On to Kotz

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On this leg of our journey, we find our hero trying to get to Kotzebue. I cannot really explain why except to say "because, he's getting paid for it." He got up at 4:00 AM to be at the airport by 4:45 AM for the 6:00 AM flight. If any of you have met him and know anything about him, that was a huge undertaking. Somehow, he actually made it.

Kotzebue is on a peninsula that faces the Bering Sea on the West and the Kotzebue Sound on the East. Kotzebue is a "damp" town, one of many in Alaska. Officially "damp" towns prohibit the sale of alcohol, however one is permitted to bring alcohol and consume it there. Providing, of course, that it is identified as part of your luggage and declared. The truth about "damp" towns is that alcohol and drug abuse is rampant and alcohol can be purchased all over the place from private parties for a substantial markup ($60 for a bottle of cheap Canadian Whisky, for example). In full knowledge of this, one of the members of our party had smuggled in two flasks full of Knob Hill Bourbon for our enjoyment.

Kotzebue is a lot more desolate than I thought it would be. All drivable roads add up to 15 miles during the winter so there's really no where to go. People often leave their cars unlocked and keys in the ignition or on top of the visor. After all, where can someone take your car even if they manage to steal it? So we go through the entire town which takes about 5 minutes at regular speed, 10 minutes if you are with us because we're looking around. We ask for directions to where we are going and are told the office is on the other side of the airstrip from the airport, which is fairly common, however in this case we actually have to cross the tarmac at the beginning of the runway to get to there.

The gate to cross the runway is wide open and a sign that warns us to look first for departing and landing planes before crossing, so much for airport security. We get over to the Flight Service Station and get to work right away. As soon as we walk into the building we notice a few things. One, there is no heat. Two, there is a terrible smell which we later find out is because the sewage pipes are frozen. Three, there is no running water in the building. With great expediency, we finish up as fast as was humanly possible and go to an adjacent building to continue our work. That building had running water, heat and sewage...TRIFECTA!!! Needless to say we spent as much of our working time as possible in there.

As we usually do, we asked for restaurant recommendations. We got the simple answer, "You want to go to the Bayside Inn." I asked why and was told "the other restaurant is only open for breakfast and lunch." That being said we ate at the Bayside. The food was warm and edible so we were pleased. There are many places where it has been one, the other or neither. Edible and warm is a win for us.

There's absolutely nothing to do there but be bored. We did our very best to try and keep busy after work but there just wasn't anything to do. We went back to the hotel in the blistering cold, it was -25 with a lot of wind so it felt almost as cold as Barrow. We drank the two flasks of Knob Hill and called it night.

The next day we got out of there and headed to Nome.

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Photos

Better than Stucco
Exterior Decorating uses different materials up here in Kotzebue

Stray Airplanes
You have to look left, right and then left again before crossing the runway, lest a plane land on you

Arctic View
Here's the scenic view of Kotzebue beach

Valley Forge
We found a boat completely filled with snow and certainly rotting, if not already rotted through. It brought back memories of George Washington...