Alive in Alaska Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Join the Journey

  Off to Alaska

  Train to Fairbanks

  Flight to Anatuvak

  The Survivors Trek

  Looking Forward to Tomorrow

  About the Author

  Join The Journey

  Alive in Alaska

  A Journey Toward Light Book

  A Novelette

  T. A. Martin

  Original and modified cover art by Minoru Nitta and CoverDesignStudio.com

  Copyright © Thomas A. Martin 2016

  All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  To Mike Brogan who unknowingly started me on this path at our 45th High School Reunion

  Join the journey by giving me your email address, and I’ll send you the novelette, The Daniels Dynasty for free.

  www.tamartinbooks.com/join-the-journey

  Off to Alaska

  They say that Anchorage is fifteen minutes from Alaska. For Danielle Eagleton, she was ready to get back to Alaska. Fairbanks specifically, for her Sophomore year at the University of Alaska Fairbanks also known as UAF and she was excited in a mature sort of way.

  “Danielle, your Father picked up the tickets for the train this morning.” Her Mother called from the kitchen.

  “Thanks for the nice trip back, Mom.”

  "Do you need any help? Train boards in an hour and a half," said Katty Eagleton.

  Ekaterina Eagleton spoke with a now faint Russian accent.

  “No, Mom I’m just about ready.”

  Danielle grew up in the foothills of the Brooks Range, near Tanana, but her father and mother had moved to Anchorage because of his executive position with his company. Danielle missed the rugged nature of the Brooks Range. Her memories of her times with her dad hunting and camping were vivid and happy. She had learned a lot about surviving and living on the land which had pushed her in the direction to pursue her education in environmental and resource management. In her freshman year at UAF, she had joined a search and rescue organization called Alaskans on Call. The club had been called on several occasions to rescue lost and injured hikers. This service for Danielle was serious stuff that satisfied her sense of self. On one occasion she was part of a rescue where people were severely injured, and one, unfortunately, had died in spite of best efforts. The club and she, in particular, had been honored for the work they had done. She had done very well in her first year and this year she would begin the courses for her Major, and she was up for it.

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to take you to the train station?” Her mom asked.

  "No Mom, I've got time to walk. It's only a quarter mile or so, and I would like to say my goodbyes now."

  Danielle loved her mom and dad and although not very sentimental would miss them until she saw them again.

  “I understand my dear Danielle, let me give you a hug.”

  She gave her mom a big hug, slung her backpack over her shoulder, picked up the ticket envelope on the table by the door, grabbed her rolling suitcase and walked out to the elevator going to street level.

  "I love you, mom, tell dad I love him." She called as the elevator door closed.

  Her dad, Kooz Eagleton, is of the Tanana people, an Athabaskan native Alaskan. As an executive, he was provided a company apartment for him and Katty. It was on the top floor of the Anchorage Hilton right in the downtown, and they would be there for the foreseeable future. It was a perfect day in Anchorage, Alaska the sky was blue and the visibility was good enough that a cloudless Denali was just visible on the horizon. Seeing the top of Denali didn't happen very often. She walked east on West Third to pick up the trail used for the Salmon Run. The Salmon Run trail came out right at the train station where she would get the Denali Star. It was a short and pleasant walk.

  It was her final week of summer break before returning to start classes. Danielle was expecting a hard but rewarding semester since she had registered for 18 hours of coursework and labs. But she was smart and dedicated to her chosen field of study. That was a little unusual for a young college student, but she had grown up with a serious approach to life.

  Danielle stepped onto the platform and pulled out her boarding papers to check the posted information board trackside. Denali Star, Dome car 1050, seat 12C. She walked toward the line to get aboard.

  Baggage handlers were very busy quickly loading passenger packages and luggage. Danielle placed her suitcase in the designated cluster for car 1050 and rejoined the line. She was glad that she and her dad had packed up the rest of her stuff to go to college and shipped it to her dorm in Fairbanks two days ago. Most of the passengers on this car seemed to have luggage tags from the Holland American Cruise Line and it seems most of the people were, let's just say mature. She stood out as the only twenty-something in the crowd.

  "Headed to Fairbanks?" said a pleasant looking older gentlemen.

  “Yes, headed back to school.”

  "My name is Bill, and this is my wife, Betsy."

  "Danielle." She replied only giving what she had gotten.

  “All aboard.”

  Danielle had not noticed that the baggage was loaded and was surprised. She quickly moved to step up on the little stool and onto the steps of the car.

  Bill and Betsy had gone ahead and turned the corner. She thought she may not have a chance to talk to them again soon then her thoughts turned elsewhere.

  Ah yes, there is 12C. Since it is a dome car it had no overhead compartments but there was plenty of room for the backpack under the seat. She pulled out her new Kindle Voyage and sat down. She looked across the seat to her right and out the fabulous curved ceiling to shoulder level window. Hopefully, her row mate won't have a big hat. She turned her Kindle on to read while she waited for the start of the train.

