Alaska Adventure
 The annual Left Coast Crime convention was held in Anchorage, Alaska on February 15-18, 2001. In a program called Authors to the Bush, the organizers arranged to send about fifty mystery authors to various rural locations around the state, to speak about writing in schools and libraries. After the convention, I went to Healy and Nenana, villages of about 500 people each, south of Fairbanks.
But first, in Anchorage ...
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One of the highlights of the convention was the appearance of this antlerless male moose in the parking lot across the street from the
hotel. Dozens of lower-48ers poured into the street to gawk ...
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... including yours truly. That dark shape above the hood of the car is the moose. This was taken a few seconds before one of the local residents kindly stopped his truck to tell me I was too close to the moose.
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On Sunday, February 18 I flew north 400 miles to Fairbanks, Alaska's second-largest city, population roughly 30,000. Nenana is about
55 miles south of Fairbanks and Healy another 60 past that.
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Judy and Bob Engleman of Healy picked me up in Fairbanks and
showed me around a bit before heading south. Here I am by the
Alaska Pipeline, which passes ten miles from town. This was
shortly before I was nearly run over by some snowmachiners.
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Here's the early-morning view from the front porch
of the bed and breakfast I stayed at in Healy.
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I spoke to four groups of students in Nenana, from fifth grade through
high school. The fifth-graders shown above had been working
on mystery stories of their own. We traded tips and tricks.
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And here's the sixth-grade class, including my
namesake Nathan in the blue and red jacket.
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I got to tour the Usibelli Coal Mine, but was disappointed to find
that it's a surface mine and I wouldn't get to descend hundreds
of feet underground in a claustrophic elevator. Here's a typical
piece of equipment. I brought home some souvenir coal.
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The only known photo of a three-times Iditarod champion
and a five-times Jeopardy! champion. That's Jeff King
on the left. I was at his place for a dogsled ride.
Update, 3-15-06: Jeff just won his fourth Iditarod.
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Did I say "ride"? Jeff surprised me by having two
sleds tied together, one of which I got to drive.
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Here I am mushing along behind my trusty huskies, with
Jeff in the rear making sure things don't get out of hand.
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The team (l-r): Latte, Mocha, Whitman, Kaladi, and Rat.
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This shot was taken outside Denali National Park, home
of Mt. McKinley, at the beginning of the long twilight.
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That evening I did a program and signed books at the public library in Healy. In the morning it was on to Nenana, where I spoke to a school group ranging from third grade to high school. Then town librarian Mary Harden showed me around Nenana.
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For the annual Nenana Ice Classic, a tripod is sunk into the surface
of the frozen Tanana River. A cable runs from it to a clock in the
building above. When the ice melts in the spring, tension on the
cable stops the clock. Hundreds of thousands of $2 tickets are
sold to people trying to guess the exact minute of the breakup.
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Next: more dogledding, this time courtesy of Iditarod
veteran Bill Cotter and musher Bekah Lindeen.
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This time I was just along for the ride. Here's the view
from the basket as we rode atop a frozen bog.
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The team. Top row: Cognac, Diesel, brothers Bogues
and Alonzo. Bottom row: Kai, Tomba, and Buddy.
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When I returned to town we had a lively discussion, then a potluck dinner at the town library. In the morning I flew back to Anchorage, then on to Los Angeles. My only regret: I never saw the aurora borealis.
Thanks to Left Coast Crime 2001 and Alaska Sisters in Crime for putting this fabulous experience together, to CIRI and Southcentral Foundation for funding it, and to all my friends in Nenana, Healy, and Denali Park for making it so enjoyable.
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