Alaska, overtime
Drinking coffee, in a small town in the southeast part of Alaska, wondering if the weather will clear soon, so I can fly to Juneau, and get back home to New York, after a photography trip.
It’s my second trip this year to Alaska, and I’m getting used to some delays when flying with bush pilots. Safety first, so no argument here! In Katmai last September, the wind decided to keep me in King Salmon half a day longer, and now it’s the visibility (or better, the lack thereof). I’m on weather hold. That’s Alaskan for “as soon as we find someone who’s stupid or drunk enough to fly you out in this weather, we’ll let you know“.
Cell reception in the town is shaky at best. I start to know the street crossings where I can get a data signal (if you’re ever in Haines and need t-mobile data, go to the corner of second and main! ). Bad reception also includes my cell phone’s battery giving up way faster than ever before. The bets are now that my phone will die 25 minutes before the airplane peeps will call me to tell me I’m good to go ..
It gives me some extra time to observe the Alaskans. I’m in a town that has more liquor stores than coffee places, that has as many hardware stores as motels, and where free Internet will be imported in a year or so. They’re survivors and explorers. They like to drink, maybe a little enthusiast, if you see statistics on DUI-related accidents in the state. They’re not too fond of what “Washington” (DC, not the state) decides. But when you’re standing with a car on the side of the road, they’ll check that you’re ok immediately.
The main attraction, besides the bald eagles (keep an eye out in the next weeks, I’ll post some pictures here) is the hammer museum. I’ll have to come back to visit it in the summer months!
Koen Blanquart is a strategy consultant, journalist, and author.
Wanderlust is one of his driving factors, and he shares his travels here on Boarding Today. Koen is also the skipper of SV Bagabonda, a sailing vessel making a slow circumvention of the globe..
Koen recently published a book on how to manage a remote team: The Suitcase Office.
Never been to Alaska, so your little observations are quite interesting to read. And pretty fun! :D
Except for the DUI-related accidents and internet/phone issues, Haines sounds like kine of a cool place to visit. Can’t wait to see your story on the hammer museum. I love the giant hammer.
I’ve been to Alaska twice myself, like nowhere else on Earth.
That’s an awfully long way to go to visit a hammer museum! Wonder how many people get to it.
We have Alaska on our family’s bucket list. We haven’t decided whether to visit outright or as part of a cruise. That state is so big it’ll take forever to see it all!
We were in Haines Junction.Is that near Haines?
Haines junction, Canada, is about 250 miles north of Haines (Alaska, Usa)