  "Welcome onboard the Denali Star. I am Christen Watermaker, your car docent on the Denali Star. You can ask me any question about our trip through some of the most beautiful land in the world. I will be with you during the entire four days of the journey from Anchorage to Fairbanks. Of course, we will be stopping for two of those days in the Denali National Park where you will stay overnight. I will be staying with you, so I will be available throughout."

  Christen turned her microphone off and began walking through the car chatting with the passengers. Danielle turned her focus on the ebook she was reading. She had observed many of the passengers in front of her as she was making her way to her seat and they were all much older, and she wanted not to have to think of an age-appropriate topic of conversation. Considerable time had gone by, but no one had come in to sit next to her. That was good. She looked up from the Kindle to realize that the train was moving. Very smooth she thought. We are under way.

  ~~~

  It was six months ago that Bill and Betsy Bigelow were in Worldwide Travel setting up their anniversary cruise to Alaska. They remembered the conversation with the smiling travel agent as she went over what various itineraries were available. It was no doubt in their minds that Alaska was their choice for this anniversary cruise, but there were so many options for Alaska cruises alone.

  "I've taken the sea-land trip three times now on the different cruise lines and each occasion the personal part of the journey was spectacular. Of course, I had quite a bit of business related things to attend to, but they had given us plenty of time to enjoy the cruise on its own which, of course, is good business for them."

  Bill and Betsy nodded.

  "Now the option I most recommend for you is the Vancouver to Seward cruise on Holland-American's ms Maasdam, which will place you in the Glacier Bay National
Park on your anniversary day. Then, in Seward, when you disembark you will take the bus, and these are unbelievable buses, for your ride from Seward to Anchorage where you will board the Denali Star the glass-top trains for the land portion of the trip."

  "That certainly sounds fantastic," said Betsy.

  "I see there are several excursions to choose from also." Said Bill.

  "That is certainly the option that I would recommend, and you will be able to plan those excursions with your group director during the land portion, but I do have one more thing to discuss. Since you are already going to be in Fairbanks on your last day, I strongly recommend you fly to the Gates of the Arctic and visit the Eskimo village there at Anaktuvak Pass. The day trip is an additional cost, but I think it is worth it. That village is 180 miles above the Arctic Circle. Now in August, when you will be there, it will be like a beautiful fall day here in the lower forty-eight."

  It didn't take long for Bill and Betsy to come to a decision to follow their agent's recommendations.

  "One of the things that I want to mention is that this package has what is called a US Direct feature. That is, you fly to Vancouver where you will board the ship, there you will be taken from the Vancouver airport directly to the dock on a secured bus. That is you will not be allowed off the bus until you get to the Maasdam. Therefore, you will ‘not be in Canada' and not be required to go through Canadian customs. That'll save you several hours, and it's a wonderful feature in this package."

  Over the next six months, they had many conversations about the trip with their friends. And they had valued many of the comments from people who had already taken such trips. Some of the comments Bill and Betsy acted on in hopes that all would go well using the tips that they felt were crucial.

  “Will, did you pick up the trip documents?”

  “Got them right there in my travel bag.”

  Now the day had arrived and the Bigelows were in the final moments loading and checking that they had everything for their 40th anniversary trip to Alaska. Elizabeth Bigelow, Betsy to everyone, did the last check on the house and that the instructions for the cat sitters were on the island in the kitchen. All secure, time to get going. The couple traveled a lot but never to Alaska, so this trip was much anticipated. Betsy walked out and gave Bill a hug after the last large suitcase was hefted into the van and he closed the hatchback. Will turned and put his arms around Betsy "how did you get all of that stuff in your suitcase sweetheart, it's a moose.”

  “I knew you could handle it my dear” she squeezed his biceps. “Although the little fan and water pitcher for our veranda cabin was a little tough to get in”

  “I hope your friends were right about needing it”

  “Anyway, we’re off to a great adventure”

  After the small seatbelt ritual and a punch to the garage door button the Bigelow’s X3 rolled from the driveway headed to Pulliam Airport. It was a beautiful day.

  Flagstaff to Phoenix is fortunately just a short hop on the regional jet, but the Bigelows had a two-hour wait before boarding the flight from Phoenix to Vancouver. It's a 3 1/4 hour flight but a more comfortable arrangement. One of the nice things is that they won't go through security again for over two weeks.

  Betsy and Bill decided to go through the scanners at Pulliam and try to avoid a pat down. They both were in good shape and not very concerned their 60 something images would be interesting to anyone else except each other. As experienced travelers, they had mastered getting through security without delays and this morning at Pullman was no different.

  The two hours in Phoenix allowed Betsy to begin a new journal she had brought for the Alaskan adventure. Bill perused the ms Maasdam documents to find out how he would set up the wedding anniversary dinner in the Pinnacle Grill gourmet restaurant. Since their anniversary was on the day that they would be cruising in Glacier Bay eating in the Grill would make the dinner fantastic. He was oblivious to the airport bustle as he sorted through his mental library of the best of Betsy moments.

