Stopover in Arkansas
Lynn completed all of her required checks in Oklahoma City, so our daughter Jessica came over to give us a ride to Arkansas and spend some time with us. We were somehow able to put all of our belongings and hers in her SUV, although I can say it was a bit tight in the back seat. We went to Arkansas and dropped Lynn off with her folks and Jessica and I went up to Alma and spent a couple of days with my parents. Not as much time as I would like, but the current virus situation has forced an alteration to everyone’s plans.
After spending a little time in northwest Arkansas we headed down to Hot Springs where Jessica lives. Originally my plans had been to spend a good bit of time there, but the travel situation was changing by the day and it appeared that getting home was going to be a bit dicey. We did manage a trail run and spent one day out at Garvan Woodland Gardens. By the way, the picture of Sadie that is at the top of this post was taken there. The original of this was sharp enough that you could read the dog tag which includes a phone number. Jessica, in case you are reading this, note that I blurred out the information, I should have done that on the original. Anyway, the original travel permit from our city, (more about that later), assumed that upon my return I would quarantine at home for 14 days. In the explanation to follow just know that I am not going to express an opinion one way or the other about procedures or laws. Anyone who knows me knows that I try to stay within regs, whatever that is. Anyway, just before I was to leave, the State of Alaska announced some new rules/procedures on anyone coming into the state. The short version is that you either have to have a Covid test 72 hours before arrival or take one at the airport immediately on landing. Well, there were several places in Arkansas that could give me the test, however, the results were generally going to take 5 days to return. So obviously I’m going with option 2.
The Journey Home
To start with, I was flying from Little Rock, so Jessica and I got up fairly early. If you have never been to Alaska, especially traveling from the southern United States you probably don’t have an appreciation for how far it is. If you leave Little Rock or Oklahoma City and fly all the way up to Seattle, just realize you are basically only half way there. It’s going to be a long day, and now whatever meal you were used to getting on a plane is gone. Worse yet, no coffee. Anyone who knows me will testify that my mood after an entire day without coffee is not going to be good. Also, for the most part, you can’t really get anything to eat in the airports except for some pre-made sandwiches in the news stand shops. Just great. On the way down we mostly flew on Alaska Airlines and their policy is to keep the middle seat open unless everyone in the row is family. Lets just say the other airlines don’t do that. The flights themselves were not bad, somewhat less crowded in the airports as could be expected. I was amazed at the lack of consistency between airports and airlines regarding masks and “social distancing” but that was kind of expected. I never saw anyone get angry or do any of the other things you read about on the news. Another thing Alaska Airlines does now is to board the back rows first, (seems like they should have been doing that all along).
Arrival in Alaska
Before I left Jessica’s house I had filled out the mandatory arrival paperwork and had it on me. Note that I arrived on the day after the new procedures went into effect and for me it seemed pretty well organized, at least at the airport. We left the plane in Fairbanks and were immediately led down to the area where we were sorted in to Alaska residents and non residents. In short order I got called in for my test. I’m not sure what they were going for with that cotton swab but when it was done my nose was bleeding, I suspect they were getting a sample of brain tissue. I asked the person doing the test how long it was going to take to get the results and I was told 48 to 72 hours. Ok, now the math of this isn’t really going to work but I was tired, and as instructed I went straight to my quarantine location, (the hotel). At this point, if you live in Fairbanks its just a wait till you get your results, however, I have one more leg to this journey and Galena has the requirement that we have a negative Covid test within 72 hours on arrival to Galena. Starting to see the issue? Next day I called and got another appointment at a local hospital for a second test that could get me results in a few hours. Thankfully, I got that one done and in the nick of time was able to get a hard copy of my negative results. This had to be sent to our travel coordinator and approved so if you come up here you better have a computer. The other issue is that my room had a microwave and a small refrigerator. So how do you eat meals when you can’t leave except for necessary medical? Thanks to door dash and grocery delivery I was able to get enough to get by on.
The trip home
The other part of this journey that was a little different was that pre-pandemic we had two airlines servicing our village with passenger service and one that does only large freight. Due to several issues, the larger of the two airlines went out of business. Thankfully we have another carrier, if this plane looks small to you, its obvious you don’t live in the bush. These planes are awesome, lots of leg room and you can see a good bit on your trip home. We are limited to 40lbs of luggage, but the freight office is right next to the passenger terminal and they are really nice to work with. They work with our village and if you don’t have the right paperwork to travel home you don’t get on the plane. Unlike the lower 48 travel to and from Galena is regulated by a travel committee so your paperwork needs to be in order before you fly. While I was waiting to board this plane I get an email saying my first test was negative so at this point I have two negative tests.
The flight home was pretty smooth as expected and also as expected I was met at the ramp and all of my paperwork was checked to ensure that I had met all the requirements and knew the rules upon arrival. I then proceeded directly home. Thankfully, I have a fair amount of moose meat and other supplies at the house because for the next 7 days I could not leave home. After 7 days you go to the clinic and take another test, (the third for me), and once you get a negative result you can go on about your business. It’s a good thing I have friends here who would do things like pick up my mail and freight and leave them on my front steps. Also, because of the nature of my job I was able to do some of my work remotely so I could minimize the amount of sick time I burned up on this trip.
Now I am trying to get back into the normal day to day, working, running and generally trying to get ready for the next winter. When Lynn comes back up after her physical therapy is done she will have to repeat the process I went through and then we will both have to quarantine for 7 days and take another covid test.
No moose pictures this time. I have seen a few around town but no good pictures. I guess they are “social distancing”. Anyway, until next time, stay safe.