Day 5 in the Alaskan wilderness… It has been an eventful few days to say the least. With some of the things that have happened I am wondering if I should rename my blog. How does “The Great Northern Mis-Adventures of Yukon Jon” sound?
I spent the greater part of my first two days in Alaska on the phone in search of a vehicle and living arrangements as well as the first two nights sleeping in the airport. Airport sleeping is nothing new to me, but it has been quite a few years since I have done it. I remember it being a lot easier when I was younger…
I know where I am going to live (well depending on whether they let me live there or not =P) and I was supposed to see my place on Thursday, April 28th, and potentially move in on that date. Unfortunately, the apartment wasn’t quite ready. Call back tomorrow… I am getting a little tired of those words. As it stands, I am going Monday to finally see the place and hopefully move in. Meanwhile, I finally broke down after my second night sleeping on the chairs at the airport and got myself a room at the Westmark Hotel. Regular cost is $105.00 a night, but I was able to get an employee rate for only $50.00 a night. Even at that rate the funds are fading fast!
I did have some “luck” in the vehicle department! Unfortunately it was major bad luck. I found a “beater with a heater” from one of the locals up here. The cost was $500.00 but I was able to talk them down to $400.00. It is ugly as sin, but drove great during the test ride. It is a 1984 Mazda GLC hatchback… two door, four seater, 34 mpg eyesore. I would post a picture, but it will have to wait until later, if ever. I was headed back to the airport for my second night’s sleep when the car suddenly stopped. It just died. 10:30pm at night on the outskirts of Fairbanks and my car died. I was just a little bit worried and a wee bit upset.
I was able to get the car on the side of the road, and then I just sat there and prayed that I would survive this mess I had gotten myself in. Fortunately within 15 minutes a friendly local in a pickup stopped and asked if I needed help. Boy, was I glad to see him. Scott and I did all we could to get the car started without any luck. The starter would crank, but we couldn’t get the dang thing to start. We finally dragged the pull rope out of his truck (apparently standard equipment with all vehicles) and tied it to my poor little red engine that couldn’t and he towed me to the nearest service station. By this time it was about midnight. We pushed the beater into a parking stall and Scott gave me a ride back to the airport where I made myself as comfortable as possible for another night’s “rest”.
The next morning I contacted the service station and had them take a look at the situation. It cost $127.00 just to get the thing up in the door for the mechanic to diagnose the problem. Diagnosis… blown distributor. $647.00 just to fix that so they can determine what else needs to be done. The nearest distributor is currently in Pennsylvania… wait a second… why does that sound familiar to me? I have been trying in vain to get in contact with the guy I purchased the “car” from, but to this date have been unsuccessful. My mechanic is calling around to see if he can find a cheaper alternative than the Pennsylvania distributor, but I am not holding my breath. I am afraid to throw good money after bad and unless he can get that thing running for less than $500.00 I think I will be eventually purchasing another vehicle. I guess I am just too trusting and I should have paid more attention to the old adage, “buyer beware”. And it has come crashing home to me again that the cheapest route is not always the least expensive.
Despite all of this I am still excited to be here. The countryside is beautiful! Weather has been partly cloudy with the occasional shower (it is actually raining at this moment, but should be clearing up shortly) and ranging from 45-55 degrees during the day. Daylight lasts till late evening, and starts in the early morning, even this early in the Summer. According to the website http://www.timeanddate.com the sun rose at 5:18am this morning and will set at 10:20pm tonight. Next Sunday it will be rising at about 4:50am and set at about 10:45pm. The days will continue to get longer and longer until the Summer solstice on June 21st. On this date the sun will rise at about 2:58am and set at about 12:48am the next morning giving us a total of approximately 21 hours and 50 minutes when the sun should be visible in Fairbanks.
I did see my first moose the other day. Unfortunately I did not have my camera to hand and so I did not get the opportunity for the photo-op. I am sure I will have numerous chances in the days to come. My plans this morning were to make the 1.27 mile walk to church and hopefully find a ride back to the hotel. But, with the current weather conditions, I found it too easy to be lazy and did not quite make it out for the morning services. If I only had a car…
Still raining… I think I may climb back in bed for a morning nap and then write a quick letter to Jake in Pennsylvania… wait a second… why does that sound familiar to me?
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