June 15
I am finally back in the hustle and bustle of large cities. Anchorage is only 288,000 (2021) folks, while my Stark County in Ohio is 383,000 (2021). Internet here seems blazing fast compared to the 49th state. I had no internet, nor cell service, for the last two days, being in Bettles. This is a 1.25 hours flight north from Fairbanks. The objective was to visit Gates of the Arctic National Preserve. My group in Kotzebue had landed in the Park, but I had to also visit the Preserve. Golden Eagle told me the landing spot they used to visit in the Preserve was no longer viable, which is why they do not fly there anymore. Brooks Range Aviation was able to accept my request. This was one A+ team. Marcus, Judith, Jaida, Canyon, Brenden, and Tom are available to help you get to places in the Brooks Range region. But, before they could get me in the air, I had to use Wright Air Services out of Fairbanks to fly to Bettles. Twice a day service with U.S. Mail, freight, and the like onboard is convenient.
The weather was nearly perfect. We took off around 4 PM. First stop was Walker Lake in the Park portion, to supply a group of rafters with gear they would need to float Kobuk River, from start to finish (which is near Kotzebue), which is 380 miles in length. Maybe only 15 miles to the west was Nutuvkti Lake, in the Preserve. We had the place to ourselves, at least for humanoids. There are no roads or trails in the Park/Preserve. That may change in a couple of decades. There are business interests which want to build a road from Coldfoot (on the Dalton Highway) to Ambler. The route would cut through both Park and Preserve portions. This has been discussed for many years, but recently the threat has become more ominous. Survey crews are out and about. The folks in Bettles feel it is just a matter of time.
Arrival in Bettles was about 7 PM. A sad sight awaited us. Winds had blown across the airfield, completely flipping the company’s C-206 aircraft. Smaller, lighter planes had not been moved. No one in town remembers having ever seen this. I heard a call to the insurance company had already transpired.
The next morning I talked with Todd, the head of interpretation and education for this park, at the Bettles VC. He had flown on the Wright “shuttle” the day before with me, and was scheduled to go back to Fairbanks this day. We were both on the early return flight. We talked about the National Park Service, the 424 National Parks, and Baseball. The VC was a great place to hang out for a couple of hours, with displays, maps, and reading material. I had checked out of the Arctic Haven Lodging cabin earlier. This was a wonderful place to spend the night. Though the well water which supplies this property is not potable, Eric had plenty of bottled water in the cabin. Word is that public internet is coming soon to Bettles, which will help folks stay connected to the world. But why stream when the wilderness of Alaska is right outside the front door?
The return flight included a stop at Allakaket. Two other passengers were on their own personal National Parks quest, to visit all 63 of the parks with the “National Park” designation. Current count was now 62, with Voyageurs left on the checklist. They recommended Tradewinds hotel in Pago Pago, when traveling to the National Park of American Samoa. That is the property at which I have a reservation in October. Always more comfortable to have input from others.
I am sure I have left out myriad details of this Alaskan adventure. I hope you enjoyed reading about, and seeing photos for, 22 of the 23 parks in America’s largest state (I have to fly back up in July to visit Glacier Bay National Preserve… thanks, Congress). Better yet, get on the internet and book a plane ticket to Juneau or Anchorage, or how about both. Yes, it will cost more than the average vacation (just use a MasterCard, so you can say the adventure was “priceless”). And if outside the main cities, your comfort zone may get crossed. But, you will never forget the experience. Onto the Upper Midwest in a few days.