Pete and Me – 1993

Over the next 13 years, my life unfolded in many exciting ways. Karen and I stayed in touch and got to visit at least once a year, typically on skiing trips in the west. She had married John and they were still living in the suburbs of Anchorage.

In 1988 we were on a ski trip to Telluride, CO. when I met my husband Pete, at the Fly Me to the Moon Saloon…and yep, Karen was right there at my side the first time I laid eyes on him. We married in 1990 and by 1993 we were making plans to visit John and Karen in Anchorage!

Sometime that summer, can’t remember exactly when, Pete and I flew in to Anchorage and John and Karen hosted us in their home in Eagle River. They had built a custom home in the hills outside of Anchorage at the end of a dead end road. It was peaceful and just sooooo looked like Alaska to me.

Sue and Pete relaxing at John and Karen's

They were of course the perfect host and hostess. John, when he wasn’t working, immediately took Pete fishing and flying. Karen was picking up a brand new Ford Explorer so we had to have a road trip….which meant a drive up to Fairbanks.

Pete the happy fisherman!

Anchorage to Fairbanks is about an 8 hour drive, so we took off early one morning, intending to spend a couple of days with Jack and Karen in their home while we were there.

The drive up couldn’t have been more perfect. The day was bright and clear and as we approached Mt. McKinley we knew we were in for a treat. Typically you can’t see the top of North America’s tallest mountain as it creates its own atmosphere and therefore shrouded in clouds. You can usually see a good portion of its base, etc, just because it is so huge. But today, the entire mountain was in full view. It was spectacular and I was so happy for Pete. I don’t know if he understood how rare that sighting was, but he must have understood because Karen and I were ecstatic.

Also, new for me were several glimpses of the pipeline along the way. Those sections were not in place when I left in 1975 so it was as new to me as it was to Pete.

In Fairbanks we had a terrific visit with Jack and Karen. By this time they had moved from the Tozi back to full time in Fairbanks for Robin. He was in high school and needed the experience of his peers and education beyond the home schooling he received from Karen on the Tozi. He was off somewhere, so I didn’t get to see him, but his presence was evident throughout their home.

Fairbanks had really changed a lot over those 13 years. The impact of the pipeline economy had allowed the city to expand enormously. There were now many more stop lights than in 1973! There was a bike trails all over the place and many ne w roads that weren’t there before. Alaska Land was still there, the amusement park that was sort of pitiful, but we spent a few hours there, just because that’s what you do.
Most of the old gang was no longer around. Kevin and Michelle had divorced and we didn’t know where Kevin was. Diane Stople was still living on the Chaitanka, but time didn’t permit us a visit, so we sent her a radio message to let her know we were in town and thinking of her. Bob Batley was married as was many others of the old gang. Red had sold his lodge in Tok Junction and moved to the Seattle area, so we didn’t get to see him either.

Pete and Karen on the Seward Peninsula.

The two weeks flew by and before we knew it we were boarding our plane home. Time flies even faster when you are having a terrific time!