  “Bill.” Betsy’s voice broke through, “They called our seats for boarding.”

  Tickets in hand, they joined the line at their gate.

  When they had settled in their seats, Bill asked, “How did your meeting with your column editor go, I hadn’t had a chance to ask?”

  “Very well, she asked if I would do a separate article about the Gates to the Arctic trip. And because it will play in directly with their Native Alaska series, she will pay $2,000 for it.”

  “Okay! That is very nice.”

  They looked up to pay attention to the steward as he went through the standard flight speech. Then sat quietly enjoying the take off.

  The flight to Vancouver was uneventful. In between Betsy journaling and Bill’s looking for interesting gadgets in the SkyMart catalog, they chatted about what they were going to do during the next 15 days. Of course, the cherry on the top of this wonderful trip, second only to their anniversary, was the plus day trip to the Gates of the Arctic and the Eskimo village at Anaktuvak Pass.

  “Well, I’m excited about our anniversary day at sea my dear and then that great train ride to Fairbanks. Just think in seven days we’ll be boarding the Denali Star.”

  “Yes dear, I know how much you like trains.”

  “Honey, it’s the Colorado Railcar Ultra Dome car number 1050, see here on the boarding pass. Seats 12A and 12B. It’s famous.”

  “I see Will, I see.”

  Betsy looked up and out the small window at the bright sunny day and carpet of clouds below and thought briefly about the US Direct feature. When they landed in Vancouver, they would be escorted to the bus that would take them with no stops directly through Vancouver to the dock and on board the cruise ship. The term for the sealed vehicle was a "Sterile Bus." Customs was not an experience that added to the trip, and since they would be flying back home from a U.S. city, Fairbanks, Customs would not come into play at all.

  “Ladies and gentlemen would you please fasten your seatbelt for our dissent into Vancouver. The local time is…”

  Bill and Betsy looked at each other with a big smile as their adventure was about to begin for real. Soon they heard the typical bumping noises as the landing gear was lowered and locked.

  Train to Fairbanks

  Danielle looked up from her Kindle as she noticed that the train was turning and that they were now leaving the city. The Chugach mountains were above them on the right side, and the snow was in the shadow of the peaks. She turned to look out the other side and saw the older gentleman and his wife, Bill and Betsy if she remembered correctly. Betsy turned to look her direction and nodded with a smile. Bill realized that Danielle was looking their direction.

  “Small world.”

  "Yes, it is." She said.

  "We have incredible scenery in Arizona, but this has a very different beauty,” He said.

  "I've lived here all my life, and it still is beautiful."

  “If I may ask, what are you reading?”

  “Sure, it is a text by one of my Professors this semester on the geology of St. Lawrence Island. I will be on a project team going there this year, so I thought I would get started with the prep.”

  “What year are you at the university?” Bill said.

  “Sophomore.”

  "Sounds like a pretty aggressive program you're in; that kind of field work usually does’nt start until the Junior or Senior year at NAU."

  “I’m an honors student and pretty pleased to be able to get on the project. What is NAU?”

  “Northern Arizona University, it’s in Flagstaff. I am teaching there. Betsy teaches there also… journalism.”

  “That’s very interesting.”

  "We're the Bigelows by the way. We'll have plenty of time to talk; I should let you get back to you reading. Is that the new Kindle?

  “Yep, the new Voyage.”

  “You like it.”

  “What I like best is that I charged it before I came and that charge should last the whole
week.”

  “I’ll have to look into it,” Danielle smiled, and they all returned to their reading.

  “Ladies and Gentleman we’re now heading a bit to the west on our way to the Denali National Park. As you know Denali is the native Alaskan name for the mountain we also called Mt. McKinley for the 25th President of the United States. We will be coming, in a few more minutes, to Wasilla Alaska. Of course, anyone who spots Sarah will get a free meal. Speaking of meals, in a few moments we will be taking your orders for the noon seating in the dining area on the lower level of this car. After that, we will come around for the one o'clock seating. Your boarding passes should have the seating on them so let us know if you have reason to need to change the time. In a few minutes, I will start a short presentation on the scenes you will be viewing on this part of our journey."

  Danielle was interested, but the noon meal sounded good whatever it might be. While she waited, she read. She noticed that the Bigelows had their order taken. It was now eleven a.m., and Danielle was already hungry. She remembered her mother asking her if she didn't want more than toast and coffee, but her mother had been nicely motherly about it. Now she needed to divert her attention away from food.

  “Are you going clear to Fairbanks?” She said across the isle.

  "Yes, in fact, we have added the additional day to go to the Gates of the Arctic National Park,” Said Betsy.

  “So am I. I am looking forward to it. I have been all over the Brooks Range to the west, but never to Anaktuvak Pass. I am, as you might guess, part Athabaskan and I am interested in the native cultures of Alaska outside my Tanana heritage.”

  "I am so very glad to have met you, and if you don't mind, I would like to ask you about the cultures here,” Said Betsy.

  "She is going to be writing a magazine article while she is on our trip. She's good,” Bill said.

  Danielle could see the pride in Bill’s eyes and then thought that she might be able to help Betsy during the trip up.