinaire, Fran has also been the host of "Jazz Below Zero" on Barrow's own KBRW every Saturday afternoon for twenty years.  


Our plan for the day was to find the mayor's office and tell him about Beanie's mission.  


Bob Harcharek has lived and worked on the North Slope for more than 30 years. He earned a Ph.D. in International and Development Education from the University of Pittsburgh in 1977. He served as a member of the Barrow City Council for fifteen years since 1993 and is currently the Mayor and Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Barrow. 
Well, when we arrived at his office, we had just missed him. Alaska Day was coming up on October l8th. Anyway, we really didn't need any help.  Beanie told me last night that her late husband's birthday is this week. In his youth before he and Beanie married,Tom had been in the COAST GUARDS. He  served in the Barrow area.
With the announcement of the Distant Early Warning Line in 1954, Point Barrow was designed as a main site, and a military airstrip, separate from the civil airport was constructed in 1955; being used for transport aircraft and passengers to build the DEW-line stations along the northern Alaskan coast.He remembered it as so exciting. Year in and year out he begged Beanie to go to Barrow with him for their vacation. Year in and year out, she refused in favor of Hawaii, Grand Canyon, even Paris. Then a few years ago he died. No more chances to go with him. So she wanted to make a tribute trip by herself and see everything he had mentioned to her. But once here...she got cold feet and felt paralyzed as what to do next. That is when she called me. more tomorrow....annie in barrow!!